John O' Connor

Experience

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  Dublin Institute of Technology

  May 2011 - Sept 2011

  Access Service Orientation Programme Student Co-Ordinator

  The DIT Access Service was established in 1999 to assist individuals and communities in overcoming socio-economic barriers to accessing higher education.Dublin Institute of Technology recognises the role of higher education in providing benefits to individuals and communities and is committed to ensuring that people and communities experiencing educational disadvantage are supported in accessing higher education.One of the ways in which DIT does this is via a week long Orientation Programme to help the incoming Access students.I applied for,and successfully obtained the job of Student Co-ordinator to aid the Access Service in making the week a reality.My duties included: • Helped to organise over a number of months the annual DIT Access Service Orientation Programme for over 250 incoming first year students.• Led a team of 15 student leaders throughout the course of the summer and during the OP itself, organising different events and activities.• Created and delivered presentations to the students. Delivered talks to students and parents.• Organised and communicated with external people to arrange different activities.• Constructed and delivered training modules in different areas such as PowerPoint. • Wrote a report on student evaluations of the OP and suggested changes for the following year.• Created a video of the week for promoting the Access Service.• Assisting members of staff at meetings and training students at these meetings.• Acting as co-chair of the Orientation Programme Show less

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  Health Service Executive

  Apr 2012 - Oct 2012

  Student Environmental Health Officer

  Gaining experience in the following areas:•Food Safety: Food safety inspections of various premises types checking compliance with Food Safety legislation, food sampling, reviewing HACCP plans, carried out Food Safety Training, checking requirements for food labelling, traceability, allergens etc.•Environmental Management: Water sampling both Check and Audit samples, checking for compliance with chemical and microbiological criteria. Checking chlorine levels. Reviewing IPPC licences, planning applications etc.•Public Health: Carried out Pre-School Inspections, investigated Public Health complaints and nuisances, carried out tobacco control inspections, pest control complaints, cosmetics sampling•Built Environment: Carried out housing inspections for public and social housing applications, reviewed planning applications, reviewed Environmental Impact Assessments•Health and Safety: Carried out Pre-School Inspections, checking compliance with the Regulations including Fire Safety, Safety Statements etc. For further breakdown see the accompanying Prezi presentation. A portfolio is also available for viewing.Completed Cosmetics Training organised by the Irish Medicines Board and the Health Service Executive, including the following areas:•Regulation 1223/2009•Health effects from chemical contamination•Cosmetics products checks at the ports•Ingredients update e.g. hydrogen peroxide, black henna tattoos, skin lightening products etc.•Public analyst’s lab•Practical application of CosIng databaseCompeted training in the Moving and Handling of Inanimate Loads by the Health Service ExecutiveAttended the All Island Environmental Health Forum co-hosted by the Environmental Health Officers Association of Ireland (EHOA) and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) Northern Ireland Region. It included training in the areas of Food Safety, legislation, Public Health, Port Health, Environmental Management, Health and Safety etc. Show less

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  Dublin Institute of Technology

  May 2013 - Jun 2013

  Take 5 Student Leader

  The Take 5 Summer School is a joint initiative between the Access programmes in Trinity College, University College Dublin, Dublin City University, Dublin Institute of Technology and The National University of Ireland, Maynooth. The summer school is for students in 4th or 5th year. It takes place over 6 days.Each day is spent in a different college, doing taster college activities, attending lectures and workshops and visiting laboratories, taking part in sports and visiting sites around campus. The final day is a celebration evening. For more information regarding my role and the programme itself see the attached Prezi presentation. Show less

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  Rosderra Irish Meats Group

