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Elements and Performance Criteria

  1. Prepare for drying
  2. Load and control kiln conditions
  3. Unload kiln and process softwood

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 efficiently and safely dry softwood

Communication skills and interpersonal techniques sufficient to interact appropriately with colleagues and others in the workplace

Literacy skills sufficient to accurately record and report workplace information and maintain documentation

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

Problem solving skills sufficient to identify problems and equipment faults and 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 drying softwood

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

Organisational and site standards requirements policies and procedures for drying softwood

Environmental risks and hazards

Using energy effectively and efficiently

Drying techniques

Kiln operation procedures

Methods of visual inspection

Characteristics of softwood

Distribution processes

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 operation and maintenance

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

Procedures for recording and reporting workplace 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 dry softwood 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 drying softwood

following organisational policies and procedures relevant to drying softwood

drying softwood in readiness for storage andor processing

conducting kiln operations

redistributing timber on site using designated 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

machine isolation and guarding

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 and maintenance and storage requirements

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

Work order is to include:

instructions for the drying of softwood

and may include:

species

colour

type

width

length

thickness

quantity

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

Softwood

is non-pored wood, usually comes from trees with needle like foliage and has a more uniform cell structure native timber species

and may include:

imported timber species

dressed timber

in-the-rough timber

preservative treated timber

Drying

is the process of:

placing timber in a heat controlled kiln to dry high levels of moisture from timber causing cell collapse

followed by humidity generation to recondition timber to its former shape and desired EMC

Conversion process is to include:

sawing logs into flitches

converting flitches into green boards

Equipment may include:

conventional, high temperature, very high temperature and extremely high temperature kilns and vacuum dryers of 60 to 150 degrees Celsius or higher with a heat source that may be steam, hot oil or gas

and 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

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

body language

Visually assessed

is the assessment of materials to determine finish quality and faults

and may include:

stability

spacing of strips

support to minimise warping

Moisture content

is the amount of moisture maintained in timber or timber products after drying to avoid cracking and deforming

and may include:

testing for capacitance

resistance

oven dry conditions

Pre start-up checks

are conducted to ensure:

equipment has been set-up correctly

systems are performing accurately

equipment is operating to optimum performance

Emergency shut down

is the immediate shutting off of the equipment to prevent an accident or prevent damage to the machine or product

Kiln

refer to equipment

Baffles and blankets

assist in the drying process by controlling moisture

Drying schedule

is the drying times based on moisture content

Drying end point

is the predicted time when the drying process will be completed and the desired moisture content achieved

Equilibrium moisture content (EMC)

is the moisture level to be achieved by drying which will be sustainable in the environment after processing thereby retaining its shape and strength without excessive movement

Moisture probes

are probes pierced into random boards which provide moisture readings on the kiln gauges to assist in modifying the drying schedule

On-site movement of material may include:

the use of:

conveyor belt systems

track systems

lifting equipment such as:

fork lifts

slings

trolley jacks

gantry cranes

loaders

assistance with lifting such as:

the involvement of two or more personnel to lift materials manually or to guide the movement of mechanical equipment

Storage may include:

storage racks

storage bays

bins

stacks

pallet boxes

modularised storage components

temporary stacking bays (stand, frame or ground)

and may be divided into:

standard product classification

product designation

size

dimension

stack number

weight

grade

shelf life

stock rotation position

Disposing of may include:

recycling sub-standard material

re-using sub-standard material

Records and reports may include:

drying requirements

product type

size

inspection

grading and labelling outcomes

storage locations

quality outcomes

hazards

incidents

equipment malfunctions

and may be:

manual

using a computer-based system or other appropriate organisational communication system