Spotlight on a career as a Technical Trainer
Day in the life of…
Faye Louch
Faye Louch is OAL Connected’s Technical Trainer. She has over 20 years’ experience in a variety of technical and quality control roles within the food industry.
My alarm goes off…
At 6am, although I am usually already awake thinking about the day ahead. I get up and have breakfast, and when I am at home, I say morning to the hubby and dog. Before leaving for work, I hide some treats around the house for the dog and put the radio on for him before setting off for another busy day at work. I will also usually give my son a quick call to check in with him and how he is getting on at uni.
I’m responsible for…
The training and health check audits of our label and date code verification systems in the field. The systems work by scanning every pack and comparing it to the pre-entered job information on the master database to make sure that the right packaging, label and date code is on the right product to prevent product recalls and emergency product withdrawals. The system can be perceived as quite complex, so my job is to train the users to make the most of it and ensure that we provide them with maximum protection.
I got the job…
After my son went off to university and I decided to take stock of what I wanted to do. While considering my options, I saw the job at OAL and applied. As I’m not an engineer, I didn’t think I would get it. However, OAL really valued my 20 years’ experience in the food industry, working in various roles from operator and section manager on production, to QA manager in a factory and technical system quality manager. I think it also helped that I enjoy systems and understand customer codes of practice (COP)!
I have to admit to being a little nervous when I first started at OAL but everyone is so friendly; it’s like a big family! We all pitch in and help each other, which is one of the things I love about working here.
My typical day…
Involves helping our customers to understand the information they input to the supervisory area of our system and how this data is translated and appears on the touchscreen that operators use on the factory floor. This screen offers all of the information they need and links to printers and scanners so they no longer need to set up printers by manually inputting the dates – this is where things can go wrong!
The other part of my job is visiting all of our sites that have our system and carrying out a health audit. This is like a check up on the system to ensure that it’s still functioning correctly post-installation. I also check it against OAL and customer COPs to ensure the system is compliant. If a COP has changed, I highlight any parts of the system that are no longer compliant so that fixes can be developed to ensure that the system is the best it can be for our customers. I also challenge test the system and look for ways to improve it.
My most memorable moment…
Was when we had the pleasure of BRC (British Retail Consortium) representatives visiting our facility to take them through our label and date code verification systems. After reviewing BRC COP issue 8, we had the pleasure of hosting them at our facilities to discuss their recommendations in detail, as well as practical applications. This helps our customers when it comes to audits going forward as the BRC representatives will understand our systems and interpret the standard reasonably.
The worst part of my job is…
Trying to keep on top of my emails, especially when I’m out on-site all day!
The best part of my job is…
That every day is different. I love working with our customers and seeing a job through from set-up to going live. Also, I love it when the operators I work with in the factory are a little reticent about the our systems, yet when you go back six months or a year later, those same operators take pride in it and train others on it – this really make it all worthwhile and is a pleasure to see.
After work…
I like to relax by going walking and once or twice a week I also go Taekwondo. My son is part of the GB Taekwondo Squad, and although he is away at university, I still spend a lot of time taking him training and competitions or train stations! Due to his passion for the sport, I agreed to take part with him rather than just watching. This means that now, I too love the sport and have achieved the level of black belt. I also took the Sports England Level 2 coaching qualification so I’m a qualified coach too!