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.

Typically this unit will be assessed by a project aimed at improving the efficiency of use of utilities. It may not be appropriate to wait until implementation of change (in Element 4) is complete, and it is acceptable to assess from the plans for implementation.

This unit of competency requires a significant body of knowledge which will 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 undertake a structured analysis of the use of utilities and to justify the recommendations for improvement based on the data.

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

plant data is obtained in a manner which does not interfere with production

plant drawings (eg P&IDs) and engineering specifications are interpreted correctly

health, safety and environmental implications of any changes are identified and addressed, by applying the hierarchy of control, prior to any changes being implemented

priorities for action consider all relevant factors such as plant key performance indicators, health, safety and environmental implications, simple, quick solutions versus those requiring a capital project, and other relevant business factors.

This will typically be assessed by one or more utilities improvement projects on an operating plant. One complex project, or a number of simple projects, are required to demonstrate competence.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment will require access to an operating plant over an extended period of time, or a suitable method of gathering evidence of operating ability 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.

It may be appropriate to co-assess this unit with

PMAOPS511B Determine energy transfer loads

PMAOPS512B Determine mass transfer loads.

However, these are not prerequisites or co-requisites as there are other ways of obtaining the data.

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

Ability to:

identify all utility consuming items on a schematic of the plant, describe the function of each and the purpose of the utility supplied

describe the nature/condition of the utility entering and leaving each stage of the process, the changes which have occurred in that stage and why they have occurred

describe the causes and remedies of common problems in the use of each utility used.

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

poor/inappropriate quality supply of utility

equipment failure, eg faulty steam trap, fouled heat exchanger

operational problem (inappropriate usage pattern of utility).

Required knowledge

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

schematics and flow diagrams for the utilities distribution system

usage of utilities by plants and equipment

sources of utilities

utility properties

requirements for utilities, properties, usage patterns, supply

efficiencies and usage at the plant or equipment

Competence includes an understanding of the utility usage of the plant and its equipment. It also requires an understanding of each utility used and how its use may be more or less efficient.

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 of 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 use utilities.

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.