Did You Know? 11 February 2016 "The art of butchery is on show on a massive scale at this abattoir, as workers break down up to 1,200 cattle and 11,000 sheep carcasses a day with mesmerising speed and precision. The Murray Bridge meatworks is one of four owned by Thomas Foods International, the family-owned operation now the third-biggest processor in the country behind corporate giants JBS and Teys Australia." (Source: Landline) Work practices in the meat-processing industry have changed in recent years. The industry has moved away from workers dressing a whole carcass towards a chain-based system, with each worker performing a single task along a moving production line. The nature of the meat-processing workforce has also changed. It is no longer dominated by seasonal but longer-term workers, usually white and male. It is now diverse and often characterised by workers with low levels of post-secondary education and literacy. Significant pools of labour are temporary (417 visa holders, backpackers and grey nomads), contributing to high levels of staff turnover. (Source: NCVER)

   Manufacturing & Production

Meat Boner and Slicers trim and cut meat from bones, sides, and carcasses. Boner and Slicer breaks down carcasses by removing bones and slicing meat so that it is ready for sale or further processing.

ANZSCO ID: 831211

Specialisations: Meat Trimmer.

Knowledge, skills and attributes

• Able to Perform Physical Work
• Enjoy Practical and Manual Work
• Good Manual Dexterity
• Health and Safety Awareness

Meat Boner
(Source: EMR-B)

Duties and Tasks

• Operates switching controls to direct and drop carcasses and meat cuts from supply rails to boning tables.
• Cuts meat to separate meat, fat and tissue from around bones.
• Washes, scrapes and trims foreign material and blood from meat.
• Cuts sides and quarters of meat into standard meat cuts, such as rumps, flanks and shoulders, and removes internal fat, blood clots, bruises and other matter to prepare them for packing and marketing
• Adhere to strict health and safety regulations
• Cut and process various kinds of meet such as beef, lamb and chicken into different cuts
• Operate various pieces of machinery and equipment such as restrainers and switching controls to load carcasses onto boning tables
• Pack processed meat and load into trucks for shipment
• Process meat and poultry into exact cuts as per institutional or commercial requirements
• Remove bones, fat and blood from meat
• Slice and remove hides and trim animal carcasses
• Stun the livestock and bleed them whilst unconscious
• Transfer carcasses to freezers and chillers
• Use weights to accurately measure meat for processing

Working conditions

Boners and Slicers usually work regular Monday to Friday hours. Some work shift work in larger operations. Boners and Slicers are required to stand on their feet for long periods of time and may be stained by blood and/or fat. Health and safety requirements ensure that work spaces remain hygienic, clean and well ventilated.

Education and training/entrance requirements

You can work as a Meat Boner and Slicer without formal qualifications, however, they may be useful. A course in meat processing might be helpful.

    Manufacturing & Production

Renderer operates processing plants to produce meat meal, fertilisers and tallow.

ANZSCO ID: 351211

Knowledge, skills and attributes   

• Must have a basic mechanical aptitude enabling one to work with and adjust machines, some of which have sharp blades
• Must be able to pass test to demonstrate mechanical, basic math and science skills
• Must have good English-speaking skills
• Must be able to lift up to 22K safely
• Must be capable of using small tools
• Must be able to submit and pass a criminal background check

Duties and Tasks

Control Room Operator: Maintain cook logs for meat and feather cooking during the shift. Monitor the progress of each cook. Responsible for contacting maintenance or electrician when mechanical problems occur. Check all timers on feather and meat cooker.

Pollution Operator: Monitor chlorine solution tanks, cross flow scrubber. Check chemical concentration to make sure it is within standards. Maintain logs. Load bulk trunks as needed.

Meat Operator: Monitor product flow from perc-pans to surge hopper through expellers.

Fat Room Operator: Monitor raw product bins at all time. Monitor fat tank levels, when levels get to tank full, operator is to filter dirty fat, run filter cake out and repeat this procedure throughout the day as many times as necessary.

