Assessor Resource

MSS015004A
Design sustainable product or process

Assessment tool

Version 1.0
Issue Date: April 2024


This unit applies to the design/redesign of processes and their associated products as appropriate to achieve optimal sustainability outcomes. The unit does not supply the technical competence for design of a particular product or process. It is anticipated that this unit would be undertaken in conjunction with appropriate technical design and technical supporting units which because of the variety of manufactured products and the varying technical skill required for their design are unable to be specified.

This unit applies inside organisations and their value chains. The unit has been developed with manufacturing operations as a focus. However, because of the range of organisations in a typical manufacturing value chain it may also be applied to other types of organisations.

This unit would typically be undertaken by a manager or technical specialist who had a major responsibility for sustainability as part of a broader work role, or sustainability may be their primary work responsibility. The manager or technical specialist may undertake this alone or as part of a team.

The technical measurement of operational performance or measurement of emissions or other environmental impact is not covered by this unit. Specific units covering these and similar aspects are contained within the MSS40211 Certificate IV in Environmental Monitoring and Technology.

This unit of competency covers the ability to redesign an existing, or design a new, product or process to achieve optimal sustainability outcomes

This unit does not cover analysing product life cycle which is covered by MSS015003A Analyse product life cycle for sustainability.

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

Prerequisites

Not applicable.

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.

Overview of assessment

A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to design products and associated processes to achieve optimal sustainability outcomes over the product life cycle.

The assessment emphasis is on the ability to design for sustainability not on the engineering or other technical aspects of the design process.

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

Assessors must be satisfied that the candidate can competently and consistently apply the skills covered in this unit of competency in new and different situations and contexts. Critical aspects of assessment and evidence include:

including sustainability in definition of product requirements

design optimises the sustainability outcomes over product life cycle or process

design includes means of monitoring sustainability outcomes over product life cycle or process.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or a simulated workplace environment.

Assessment should emphasise a workplace context and procedures found in the candidate’s workplace.

This unit of competency may be assessed with other relevant units addressing sustainability at the enterprise level or other units requiring the exercise of the skills and knowledge covered by this unit.

The competencies covered by this unit would be demonstrated by an individual working alone or as part of a team.

Method of assessment

In all cases, practical assessment should be supported by questions to assess underpinning knowledge and those aspects of competency which are difficult to assess directly.

Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability.

The language, literacy and numeracy demands of assessment should not be greater than those required to undertake the unit of competency in a work-like environment.

Guidance information for assessment

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 knowledge includes:

sustainability impacts from using different materials and different processes and to produce products of different specifications and life cycle outcomes

alternative sources of materials and components and the sustainability differences of each

alternative processes and the sustainability differences of each, including expression in terms of carbon equivalence

product and process design

design documentation

methods of monitoring of product development and manufacture

AS/NZS ISO 14000 Environmental Management Standards

Required skills include:

communicating complex concepts and designs to stakeholders

consulting and negotiating with stakeholders on possible alternatives

analysing processes, logistics, material usages, costs and benefits, including expressing the results of analyses in carbon equivalence

life cycle estimation

determining sustainability impacts from material/components and process interactions

designing products and manufacturing processes for optimal sustainability outcome

Parameters of new product

Parameters of new product may include:

function

form

market

desired sustainability performance

cost

Sustainability impact

The sustainability impact of a product and process may include:

resource footprint (e.g. carbon and water) of product and process

current and future availability of raw materials

current and future availability of energy

waste generation and disposal

efficiency of process

the extent to which the production process and product affects the environment, including effects on:

climate

quality of local air and water

ecology

noise

relationship with the local and broader community, (e.g. effect of operations on aesthetic appearance, preservation of heritage, and proximity to schools and religious facilities)

extent of regulatory oversight and cost of compliance

Resource

Resource includes:

both materials and energy

Review design

Review design includes:

ensuring product and process meets requirements

analysis to identify further improvements

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
Consult with relevant stakeholders to determine required function, performance and aesthetics of new product 
Identify market, expected time to market and cost constraints of product and production process 
Identify requirements with possible high sustainability impacts 
Negotiate requirements to achieve desired sustainability impacts 
Develop agreed definition of product requirements 
Identify alternative resource requirements 
Identify alternative processes 
Determine the possible sustainability impacts of different combinations of resources and processes 
Test alternative product and process designs against original product requirement definitions 
Identify product requirements which may be causing significant sustainability impacts 
Renegotiate, where possible, product requirements to lessen sustainability impacts 
Short-list preferred resources and processes 
Estimate life cycle sustainability impacts for each short-listed alternative 
Identify process steps with greatest sustainability impact 
Evaluate process steps for alternatives/modifications with lower impact 
Select alternative which best meets requirements and has the lowest sustainability impact 
Develop selected design as required 
Confirm life cycle sustainability impacts 
Review design against product requirements 
Obtain required authorisations 
Document design in the required form 
Consult with key stakeholders 
Identify key measures for monitoring implementation of design 
Identify data sources required by key measures 
Organise for data to be captured and manipulated, as required 

Forms

Assessment Cover Sheet

MSS015004A - Design sustainable product or process
Assessment task 1: [title]

Student name:

Student ID:

I declare that the assessment tasks submitted for this unit are my own work.

Student signature:

Result: Competent Not yet competent

Feedback to student

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:

Assessment Record Sheet

MSS015004A - Design sustainable product or process

Student name:

Student ID:

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

(add lines for each task)

Feedback to student:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall assessment result: Competent Not yet competent

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:

Student signature:

Date: