Application
This unit of competency specifies the outcomes required to wash furniture and fittings and to present rooms according to client requirements. The unit covers assessing the extent of the cleaning task; identifying the different surface types; selecting and using cleaning techniques and chemicals required for the task; and returning furniture and fittings, including loose items, to their original position.
The unit supports cleaners who work alone or in teams. It applies in a range of commercial and residential settings, including boardrooms, function rooms, hospital wards, offices and private residences.
No licensing, legislative, regulatory, or certification requirements apply to this unit of competency at the time of endorsement.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Elements describe the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the range of conditions. | ||
1. | Plan and prepare. | 1.1. | Condition of furniture and fittings to be cleaned, including surfacetype and soil type, are assessed, job requirements are reviewed, and issues are clarified. |
1.2. | Work site hazards are assessed and risks are controlled according to legislative, company, and health and safety requirements. | ||
1.3. | Cleaning techniques and chemicals that reflect company requirements are selected, and chemicals are prepared. | ||
1.4. | Equipment is selected according to job requirements, checked for serviceability, and faults are rectified or reported before starting work. | ||
1.5. | Personal protective equipment (PPE) is sourced according to manufacturer specifications, and health and safety and company requirements. | ||
1.6. | Signs and barricades are selected and installed according to health and safety, and company requirements. | ||
1.7. | Pre-existing damage is identified and reported according to company requirements. | ||
2. | Clean furniture, fittings and loose items. | 2.1. | Furniture and fittings are moved to allow cleaning tasks to be performed, according to health and safety and company requirements. |
2.2. | Floor, furniture and fittings are covered by drop sheets as necessary according to company requirements. | ||
2.3. | Soil is removed from surfaces, and furniture and fittings are cleaned using selected equipment, chemicals and cleaning techniques. | ||
2.4. | Loose items are cleaned using required cleaning equipment and techniques. | ||
3. | Place furniture and fittings. | 3.1. | Drop sheets are removed and stored, and floors are cleaned according to client requirements and health and safety requirements. |
3.2. | Cleaned furniture and loose items are placed in specified room locations according to client requirements. | ||
3.3. | Fittings are checked to be in working order and wiped or cleaned according to specified requirements. | ||
4. | Tidy work site. | 4.1. | Collected soil and waste are disposed of according to client and company specifications, and legislative, environmental, and health and safety requirements. |
4.2. | Signs and barricades are removed according to health and safety, and company requirements. | ||
5. | Clean and safety check equipment, and store equipment and chemicals. | 5.1. | Equipment and PPE are cleaned, safety checked and stored according to manufacturer specifications and environmental, health and safety, and company requirements. |
5.2. | Unused chemicals are stored or disposed of according to manufacturer specifications, and health and safety and company requirements. |
Evidence of Performance
A person demonstrating competency in this unit must satisfy the requirements of the elements, performance criteria, foundation skills and range of conditions of this unit.
The person must also:
clean furniture and fittings according to client requirements in two of the following rooms:
boardroom
lounge room in private residence
home office
commercial office
function room
identify the type and characteristics of furniture, fittings and loose items in the above rooms and their surface types, which must include three of the following:
fabric
glass
laminate
leather
metal
paint
plastic
polyresin
tile
timber
vinyl
clean five of the following different items of furniture and ten of the following different fittings in the two rooms:
furniture:
bed
bedside cupboard
bench
chair
compactus
computer and associated equipment
desk
door
filing cabinet
lamp
oven
refrigerator
shelf
table
work station
fittings:
bar
ceiling fan
clock
door handle
electrical item, including kettle and microwave
light fitting and switch
ornament
picture frame
railings
skirting
telephone handset
vent and grille
walls
window coverings
window sill
clean five of the following loose items in each room:
ashtray
bin
books and magazines
calculator
crockery
desk calendar
electrical leads
food and drink containers
kitchen implements
mat
photograph frame
radio
recognition award
telephone index
tissue box
wall chart
identify and remove three of the following soil types on the loose items above:
beverage
blood
blu-tac
candle wax
chewing gum
cobwebs
dust
food
glue
grease
human and animal waste
lipstick
medicine
mud and dirt
nail polish
paint
shoe polish.
During the above work, the person must also:
identify site hazards and control risks before commencing the task
identify type and characteristics of furniture and fittings and their surfaces
apply cleaning techniques suited to the surfaces of fittings and fabric furniture
use safe and efficient cleaning methods
select cleaning equipment and chemicals required for the task
place cleaned furniture in specified room locations according to client requirements.
