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Apprenticeship training course

Food and drink maintenance engineer (level 3)

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Information about Food and drink maintenance engineer (level 3)

Maintaining machinery and equipment in the food and drinks industry, finding and resolving faults, to optimise production levels.

Knowledge, skills and behaviours
View knowledge, skills and behaviours

Knowledge

  • Food and drink sector awareness. The industry's regulator: The Food Standards Agency. Types of organisations: branded and non-branded, and high and low care sites. Types of food and drink products: ambient, frozen, fresh, chilled, confectionery, and liquid. End-to-end supply chain. Customers and consumers. Customer specifications: purpose and consequences of non-compliance. Implications of product shelf life.
  • Food and drink maintenance engineer's role. Limits of autonomy. Different teams and functions involved in production. Business operation considerations: efficiency, customer satisfaction, competitiveness, minimising risks to production, and ethical practices.
  • Principles of quality management systems and processes in the food and drink industry and impact on customer requirements. Customer and food trade association standards for example, British Retail Consortium, Retailer standards. Internal and external audits and impact on maintenance.
  • Food science and technology - fundamentals of how engineering is used in food and drink production: aseptic filling and processing, chilling, freezing, heat processing, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), preservation, and packaging.
  • Food safety regulations awareness and their impact on food and drink engineering: Food Safety Act, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Threat Analysis of Critical Control Points (TACCP), and Vulnerability Assessment of Critical Control Points (VACCP).
  • Food safety: control of contamination hazards (microbiological, physical, and chemical). The risk of contamination and impact on product integrity and health of consumers. Allergens. The importance and impact of temperature and process control measures. Regulatory information and date code responsibilities. Hygienic engineering design of food premises and equipment, and hygiene requirements of operators. Cleaning and disinfection principles, procedures, and methods: Cleaning in place (CIP), cleaning out of place, and chemical impact. Pest control.
  • Properties of food and drink, packaging materials and sealing techniques and impact on engineering tasks.
  • Health and safety regulations awareness and their application to food and drink engineering: Health and Safety at Work Act, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (CoSHH), Working in confined spaces, Working at Height, Lone working, Provision of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER), Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres (DSEAR), Pressure Equipment Directive (PED), Electricity at work regulations, Noise regulation, L8 Legionella, Display Screen Equipment, The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), and Construction Design Management regulations. Slips trips and falls. Types of incidents: fire, accidents, and near-misses. Mitigation methods. Incident management. Near miss reporting.
  • Health and safety practice: risk assessments and method statements, manual handling, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and signage and barriers.
  • Safe isolation of process fluids, gases, electricity, and stored energy: Lockout, tagout (LOTO).
  • Environmental regulations and requirements awareness and their application to food and drink engineering. Environmental Protection Act. Sustainability. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE). Hazardous waste regulations. Waste management. Recyclable materials and waste disposal procedures. Energy monitoring. Data logging to optimise energy performance. The Climate Change Agreements. Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC). Renewable and alternative energy sources. Energy reduction. Types of pollution and control measures: noise, smells, spills, and waste. Efficient use of resources. Environmental permits.
  • Types of food and drink equipment and their application: pumps, valves, gauges, temperature controls, mixers, conveyors, depositors, sealers, safety systems, pressure systems and transmitters, human machine interface, and handheld devices. The importance of set points.
  • Spares and services considerations: availability, stock lead times, correct handling, the identification of equipment and parts, function and specification of parts, spares, and components, stock value, faulty stock, returns, salvageability of parts to be removed.
  • Maintenance tools: selection, correct use, maintenance, storage requirements. Restrictions in food and drink industry and designated areas.
  • Engineering standards and regulations awareness and their application to food and drink engineering: British Standards (BS), International Organisation for Standardisation standards (ISO), European Norm (EN), and Atmospheres and Explosives (ATEX). Manufacturers’ manuals: what they are and how to use them.
  • Standard operating and quality assurance procedures (SOP): what they are and how to use them.
  • British standards for engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information.
