Warehouse Assistant

**Our Company**:
Fresh4U Farms Ltd. is a greenhouse farming operation growing 18 acres of vegetables under glass in Abbotsford, BC. Along with Fresh4Sunset Farms Ltd. in Delta and Creekside Hothouses in Surrey and Aldergrove, our farms form **The Fresh4U Group**.

We are committed to producing and packing safe produce through the use of good agricultural practices, with a focus on principles of quality, taste, and food safety. Integral to this commitment is an organized and well-functioning operation. This role is an integral part of this commitment.

**About the role**:
The **Warehouse Assistant** is instrumental in completion of the daily packing and shipping activities. This position entails the management of packaging produce for shipping, checking orders for accuracy, maintaining quality standards, and receiving inventory and other supplies. Central to this position is daily communication with owners, senior grower, operations manager, marketing agencies and staff.

**Responsibilities**:
**Shipping & Receiving**:

- Coordinate packing and delivery of produce as required by customer orders
- Supervise the packing and shipping of product, ensure product labelling is correct
- Quality inspections of products shipped
- Organize BOLs at the end of every day, sending scanned copies to Admin staff and a printed copy for the ED
- Supervise the loading and unloading of shipments, including assisting with forklift work when needed
- Receiving of supplies and materials: checking quantities against paperwork, submitting documents to Admin staff, distributing to received good to the ordering department
- Monitoring and managing pallet program and inventory: daily online update to CHEP, ordering or returning excess/short inventory, notifying admin of errors or changes
- Maintain accurate records for all activities, keeping documents and file neat and organized
- Ensure Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are documented and followed for all activities in the warehouse and shipping areas

**Employees**:

- Estimate labour requirements for jobs and plan work schedules accordingly
- Assign duties to the staff in the production area and then direct and supervise the teams to meet timelines
- Train staff and supervisors as necessary to perform efficiently and effectively and within the guidelines required. This includes training and providing orientation regarding Food Safety and WorksafeBC
- Keep track of time spent packing and create labour reports, ensuring that packing targets and labour budgets are being met
- Maintain compliance with all company policies and procedures, including government programs such as Food Safety, WorksafeBC, Temporary Foreign Workers program, etc.
- Assist in reviewing workers’ performance to evaluate the quality, and quantity and preparing performance evaluation reports
- Work with Human Resources and Operations manager to develop and execute a plan for any worker not meeting standards, including training and/or disciplinary action
- Detect inefficient or unsafe work procedures or problems and initiate corrective actions as necessary
- Assist in finding ways to improve packing procedures and efficiency (decrease time it takes to pack)
- Daily approval of timesheets (in Payworks) for all packing positions or weekly approval of contractor timesheets (to be submitted to admin by Monday AM)

**Communication**:

- Attend weekly and daily communication meetings inside the company, including with sales (agency), growers, and operations management
- Daily communication with Grower Liaison (Sunset) regarding pack requests
- Relaying quality issues to individual staff and upper management when issues come up
- Relaying issues with sales orders to Operations Manager and marketing agencies
- When repairs or maintenance is required on packing machinery, communicate needs and coordinate repairs with the Operations Manager
- Communicate with responsible manager when orders for more materials, fertilizers or supplies are needed

**General Duties**:

- Maintaining cleanliness and order in packing and shipping area
- Daily walk through of warehouse with Food Safety checklist, daily inspections, forklift forms
- Fill foot baths as needed (weekly) and hand sanitizer
- Ensure rodent traps are in correct place and checked weekly
- Assisting management with projects and priorities, particularly in off-season when shipping and receiving activities are at a minimum

**General Maintenance**:

- Monitoring and maintaining packaging equipment and problem-solving or repairing when needed. Try to complete all repairs and maintenance before calling a tradesperson
- Maintenance documentation (log book) and preventative maintenance measures
- Scale Calibrations are completed when scheduled
- Spare Parts are in stock at the start of the season for quick repairs during the season

**Food Safety**:

- Ensure Food Safety Program procedures are followed in the warehouse; complete all forms
- Participate in Food Safety Audits

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