Grinding Room Operator: Monitor product flow through grinding room. Check shaker screens and disintegrator screens making sure there are no holes on the screens. Dump barrels, gondolas etc. Monitor levels on outside storage bins. Load raw feathers into feather table when necessary.

Feather Operator: Monitor the flow of raw feather into feather cooker. Clear drops on feather cooker. Monitor pressure inside feather cooker and run moisture checks every hour so that moisture does not exceed 3%.

Working conditions

• Must be able to stand for prolonged periods of time (8-10 hours) on a concrete/metal grate floor
• Must be able to walk up and down stairways and ladder quickly and routinely
• Must be able to work in a hot environment (up to 43C) for 8-10 hours

Education and training/entrance requirements

You can work as a meat processing worker without formal qualifications. You will probably get some informal training on the job. You can also become a meat processing worker through a traineeship in Meat Processing (Abattoirs/General).

Entry requirements may vary, but employers generally require Year 10. You can complete a Certificate III in Meat Processing (Rendering)

Did You Know?  A typical grass fed steer of 465 kg live weight steer produces about 190 kg of boneless meat. About 6 kg is lost in evaporated moisture as the carcases chills. The remaining 269 kg, including about 36 kg of gut fill, comprises the co-products of meat production. In the example in Figure 1.1, the yield of boneless meat from live weight is about 41% leaving about 59% of the live weight to be handled as co-products. Part of this is gut fill and 6% is hide which has a specific use without much option for different applications. This leaves about 45% of the live weight which typically can be divided in varying proportions between edible offal, rendering and pet food. In general the highest value can be obtained by packing co-products for edible use. Pet food has the second highest value and rendering is the least value. However, handling and packing costs for edible offal and pet food can make recovery of these items less profitable than rendering outlets. (Source: MLA)

 

   Manufacturing & Production

The Rendering Manager is directly responsible for co-ordinating operations and overseeing employees of the Rendering plant. It is therefore critical to have a clear understand of the Rendering process and possess strong mechanical and communication skills.

ANZSCO ID: 351211

Duties and Tasks

Duties required within the position include but not limited to:

• Coordination of production to provide overall compliance of the plant to product safety, environmental, OH&S and industrial standards.
• Daily coordination and liaison with our sales team for domestic and export sales of meal, tallow and blood commodities.
• Planning and organisation of all maintenance requirements within the operation.
• Working within the confines of allocated budgets.
• Communicating and reporting to all regulators.
• Developing recommendations for ongoing improvements.
• Managing staff related matters, including shift rosters, maintain good employee relations and facilitating staff development.
• Liaising with the Plant Manager on a regular basis.

 

Did You Know? Rendering is a process that converts waste animal tissue into stable, usable materials. Rendering can refer to any processing of animal products into more useful materials, or, more narrowly, to the rendering of whole animal fatty tissue into purified fats like lard or tallow. Rendering can be carried out on an industrial, farm, or kitchen scale. It can also be applied to non-animal products that are rendered down to pulp. In animal products the majority of tissue processed comes from slaughterhouses, but also includes restaurant grease and butcher shop trimmings and expired meat from grocery stores. This material can include the fatty tissue, bones, and offal, as well as entire carcasses of animals condemned at slaughterhouses and those that have died on farms, in transit, etc. The most common animal sources are beef, pork, mutton, and poultry. The rendering process simultaneously dries the material and separates the fat from the bone and protein. A rendering process yields a fat commodity (yellow grease, choice white grease, bleachable fancy tallow, etc.) and a protein meal (meat and bone meal, poultry byproduct meal, etc.). Rendering plants often also handle other materials, such as slaughterhouse blood, feathers and hair, but do so using processes distinct from true rendering. The occupation of renderer has appeared in "dirtiest jobs" lists. (Source: Wikipedia) The rendered materials are taken from storage and are usually ground and blended. The ground and blended material is then pumped, conveyed, or placed by use of a bucket loader, into a tank in which the rendering process takes place (the rendering system). Live steam at 40 to 60 psig is introduced, and the rendering process, not to be confused with cooking, takes place. In some cases, pH is adjusted. Sometimes, other chemicals are introduced. As the rendering process proceeds, fats and oils are drawn off the top of the tank. The remaining liquid, called “stick water,” contains the protein material. The stick water is typically evaporated and added to animal feed. Dry rendering typically involves placing the materials to be rendered in a steam-jacketed rendering system that is placed under vacuum. Screening and centrifugation are used to separate the fats and oils from the solids, which contain the protein matter. (Source: Science Direct)

