Assessor Resource

FDFGR4002A
Supervise testing processes for wheat and flour

Assessment tool

Version 1.0
Issue Date: May 2024


This Unit applies to a flour mill supervisor who is responsible for establishing and supervising the quality regime operating in the mill including compliance with regulatory and commercial requirements. This Unit covers the specific skill and knowledge required for an effective testing regime in a flour mill. The Unit applies to all industrial flour mills including semolina mills and mills without purifiers. It includes ensuring testing and monitoring processes are established and followed and implementation of procedures to be followed in the event of a failure to achieve required performance.The emphasis in this Unit is on the grain and flour specific quality and testing processes used in flour milling. The Unit provides specific industry skill and knowledge and complements other more general quality and compliance Units including Units relating to Hazard Analysis And Critical Control Points (HACCP), and lean manufacturing.

This Unit covers the establishment and supervision of specific quality and testing processes for wheat and flour in a flour mill. The Unit covers the setting of tests to be undertaken, the establishment of acceptable limits and maintaining of accuracy in the mill testing regime.

You may want to include more information here about the target group and the purpose of the assessments (eg formative, summative, recognition)

Prerequisites

Nil.

Employability Skills

This Unit contains employability skills.



Evidence Required

List the assessment methods to be used and the context and resources required for assessment. Copy and paste the relevant sections from the evidence guide below and then re-write these in plain English.

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Assessment must be carried out in a manner that recognises the cultural and literacy requirements of the assessee and is appropriate to the work performed. Competence in this Unit must be achieved in accordance with food safety standards and regulations.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this Unit

Evidence of ability to:

determine tests appropriate to grain used in, and products made by a mill

determine sampling rates for tests

integrate testing regime with HACCP system

maintain integrity of mill testing regime through use of control and reference tests and appropriate calibration and maintenance of test equipment.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must occur in a real or simulated workplace where the assessee has access to:

personal protective clothing and equipment

work procedures, including advice on safe work practices, food safety, quality and environmental requirements

equipment manuals including operating parameters

specifications, control points and processing parameters

break and reduction roll process and related equipment and services

conditioned grain suitable for the break and reduction roll process

sampling schedules and test procedures and equipment as required

documentation and recording requirements and procedures

cleaning procedures, materials and equipment as required.

Method of assessment

This Unit should be assessed together with core Units and other Units of Competency relevant to the function or work role.

Guidance information for assessment

To ensure consistency of performance, competency should be demonstrated on more than one occasion over a period of time in order to cover a variety of circumstances, cases and responsibilities, and where possible, over a number of assessment activities.

Submission Requirements

List each assessment task's title, type (eg project, observation/demonstration, essay, assingnment, checklist) and due date here

Assessment task 1: [title]      Due date:

(add new lines for each of the assessment tasks)

Assessment Tasks

Copy and paste from the following data to produce each assessment task. Write these in plain English and spell out how, when and where the task is to be carried out, under what conditions, and what resources are needed. Include guidelines about how well the candidate has to perform a task for it to be judged satisfactory.

Required skills includes:

Ability to:

supervise wheat and flour related tests including tests for:

moisture

contamination/purity

protein level

protein quality

ash content

colour

starch proportion

gluten elasticity and extensibility

apply basic statistical skills sufficient to calculate averages, means and population and sample standard deviations from given data

determine tests appropriate to HACCP system critical control points

determine maintenance schedule and procedures for test equipment

determine calibration procedures and schedule for test equipment.

Required knowledge includes:

Knowledge of:

effect of reduction and break stages on flour characteristics including:

protein level

protein quality

ash content

colour

starch proportion

dough rheology

test and test procedures appropriate to grain including:

sample appearance and smell

sieving for sample purity

near infrared test (NIR) and other tests for moisture, protein content, colour and grain hardness

difference between "as is" and "dry weight" and moisture corrected moisture results and conversion of other parameters

gluten washing test for protein quality

Hagberg Falling Number test including conversion of results to Perten Liquefaction Numbers

Kern chondrometer test and other specific weight tests

tests and test procedures related to flour including:

NIR tests for flour moisture, protein content, colour, water absorption, ash content

Colour testing using Kent-Jones and Martin flour colour grader

Pekar test

Laboratory sieve tests

Brabender Extensograph and Farinograph test for dough stretching

viscosity tests

starch damage tests (Farrand method etc.)