  • Engineering mathematical and scientific principles: calculations, conversions, and equipment sizing and dimensions.
  • Engineering materials and their properties: impact on use in a food environment (food safe).
  • Maintenance strategies and best practice: run to failure (breakdown maintenance), preventive (scheduled) maintenance, Predictive Maintenance (PdM), and Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM).
  • Reliability techniques - critical tools: condition monitoring, oil sampling, thermography, vibration analysis, and ultrasound. How they are used to reduce breakdowns, failures, and operational losses.
  • Food safety engineering: food grade oils, greases, cleaning fluids, and safe use of tools and equipment.
  • Equipment performance measures: data and how to use it. Terminology: mean time between failure, and overall equipment effectiveness (availability).
  • Mechanical principles. Types of mechanical drives, belts, chains, and gears: alignment, and how to identify wear. Types of bearings: application, alignment, and fit.
  • Principles of down-hand (flat) TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding techniques in food environment: butt and tee. Awareness of MMA (Manual Metal Arc) and MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding practices and when they need to be used.
  • Component manufacturing uses and requirements. Turning and milling, grinding, drilling, bench fitting techniques. Preparation for the food and drink environment. Threads, fit, finish, joining techniques, measurement and tolerance, and material selection considerations.
  • Pneumatic and hydraulic system principles: transfer of energy inside fluid power systems in the food and drink industry.
  • Basic engineering theory and thermodynamic principles on heat transfer used in the food and drink industry: how it works and maintenance requirements.
  • Electrical principles. Basic electrical theory: LV (Low Voltage), HV (High Voltage), current, resistance, symbols and terminology. Electrical first aid. Alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) systems. Testing equipment. Electrical circuit theory, electrical machines, electrical safety systems, and smart solutions.
  • Control circuits principles. Basic components (switches, relays, contactors, overloads, circuit breakers), power supplies, and calibration.
  • Safety circuits: safety system categories, safety system architecture and components, characteristics of safety system components. What they do and why they are important (legality and performance).
  • Types of motors and control systems and how they work: mechanical and electrical properties, programming of variable speed drives and parameters, soft starts.
  • Electrical instrumentation and control installation, commissioning and decommissioning practices and techniques to standards required for food and drink industry. Ingress Protection (IP) and ATEX ratings. Testing and fault finding approved instrument requirements. Arc flash protection requirements.
  • Automation. Instrumentation and calibration techniques for systems: thermo, weights, and flow. Robotics and data acquisition (SCADA) and smart network systems. Communication systems: Profinet, Ethernet, Profibus, CANopen, and DeviceNet.
  • Types of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC). How they work, system maintenance and architecture. Digital, analogue inputs, outputs, and IOT. Hardware interface and field wiring.
  • Sensors and motion control. Types of sensors and how they work: digital, analogue, pressure level, probes, inductive and smart. Encoders and position control: selection procedures.
  • Awareness of services and utilities in the context of food safety importance and impact: water supply and systems, boiler control, electrical distribution system, air compressors, steam boilers, refrigeration system, building management, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) controls, access control systems, effluent and waste, and chilled water systems.
  • Principles of factory digitalisation (Industry 4.0).
  • Problem solving techniques: root cause analysis, 6 thinking hats, DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control), and PDCA (Plan Do Check Act).
  • Fault finding techniques: root cause analysis, 5 Whys, fishbone, and half-split. Diagnostic tools and equipment.
  • Continuous improvement techniques: lean, 6-sigma, KAIZEN, 5S (Sort, set, shine, standardise and sustain), and SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Dies).
  • Information technology: Management Information Systems (MIS), spreadsheets, presentation, word processing, email, virtual communication and learning platforms. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Cyber security requirements.
  • Maintenance work recording and documentation requirements.
  • Organisation techniques: planning, time management, workflow, and work scheduling and prioritisation.
  • Communication techniques: verbal, written, and electronic. Adapting style to audience. Engineering terminology.
  • Report writing techniques.
  • Team working techniques: how to work as part of a team, understanding the importance of establishing and meeting the requirements of different roles.
  • Workplace training and buddying techniques: how to pass on knowledge and skills to others.
  • Equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace: what it means and why it is important.

