Required skills

Required skills include

maintaining and controlling stocks or materials and equipment

ordering and receiving materials and equipment

maintaining stock records

maintaining a safe work environment

Required knowledge

Required knowledge includes

technical terminology relating to ordering and storage of stocks

laboratory stock product and service information

types of chemical reactions and rationale for recommended storage systems

enterprise procedures and quality system requirements for stock control

codes of practice and regulations concerning the handling storage and transport of the stock involved

relevant health safety and environment requirements

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

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

Assessors should ensure that candidates can

confirm customer requirements with senior personnel where there is doubt

access online databases andor catalogues efficiently

interpret labelling information lot number batch and date and MSDS correctly

apply procedures for safe handling storage and transport of stocks

use required safety and manual handling equipment and procedures

perform quality controlsampling and testing and rotate stock in accordance with SOPs

follow workplace procedures for predicting andor determining demand for stock

maintain stock at prescribed levels for their work area through regular inspections timely ordering of replacement items and followup of late orders

cope with peak and seasonal variations in stock usage and production conditions

follow workplace procedures for researching ordering and receipt of stock

complete and record all documentation accurately

demonstrate effective and appropriate communication and interpersonal skills when dealing with customers and suppliers

Context of and specific resources for assessment

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

This unit of competency may be assessed with

MSLA Maintain instruments and equipment

MSL935004A Maintain instruments and equipment.

Resources may include

stocks of materials and equipment

stock order forms and documentation

sampling and testing equipment

Method of assessment

The following assessment methods are suggested

review of documentation for orders prepared by the candidate

examination of stock records maintained by the candidate

observation of the candidate handling stock and conducting quality control sampling and testing

feedback from the laboratory manager quality manager customer service manager supervisor customers and peers

explanation by the candidate of the labelling and storage requirements of a selection of stock items

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

Access must be provided to appropriate learning andor assessment support when required

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

This competency in practice

Industry representatives have provided the case studies below to illustrate the practical application of this unit of competency and to show its relevance in a workplace setting

Biotechnology

A technical officer arrived at work on Monday morning and discovered that the freezer had been turned off over the weekend and the restriction nucleases had thawed These enzymes were to be used that morning The technician needed to check the enzyme activity to determine whether the enzymes had been denatured by the rise in temperature The technician quickly set up a digestion mix of affected enzyme with some viral DNA of known sequence The digest produced DNA fragments of expected length showing the enzyme still had activity The technician reported the incident along with the results to the supervisor who decided that the enzymes could be used for that day

Manufacturing

Neglected chemicals may deteriorate on the shelf and turn into a completely different entity Not only can this change in identity damage a chemical manufacturing process it can also present an immediate hazard For example this occurred in a storeroom where stored ether built up high levels of peroxides When it was used in an extraction process to make a starting material in a manufacturing process the peroxides were concentrated and exploded The company was fortunate that loss of life didnt occur The company revised enterprise procedures to ensure that in the future redundant or outdated stocks are identified and removed

Food processing

The staff in a confectionary company laboratory use enzyme based methods to routinely analyse sugars glucose fructose sucrose and lactose in products Although the enzymes are stored as directed by the manufacturer typically at C in the dark they do not retain their activity indefinitely To avoid using inactive enzyme in an analytical procedure and obtaining a reduced or false negative result several features of each enzyme preparation are routinely noted These include the date of purchase the number of times the enzyme has been thawed and refrozen and its initial activity Periodically the enzyme activity is verified and stock is discarded where its activity has fallen to a less than acceptable value These practices ensure that the analytical methods that use enzymes are performed with functional reagents and give accurate results

Codes of practice

Standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements

Workplace procedures

Records

Communication

Hazards

Safety procedures

Occupational health and safety (OHS) and environmental management requirements