The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Assessment of this unit should include demonstrated competence on actual plant and equipment in a work environment. The unit will be assessed in as holistic a manner as is practical and may be integrated with the assessment of other relevant units of competency. Assessment will occur over a range of situations, which will include disruptions to normal, smooth operation.

Simulation may be required to allow for assessment of parts of this unit. Simulation should be based on the actual plant and will include walk-throughs of the relevant competency components. Simulations may also include the use of case studies/scenarios, role plays and 3D virtual reality interactive systems. In the case of evacuation training or training for competencies practised in life threatening situations, simulation may be used for the bulk of the training.

This unit of competency requires an application of the knowledge contained in the use of pumps and their integral equipment, to the level needed to maintain control and recognise and resolve problems. This can be assessed through questioning and the use of what-if scenarios both on the plant (during demonstration of normal operations and walk-throughs of abnormal operations) and off the plant.

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

Competence must be demonstrated in the ability to recognise and analyse potential situations requiring action and then in implementing appropriate corrective action. The emphasis should be on the ability to stay out of trouble rather than on recovery from a disaster.

Consistent performance should be demonstrated. In particular look to see that:

early warning signs of equipment/processes needing attention or with potential problems are recognised

the range of possible causes can be identified and analysed and the most likely cause determined

appropriate action is taken to ensure a timely return to full performance

obvious problems in related plant areas are recognised and an appropriate contribution made to their solution.

These aspects may be best assessed using a range of scenarios/case studies/what-ifs as the stimulus with a walk through forming part of the response. These assessment activities should include a range of problems, including new, unusual and improbable situations, which may have been generated from the past incident history of pump, incidents on similar pumps around the world, hazard analysis activities and similar sources.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

As a general rule assessment will require access to an operating an operating pump system over an extended period of time, or a suitable method of gathering evidence of operating competence over a range of situations. A bank of scenarios/case studies/what-ifs will be required as will a bank of questions which will be used to probe the reasoning behind the observable actions.

Method of assessment

In all plants it may be appropriate to assess this unit concurrently with relevant teamwork and communication units.

Guidance information for assessment

Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate and appropriate to the oracy, language and literacy capacity of the assessee and the work being performed.

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

Required skills

Competence includes the ability to and be able to distinguish between causes of problems/alarms/fault indications such as:

instrument failure malfunction

electrical failure malfunction

mechanical failure malfunction

equipment design deficiencies

product parameters (temperature, viscosity, purity)

fouling or contamination, eg filters, exchangers, seal system, lubrication

cavitation

overheating (bearings, casing etc)

overload.

Required knowledge

The knowledge referred to in the Evidence Guide for this unit includes:

all items on a schematic of the pump system and the function of each

pumping system/equipment operating parameters

sampling and testing techniques

equipment terminology

plant or field layout or geography

safety systems and procedures

fault finding and troubleshooting techniques

job hazard analysis.

principles of operation of pump, ancillaries and components

physics and chemistry relevant to the pump, ancillaries and the materials processed

process parameters and limits, eg temperature, pressure, flow, pH

duty of care obligations

hierarchy of control

communication protocols, eg radio, phone, computer, paper, permissions/authorities

relevant alarms and actions

plant process idiosyncrasies

correct methods of starting, stopping, operating and controlling process

corrective action appropriate to the problem cause

function and troubleshooting of major components and their problems

types and causes of problems within operator's scope of skill level and responsibility.

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. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs if the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.

Codes of practice/ standards

Where reference is made to industry codes of practice, and/or Australian/international standards, the latest version must be used.

Context

This unit of competency includes all such items of equipment and unit operations which form part of the pumping system. For your plant this may include (select relevant items):

beam pumps

electrical submersible pumps

jet pumps

centrifugal pumps

positive displacement pumps, eg reciprocating pumps

various drivers (diesel engine, electric motor, steam turbine etc)

instrumentation

filters.

Typical problems

Typical problems for your plant may include:

variation in feed

vibration

control of level, temperature, pressure and flow

blockages

overheating

overloading.

Health, safety and environment (HSE)

All operations to which this unit applies are subject to stringent health, safety and environment requirements, which may be imposed through State or Federal legislation, and these must not be compromised at any time. Where there is an apparent conflict between Performance Criteria and HSE requirements, the HSE requirements take precedence.