Skills

  • Read and interpret task related information and data. For example, work instructions, SOPs, quality control documentation, Service Level Agreements, specifications, engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information, work instructions, and operation manuals.
  • Plan work. Identify and organise resources to complete tasks.
  • Identify hazards and control measures to mitigate risks.
  • Comply with food safety regulations and procedures.
  • Comply with health and safety regulations and procedures.
  • Comply with environment and sustainability regulations and procedures: safe disposal of waste, re-cycling or re-use of materials and efficient use of resources.
  • Select, check the condition, and safely use maintenance tools and equipment. Store tools and equipment. Complete or arrange maintenance of tools and equipment including calibration where required.
  • Follow standard operating procedures and quality procedures.
  • Follow site isolation and lock off procedures (lockout, tagout) and re-instatement of equipment with system checks and handover.
  • Apply mechanical and fluid power system maintenance practices and techniques. For example, check levels, parts wear, pressure, and sensors, grease and lubricate parts, replace, fit components, and calibrate equipment.
  • Apply electrical and control maintenance practices and techniques including use of electrical testing equipment and instruments. For example, panel risk assessment, fixed wire installation testing, fault finding, thermographic surveys, and checking protection settings.
  • Apply reliability engineering techniques to prevent or reduce the likelihood or frequency of failures. For example, condition monitoring, oil sampling, thermography, vibration analysis, and ultrasound.
  • Install and configure instrumentation or process control systems.
  • Install and configure electrical systems. For example, add distribution boards to circuits, single and three phase motors (AC and DC).
  • Assemble, position and fix equipment or components. Complete commissioning checks.
  • Disconnect and remove equipment or components. Complete storage measures to prevent deterioration.
  • Read and interpret equipment performance data.
  • Fabricate, drill, and join to produce basic parts, spares or components to measurement and tolerance specification.
  • Apply down-hand (flat) TIG welding techniques: butt and tee.
  • Apply mathematical techniques to solve engineering problems.
  • Produce and amend electrical and mechanical engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information. For example, for new component parts or change in circuit diagram or panel.
  • Apply fault-finding and problem-solving techniques for example, using PLC data to diagnose issues and locate faults on industrial network.
  • Apply continuous improvement techniques to understand current performance; collect and record data. Devise suggestions for improvement.
  • Restore the work area on completion of activity.
  • Resolve or escalate issues.
  • Use information technology. For example, for document creation, communication, and information management. Comply with GDPR. Comply with cyber security.
  • Record work activity. For example, asset management records, work sheets, checklists, waste environmental records, and any business or legal reporting requirements.
  • Communicate verbal and written. For example, with colleagues and stakeholders. Use engineering terminology where appropriate.
  • Produce reports for example, equipment performance reports.
  • Provide guidance or training to colleagues or stakeholders.

Behaviours

  • Prioritise health and safety, food safety, and the environment and sustainability.
  • Promote health and safety, food safety, and the environment and sustainability.
  • Take ownership for own work and accountability for quality of work.
  • Apply a professional approach.
  • Team-focus to meet work goals: respectful to others, builds relationship with others, and positive inclusion.
  • Respond and adapt to work demands.
  • Committed to Continued Professional Development (CPD) to maintain and enhance their competence.
Apprenticeship category (sector)
Engineering and manufacturing
Qualification level
3
Equal to A level
Course duration
36 months
Maximum funding
£27,000
Maximum government funding for
apprenticeship training and assessment costs.
Job titles include
  • Food and drink maintenance engineer
  • Food and drink multi-skilled engineer

View more information about Food and drink maintenance engineer (level 3) from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.