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Elements and Performance Criteria

  1. Prepare for sharpening
  2. Assess condition and set up knives and assemblies
  3. Sharpen knives and blades

Required Skills

This describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level required for this unit

Required skills

Technical skills sufficient to use and maintain relevant tools machinery and equipment carry out prestartup checks efficiently and safely hand sharpen knives and blades

Communication skills sufficient to use appropriate communication and interpersonal techniques with colleagues and others

Literacy skills sufficient to follow legislation regulations standards codes of practice and established safe practices and procedures for hand sharpening knives and blades record and report workplace information maintain documentation

Numeracy skills sufficient to measure estimate and calculate time required to complete a task

Problem solving skills sufficient to identify problems and equipment faults demonstrate appropriate response procedures

Required knowledge

Applicable commonwealth state or territory legislation regulations standards codes of practice and established safe practices relevant to the full range of processes for hand sharpening knives and blades

Environmental protection requirements including the safe disposal of waste material the cleaning of plant tools and equipment and the minimisation of carbon emissions

Organisational and site standards requirements policies and procedures for hand sharpening knives and blades

Environmental risks and hazards

Characteristics of metal knives and blades

Sharpening methods and geometry

Manual sharpening equipment

Established communication channels and protocols

Problem identification and resolution strategies and common fault finding techniques

Types of tools and equipment and procedures for their safe use and maintenance

Appropriate mathematical procedures for estimating and measuring including calculating time to complete tasks

Procedures for recording and reporting workplace records and information

Evidence Required

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria required skills and knowledge range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package

Overview of assessment

A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to provide evidence that they can safely and efficiently hand sharpen knives and blades in line with organisational requirements

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

The evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy all of the requirements of the elements of this unit and include demonstration of

following applicable commonwealth state or territory legislative and regulatory requirements and codes of practice relevant to hand sharpening knives and blades

following organisational policies and procedures relevant to hand sharpening knives and blades

hand sharpening knives and blades in line with the work order and prescribed organisational requirements

removing and replacing knives and blades from equipment

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Competency is to be assessed in the workplace or realistically simulated workplace

Assessment is to occur under standard and authorised work practices safety requirements and environmental constraints

Assessment of required knowledge other than confirmatory questions will usually be conducted in an offsite context

Assessment is to follow relevant regulatory or Australian Standards requirements

The following resources should be made available

workplace location or simulated workplace

materials and equipment relevant to undertaking work applicable to this unit

specifications and work instructions

Method of assessment

Assessment must satisfy the endorsed Assessment Guidelines of the FPI Training Package

Assessment must satisfy the endorsed Assessment Guidelines of the FPI11 Training Package

Assessment methods must confirm consistency and accuracy of performance over time and in a range of workplace relevant contexts together with application of required knowledge

Assessment must be by direct observation of tasks with questioning on required knowledge and it must also reinforce the integration of employability skills

Assessment methods must confirm the ability to access and correctly interpret and apply the required knowledge

Assessment may be applied under projectrelated conditions real or simulated and require evidence of process

Assessment must confirm a reasonable inference that competency is able not only to be satisfied under the particular circumstance but is able to be transferred to other circumstances

Assessment may be in conjunction with assessment of other units of competency

The assessment environment should not disadvantage the candidate

Assessment practices should take into account any relevant language or cultural issues related to Aboriginality gender or language backgrounds other than English

Where the participant has a disability reasonable adjustment may be applied during assessment

Language and literacy demands of the assessment task should not be higher than those of the work role


Range Statement

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

OHS requirements:

are to be in line with applicable commonwealth, state or territory legislation and regulations, and organisational safety policies and procedures, and may include:

personal protective equipment and clothing

safety equipment

first aid equipment

fire fighting equipment

hazard and risk control

fatigue management

elimination of hazardous materials and substances

safe forest practices, including required actions relating to forest fire

manual handling including shifting, lifting and carrying

Environmental requirements may include:

legislation

organisational policies and procedures

workplace practices

Legislative requirements:

are to be in line with applicable commonwealth, state or territory legislation, regulations, certification requirements and codes of practice and may include:

award and enterprise agreements

industrial relations

Australian Standards

confidentiality and privacy

OHS

the environment

equal opportunity

anti-discrimination

relevant industry codes of practice

duty of care

Organisational requirements may include:

legal

organisational and site guidelines

policies and procedures relating to own role and responsibility

quality assurance

procedural manuals

quality and continuous improvement processes and standards

OHS, emergency and evacuation procedures

ethical standards

recording and reporting requirements

equipment use, maintenance and storage requirements

environmental management requirements (waste minimisation and disposal, recycling and re-use guidelines)

Work order is to include:

instructions for the hand sharpening of knives and blades in designated equipment

and may also include:

instructions for the environmental monitoring of work and procedures

environmental care requirements relevant to the work

Appropriate personnel may include:

supervisors

suppliers

clients

colleagues

managers

Knives and blades may include:

saw blades

planer blades

thicknesser blades

spindle moulder knives

all other production equipment with knives or blades

Sharpening is to include:

pitch

depth of cut

speed the knife or blade is sharpened at to obtain a sharp edge

Equipment is to include:

procedures for equipment lock-out, such as protecting operators and co-workers from accidental injury by isolating the machine from the power source

and may include:

manual sharpening equipment

Communication may include:

verbal and non-verbal language

constructive feedback

active listening

questioning to clarify and confirm understanding

use of positive, confident and cooperative language

use of language and concepts appropriate to individual social and cultural differences

control of tone of voice

Cutting performance

is how sharp the knife or blade is relevant to the material being cut

Knife holders

are the assemblies that house the knives in a cutting head or similar device

Pre-startup checks

are conducted to ensure:

machine has been set up correctly

systems are performing accurately

machine is operating to optimum performance

Defects may include cutting edges with:

burrs

burns

chips

splits

dents

Dealing with may include:

recycling knives or blades unable to be repaired by sharpening

sending knives or blades unable to be repaired by sharpening to landfill

Geometry

is the pitch and angle that a knife or blade is sharpened at, allowing for the device that the knife or blade is in and the material it will be cutting

Manual sharpening equipment may include:

files (round, triangular, square and flat)

honing tools

saw sets

Attachments may include:

blade holders with or without clamps

saw vices

Burrs

are fine raised flaps of metal curling backwards as a result of the sharpening process

Honing:

involves using a flat emery stone to remove burrs and to achieve a crisp sharp cutting edge

Records and reports may include:

knife or blade type and size

inspection and work outcomes

storage locations

quality outcomes

hazards

incidents

equipment malfunctions

and may be:

manual

a computer-based system

other appropriate organisational communication system