   Manufacturing & Production

Slaughterer works in the area where the animals are killed and the hides and internal organs are removed. Abattoirs can also be called slaughterhouses. Abattoirs usually specialise in slaughtering sheep, cattle, pigs or poultry.

ANZSCO ID: 831212

Specialisations: Stunner and Shackler (Abattoir)

Knowledge, skills and attributes

• Be physically fit and strong.
• Be comfortable working with dead animals and waste products.
• Be able to work well as part of a team.
• Be able to work accurately and efficiently.
• Follow the law relating to animal slaughter.
• Have an awareness of food hygiene regulations and health and safety issues.

Blades, meat hooks, viscera and white aprons often feature in the iconography of butchers
(here in The Butcher’s Shop by Annibale Carraci, oil on canvas, c 1580, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, US).
(Source:Alimentarium)

Duties and Tasks

• unloading, moving and controlling the animals when they are first brought to the abattoir.
• operating restrainer and stunning equipment - using electrical equipment or a mechanical device called a captive bolt stunner
• humanely killing the animals, quickly, cleanly and painlessly while they are unconscious.
• at times, cutting and killing livestock according to halal, kosher, or other religious customs
• severing jugular veins of stunned animals to drain blood and facilitate dressing
• trimming and removing head meat and severing animal heads
• slitting open, eviscerating and trimming animal carcasses
• working on an assembly line, especially in a poultry slaughter and processing site.
• cleaning floors, tools and equipment to high standards.

Working conditions

Abattoir operatives work 37 to 40 hours a week, usually from 7.30am till 3.30pm. They may work a shift system and part-time work is sometimes available. Working inside, areas are clean and must conform to strict government guidelines. Abattoirs can be smelly, cold (as parts of the building will be refrigerated) and wet, from washing down and cleaning. The work involves a lot of standing, and using dangerous machinery and equipment. Protective clothing is provided which consists of a hat, overalls and rubber boots. Long hair must be tied back.

High standards of hygiene and cleanliness are essential in abattoirs. Operatives must follow strict procedures when storing the carcasses, handling the meat and disposing of waste products. They work quickly, as it is more hygienic. Strict health and safety rules must also be followed to avoid accidents caused by machinery or equipment.

Education and training/entrance requirements

Once you are employed, you may be able to develop, and have recognised, additional skills under the Australian Meat Industry Training Package that will expand your career opportunities within this industry.

If you are processing animal products into other materials, like meat & bone meal, tallow or processed dried blood, then you require an accreditation with Safe Food Production Queensland (Safe Food).

   
Empoyment Opportunities

Employment opportunities may be seasonal due to fluctuations in livestock production.

Related Jobs or Working with these Jobs

Butcher	Food Process Worker	Livestock Farmer	Packer
Primary Products Inspector	Truck Driver Rendering Truck Driver	WHS Officer

 

Materials sourced from
Jobs & Skills WA [Abattoir Worker; ]
Open University; [Boner & Slicer; ]
CareersOnline [Meat Processing Worker; ]
Beef Central [Rendering Manager; ]
Victorian Skills Gateway [Slaughterer; ]
InPutYouth UK [Abattoir Operative; ]
Lensa [Rendering Technician; ]
Your Career [Meat Boner & Slicer; Slaughterer; Meat Process Worker; ]
Photo Credits 1, 2, 3