Chittick test for carbon dioxide release

baking tests

reference tests used for calibration including:

oven test for moisture

Zeleny test for protein quality

Single Kernel Characterisation System (SKCS) test

Stenvert test for hardness

Electrophoresis test for variety

Image analysis for particle size and colour

muffle furnace test for ash content

fibre tests

expected extraction rate for different stages of the milling process

Australian grain characteristics relevant to milling including:

variety

wheat segregations including soft, Australian Premium White (APW), Hard, Prime Hard (PH)

other Australian grain segregations

typical composition of bread, biscuit and cake making flours including moisture, sugar, starch, protein, fibre, and mineral matter

flour characteristics giving rise to faults in bread, pasta or other flour based products including:

incorrect flour strength

incorrect alpha-amylase activity

incorrect amount of damaged starch

bran contamination

incorrect improver dosage

heat damaged wheat

tainted flour

microbiology tests for grain and flour

tests used in manufacture of byproducts.

The range statement relates to the Unit of Competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Mill

The term mill is used to refer to the whole mill site including the actual milling equipment, equipment used for associated processes, and transport, warehouse, maintenance, testing and administration facilities.

Stages of the flour milling process are:

wheat intake

conditioning

feed to first break

flour coming off each mill i.e. from break and reduction rollers

blending and processing

packing and/or dispatch.

Reference tests

Reference tests are tests which can be used for calibration of other test equipment and procedures. Reference tests can also refer to time consuming or non-standard tests used for specific flours or for investigating unusual results in other tests.

Alpha-amylase

Alpha-amylase is one of the enzymes which break down starch in germinating grain.

Improvers

Improvers are substances which improve the baking quality of flour.

Copy and paste from the following performance criteria to create an observation checklist for each task. When you have finished writing your assessment tool every one of these must have been addressed, preferably several times in a variety of contexts. To ensure this occurs download the assessment matrix for the unit; enter each assessment task as a column header and place check marks against each performance criteria that task addresses.

Observation Checklist

Tasks to be observed according to workplace/college/TAFE policy and procedures, relevant legislation and Codes of Practice Yes No Comments/feedback
Identify customer specification. 
Review range and availability of suitable grain. 
Set target range for grain and flour tests to achieve customer specification, consistency and maximum yield. 
Identify mill critical control points. 
Identify regulatory requirements relevant to mill and mill products. 
Determine tests and sampling for received grain. 
Determine tests and sampling for grists. 
Determine tests and sampling for grain conditioning. 
Determine flour tests to be undertaken at each reduction stage. 
Determine number of samples to be taken to ensure representative results are achieved. 
Determine reference tests required for milling. 
Establish procedures for storage and labelling of samples. 
Establish procedures for recording of test results and monitoring period. 
Establish normal distribution standard deviation targets for each test. 
Monitor standard deviations for out of control results. 
Review results against reference tests. 
Determine root cause of out of control results. 
Establish maintenance schedules for test equipment in conjunction with suppliers and maintenance staff. 
Identify schedule and staff for calibration of test equipment. 
Ensure written procedures for each test identify actions to be followed in the event of actual or suspected equipment malfunction. 
Arrange for testing of control samples at commencement of each shift or run. 
Record test results and establish monitoring procedures to identify operator or equipment test result variations not related to variation in wheat or flour. 
Arrange for operator training or equipment variation as appropriate. 

Forms

Assessment Cover Sheet

FDFGR4002A - Supervise testing processes for wheat and flour
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Assessment Record Sheet

FDFGR4002A - Supervise testing processes for wheat and flour

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Assessment task 1: [title] Result: Competent Not yet competent

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