A mashgiach (Hebrew: משגיח‎, lit. "supervisor"; pl. משגיחים‎, mashgichim) is a Jew who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment. A mashgiach may supervise any type of food service establishment, including slaughterhouses, food manufacturers, hotels, caterers, nursing homes, restaurants, butchers, groceries, or cooperatives. The mashgiach usually works as the on-site supervisor and inspector, representing a kosher certification agency or a local rabbi, who actually makes the policy decisions for what is or is not acceptably kosher. Sometimes the certifying rabbi (רב המכשיר, Rav Hamachshir) acts as his own mashgiach; such is the case in many small communities.