  Nov 2013 - now

  - Ensuring compliance with the site's Industrial Emissions Licence- Managing and maintaining the on-site waste water treatment plant.- Management of site utilities including Air, Water, Thermal, Refrigeration- Energy Management Across the site- Leading Continuous Improvement Project and Energy Savings Initiatives Carrying out daily laboratory testing and completing the required reports.- Liaising with and advising senior management in regards to Environmental, Sustainability & Energy Management obligations- Liaising with the Environmental Protection Agency, Local Authority, SEAI, Bord Bia & other stakeholders as appropriate - Conducting Environmental & Energy Audits - Implementing the site's Environmental & Energy Management Systems- Ensuring budgets are adhered to- Managing the company's commitments to Bord Bia's Origin Green across the Group Show less The following is a list of responsibilities under the RPO role:- Ensuring that all relevant regulations and licence conditions, including radiation safety procedures, are upheld.- Ensuring that Radiation Protection Manual is up to date and all paperwork is being maintained.- Training personnel in Radiation Safety Procedures- Ensuring that radiation surveys and quality assurance tests are carried out, such as regular testing and calibration of monitoring equipment and regular operational checks of safety and warning systems.- Liaising with management,the Radiation Protection Adviser and the EPA-ORP as appropriate on all licensing matters and matters generally relating to radiological protection. - Ensuring the safe keeping of all records required by the conditions of license. Show less - Ensuring compliance with the site's Industrial Emissions Licence- Managing and maintaining the on-site waste water treatment plant.- Carrying out daily laboratory testing and completing the required reports.- Liaising with and advising senior management in regards to Environmental obligations- Liaising with the Environmental Protection Agency, Local Authority and members of the public as appropriate - Conducting Environmental Audits- Implementing the site's Environmental Management System- Participating in company projects and initiatives and ensuring Environmental aspects are taken into consideration- Ensuring budgets are adhered to- Managing the company's commitments to Bord Bia's Origin Green across the site. Show less 12 month Programme based in Edenderry with function related placements on various sites.Stage 1: Pig Farms: 8 weeks (June 2014 - August 2014)Familiarise oneself with the workings, routines, planning and establish a detailed knowledge of all operational practices of the 4 primary areas within the unit; Dry Sow - Farrowing - Weaning - FinishingStage 2: Slaughter Line (August 2014 - March 2015)From intake at the lairage to sticking the pig all the way through the slaughter line to chilling the pig and deboning begins in the boning hall. Part of the training includes developing and in depth knowledge about and becoming competent in carrying out the various jobs on the Slaughter Line. Stage 3: Cut Line and Boning Hall (March 2015 - Present)From chilling to primal breaking on the cut line, all the way through the various primal lines; leg, shoulder, loin and belly. Part of the training includes developing and in depth knowledge about and becoming competent in carrying out the various jobs on the numerous lines throughout the Boning Hall.Another aspect to the role is working on projects related to Lean Manufacturing including JDI (A4) projects, A3 projects and the participation in daily PIT (Performance Issues Targets) Meetings. Other areas of focus include the financial aspect of the company; investments, returns, budgets, yields, gross margins, quality control, food safety, etc.Supervisory experience, of running and managing the various production lines is also combined with the training programmeIncorporated as part of the Programme is the completion of a Third Level Institute Diploma in Management - Level 6 Special Purpose Award from DIT/IBEC Show less Rosderra Irish Meats Group is the largest pork processing company in Ireland. They operate two state-of-the-art slaughtering and processing facilities at Edenderry, Co. Offaly and Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. In addition, we have a Speciality Meat Ingredients facility in Clara, Co. Offaly, a Pork-Curing facility in Jamestown Co. Leitrim, and a Cooked Meats facility in Stradone, Co. Cavan.Areas of experience:• Quality Control:- Pre-operational checks. Verification of cleaning + housekeeping. Temperature checks- Verification checks. – HACCP plan - CCPs, SOPs, metal detection, temperature checks, carcass inspection, product checks to meet customer standards- Admin + paperwork• Lab Technician:- Taking samples for tests to be carried out such as: water sampling, meats samples (e.g. for Salmonella Elisa, Chloramphenicols, Sulphonamides, micro analysis, chemical analysis), swabs taken (of workers hands, surfaces, equipment, carcasses etc)- Carrying out tests: antibiotics, trichinella, various tests on water (chlorine, alkalinity, hardness, etc.) - Preparing and pouring various types of agar plates to be used in lab.- Daily checks; temperature checks. HACCP checks, visual inspections- Pest control inspections- Lab related administration• Trained in the LEAN programme and LEAN thinking. Lean Thinking is a systematic approach to problem solving and removing wastes from a company. Show less

  • Environment & Utilities Manager

    Aug 2022 - now

  • Radiation Protection Officer

    May 2016 - now

  • Environmental Manager & Quality Officer

    Feb 2016 - Aug 2022

  • Quality & Environmental Officer

    Dec 2015 - Feb 2016

  • Graduate Manager

    Jun 2014 - Dec 2015

  • Quality Control/Laboratory Technician

    Nov 2013 - Jun 2014
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  Irish Universities Association

  Apr 2014 - Jun 2014

  HEAR External Screener

  The Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) is a college and universities admissions scheme which offers places at reduced points to school leavers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. All applicants to the HEAR scheme, who have supplied supporting documentation are screened to assess their eligibility for the scheme. HEAR External Screeners are employed to screen the income and social welfare indicators.Principle Duties and Responsibilities:- To review and screen Financial and Department of Social Protection documents, which are submitted as evidence of income and other supporting documents as per the HEAR criteria.- To accurately complete the on-line screening sheets with the relevant assessment data and record the outcome of the application.- Full engagement with all aspects of screening including: o Training o Screening o Quality Assurance & Spot Checks Show less

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  Independant

  Jul 2014 - now

  Licensed Food Safety Trainer

  Currently licensed by the Environmental Health Association of Ireland (EHAI) to deliver their Primary Course in Food Safety.Under E.C. Regulation No. 852 of 2004 food handlers are required to be supervised and instructed and/or trained in hygiene matters. The aim of this course is to provide food workers with adequate training in the basic principles of food safety. The course consists of a minimum of 8 hours tuition followed by an assessment of 1 hour’s duration.On completion of the course successful participants are awarded a certificate from the Environmental Health Association of Ireland.The course is interactive and focuses on the learners and their needs. It comes with Flash Media presentation, DVD, Textbook, Workbook and Materials in Plain English. Show less

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  Irish Universities Association

  Apr 2015 - Aug 2015

  HEAR Team Lead

  The Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) is a college and universities admissions scheme which offers places at reduced points to school leavers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. All applicants to the HEAR scheme, who have supplied supporting documentation are screened to assess their eligibility for the scheme. HEAR External Screeners are employed to screen the income and social welfare indicators.order to establish their eligibility for the scheme. HEAR Team Leads are employed to carry out quality assurance related tasks. This involves auditing of files to determine whether or not the assessor has carried out an accurate assessment and responding to queries that an assessor may have in relation to a file. Where files are found to have been inaccurately assessed, the Team Lead reassesses them. Principle Duties and Responsibilities:• To complete the Quality Assurance of HEAR assessors in accordance with HEAR eligibility criteria. • To accurately complete the on-line query files with the relevant data and record the outcome of the query before returning it to a HEAR assessor. • To undertake the assessment of reallocated files. • To attend Progress Report Meetings on a weekly/bi-weekly basis and provide an update on progress of quality assurance and queries of your assessment team. • To identify inconsistencies in assessment, to communicate this to team members and help them to address the errors or escalate the matter where appropriate. • To undertake Recheck & Appeals related assessment tasks. Show less