1. Program and direct work practices within functional area
   • Ensure that personnel follow all relevant procedures, regulations and standards
   • Confirm that all technical work is performed in accordance with relevant standards, SOPs and schedules
   • Ensure that analytical results/data are checked, collated and distributed in accordance with enterprise requirements
   • Monitor testing and sampling procedures for quality control in accordance with enterprise requirements
   • Identify and resolve complex problems by using agreed problem solving strategies and acting to prevent their recurrence
2. Manage personnel within work area
   • Develop and coordinate rosters to balance job requirements, laboratory efficiency and skill development opportunities
   • Empower work groups/teams in dealing with technical and work flow problems and suggesting improvements
   • Provide coaching and mentoring to support personnel who have difficulties with meeting targets for performance and/or resource usage
   • Establish and maintain effective communication with all personnel and clients to ensure smooth and efficient operations
3. Establish resource requirements and operating budgets
   • Collect and analyse available resource information in consultation with appropriate personnel
   • Prepare operational plans which make the best use of available resources, taking into account client needs and enterprise plans
   • Identify and analyse possible variances due to external/internal factors and prepare contingency plans
   • Compile operating budgets as required
4. Procure resources to achieve operational plans
   • Analyse resource requirements and sources of supply in terms of suitability, cost, quality and availability
   • Select and purchase new materials and equipment in accordance with enterprise procedures
   • Coordinate stocktaking of materials and equipment to ensure maintenance of stock at prescribed levels
   • Ensure that personnel are competent to perform required tasks and organise training if required
   • Arrange for the recruitment and induction of personnel as appropriate
5. Arrange for the recruitment and induction of personnel as appropriate
   • Monitor the relationship between budget and actual performance to foresee problems
   • Analyse variations in budget performance and either report or rectify abnormal/sub-optimal performance
   • Negotiate with designated personnel and seek approval for variations to operational plans as required
   • Assess utilisation of plant, equipment and consumables and compare with planned usage
   • Rectify sub-optimal utilisation of plant, equipment and consumables
   • Program and arrange for maintenance of plant and equipment in accordance with enterprise maintenance schedules
   • Maintain systems, procedures and records associated with resource usage in accordance with enterprise requirements.

The Evidence Guide describes the underpinning knowledge and skills that must be demonstrated to prove competence

Critical aspects of competency

Competency must be demonstrated in the ability to perform consistently at the required standard Candidates must be able to supervise laboratory operations and personnel so that planned outcomes are achieved within agreed resource and budget parameters without compromising safety quality and ethics In particular the assessor should look to see that the candidate

collects analyses and reports information for enterprise operational plans budgets and performance management

organises and optimises the use of resources within agreed parameters to achieve planned outcomes

revises plans to take account of the unexpected

makes decisions within limits of responsibility and authority

ensures that legislation statutory and enterprise requirements are met in work operations

monitors outputs analyses processes and introduces ways to improve operations

uses effective consultative processes

promotes a learning environment for personnel in immediate work area

motivates and counsels personnel to improve performance

Underpinning knowledge

The candidate requires sufficient knowledge of the enterprises business strategic and operational plans and key performance indicators laboratory services and enterprise products services and customers to be able to supervise laboratory operations within a work or functional area

Competency includes the ability to apply and explain

legislation codes standards and registration criteria relevant to the work area or function

principles of budgeting operational planning and efficient resource use

workplace industrial agreements and regulations dealing with hygiene dress and behaviour of employees

SOPs and the technical details of sampling testing equipment and instrumentation within the work area

problem solving techniques and contingency planning

broad trends in production data for example seasonal annual

auditing procedures

team leadership and development techniques

mentoring and coaching techniques

relevant health safety and environment requirements

An awareness of the laboratorys business goals and key performance indicators is also required as a basis for decision making and actions

Specific industry

Additional knowledge requirements may apply for different industry sectors For example

Biomedical and environmental

Access information from sources such as relevant Federal and State Acts Environmental Protection Agency National Pathology Accreditation Advisory Council NPAAC and National Health and Medical Research Council NHMRC

Food processing

Food Chemicals Codex AOAC Methods of Analysis

Assessment context and methods

This unit of competency should be assessed in a laboratory environment that either meets Australian Standards for working laboratories or is accredited by NATA or the Royal College of Pathology as appropriate

Because of the comprehensive nature of this unit and the need to integrate a wide range of knowledge and skills the assessment timeframe must allow for adequate assessment over a planning cycle and address a range of nonroutine problems

The following assessment methods are suggested

direct observation of the candidates interactions with personnel

review of reports from subordinates peers managers and customers

review of reports operational budgets and plans generated by the candidate

review of performance reports for the candidates work area

review of documented examples of quality performance improvements achieved and examples of significant problems solved

simulationsrole plays to assess situations which are critical but did not arise during the negotiated assessment period

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 Questioning techniques should suit the language and literacy levels of the candidate

Interdependent assessment of unit

This unit of competency may be assessed with

PMLOHSA Implement and monitor OHS and environmental management systems

PMLOHS601A Implement and monitor OHS and environmental management systems

PMLTEAMB Manage and develop teams

PMLTEAM600B Manage and develop teams

PMLORGB Maintain registration and statutory or legal compliance in workfunctional area

PMLORG601B Maintain registration and statutory or legal compliance in work/functional area.

Resource implications

Resources may include

laboratory equipped with appropriate services equipment instruments and consumables

relevant enterprise policies procedures operational reports financial reports and stock records

technical manuals SOPs quality manuals

This competency in practice

Manufacturing

A laboratory supervisor analysed the costs of regular heavy metal testing of the wastewater stream leaving the companys plant Heshe compared these costs with a quotation from an external environmental consulting company and noted that it would be more cost effective to outsource the current level of testing However the supervisor argued that the company should retain this capability in house given the impact of impending legislation which will require it to develop an Environmental Management Plan and introduce more complex monitoring Heshe demonstrated that it would benefit the company more in the long run if they recruited one new technician retrained existing laboratory staff and continued to perform all wastewater testing on site

Food processing

A technical officer had to complete a wide range of chemical analyses that required samples to be ignited for many hours in a muffler furnace digested with acid prepared for analysis by atomic absorption spectroscopy and gas chromatography GC and titrated against standard solutions The laboratory supervisor noticed that the number of analyses performed each day by the technician tended to fluctuate widely without an obvious cause Closer observation showed that the technicians efficiency was dependent on the order in which the analyses were begun and the use of the auto sampler for overnight operation of the GC

The supervisor suggested several ways to improve the technicians time management The supervisor installed a timer on the muffler furnace so that it could be operated overnight and organised the technician to perform labour intensive tasks after automated analyses had been initiated The supervisor then showed the technician the optimum order to perform individual tasks and verified that his instructions were followed over succeeding weeks The supervisors actions significantly improved the productivity of the laboratory Later it became obvious that the technicians time management system was not working as effectively as it had Again the supervisor monitored the technicians work and realised that since the daily analytical load was seasonal a second management system had to be developed that was dedicated to the new season Both systems were sufficiently flexible to take account of short term fluctuations in workload In summary the organisational skills of the supervisor and technicians ability to follow detailed instructions resulted in a more efficient use of company time labour and resources

Key Competencies

The seven key competencies represent generic skills considered for effective work participation The bracketed numbering against each of the key competencies indicates the performance level required in this unit These are standalone levels and do not correspond to levels in the Australian Qualifications Framework AQF

Level represents the competence to undertake tasks effectively

Level represents the competence to manage tasks

Level represents the competence to use concepts for evaluating and reshaping tasks

The range of variables relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that will affect performance.