Evidence of Knowledge
A person demonstrating competency in this unit must demonstrate knowledge of:
key features of cleaning chemicals and equipment and their application to furniture and fitting surfaces
procedures for selecting and applying required cleaning chemicals for different surfaces
cleaning methods for furniture and fittings, including:
pre-spotting and stain removal
low-water
key requirements of legislation, regulations, codes of practice and industry advisory standards relating to cleaning furniture and fittings, including:
AS/NZS 4849.1 Upholstery cleaning – Fabric upholstery
industry advisory standards and codes, such as dangerous goods codes
processes for safely handling and disposing of waste, including:
chemicals past their expiry date
obsolete equipment
packaging
used containers
used or contaminated personal protective equipment (PPE)
used or unused chemicals
safe handling techniques for working with hazardous chemicals, including:
emergency chemical spill control measures
routes of entry and potential symptoms of exposure to chemicals
safe methods for diluting chemicals
working according to safety data sheets (SDS)
range of soil types found on furniture and fittings listed in the performance evidence, and methods for cleaning them.
Assessment Conditions
The following must be present and available to learners during assessment activities:
equipment:
as listed in the range of conditions
PPE as listed in the range of conditions
materials:
cleaning chemicals required for task
physical conditions:
suitable work site with furniture, fittings and loose items
specifications:
AS/NZS 4849.1 Upholstery cleaning – Fabric upholstery
equipment operating manuals
product labels
SDS
relationships with team members and supervisor:
work may be conducted alone or as part of a team.
Timeframe:
as specified by the task.
Assessor requirements
As a minimum, assessors must satisfy the assessor requirements in the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) current at the time of assessment.
Foundation Skills
This section describes the language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills essential to performance in this unit but not explicit in the performance criteria. | |
Skill | Performance feature |
Numeracy skills to: | dilute and mix chemicals required for cleaning tasks using whole numbers and routine fractions calculate current and required levels of stock. |
Oral communication skills to: | ask questions to clarify job requirements respond clearly and concisely to client questions. |
Reading skills to: | read and interpret directions and safety instructions, including: equipment operating manuals chemical labels equipment manuals. |
Writing skills to: | document and report faults in equipment to manufacturer and other personnel. |
Range Statement
This section specifies work environments and conditions that may affect performance. Essential operating conditions that may be present (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) are included. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. | |
Furniture must include at least five of the following: | beds bedside cupboards benches chairs compactus computers and associated equipment desks doors filing cabinets lamps ovens refrigerators shelves tables work stations. |
Fittings must include at least ten of the following: | bars ceiling fans clocks door handles electrical items, including kettles and microwaves light fittings and switches ornaments picture frames railings skirting telephone handsets vents and grilles walls window coverings window sills. |
Surface types must include at least three of the following: | fabric glass laminate leather metal paint plastic polyresin tile timber vinyl. |
Soil types must include at least three of the following: | beverage blood blu-tac candle wax chewing gum cobwebs dust food glue grease human and animal waste lipstick medicine mud and dirt nail polish paint shoe polish. |
Hazards that must be assessed include: | biological and environmental contaminants chemical exposure via absorption, ingestion and inhalation chemical reactivity dust and fibre particulates electrical environmental allergens explosions fatigue fire manual handling noise poor ventilation slips, trips and falls syringes and sharps working in confined spaces. |
Health and safety requirements must include: | access to communication devices when working alone compliance with Safe Work Australia regulations and guidelines electrical equipment test and tag compliance emergency response procedures environmental controls hazard signs and barricades health and safety induction and refresher training manual handling techniques processes for safely dispensing chemicals risk assessment procedures, including: hazardous chemicals register hierarchy of control job safety analyses (JSA) for low-risk situations safe work method statements (SWMS) for high-risk situations incident reporting safety data sheets (SDS) selection and use of required PPE storage and maintenance of equipment according to manufacturer specifications use of first aid according to SDS information. |
Cleaning techniques must include: | for fittings, at least two of the following: polishing pre-spraying scrubbing vacuuming washing wiping for fabric surfaces, at least one of the following: spot cleaning spray pack foam vacuuming low-water cleaning methods, such as using microfibre cleaning products. |
Cleaning chemicals must include at least one of the following: | acid cleaners alkaline cleaners low environmental impact chemicals neutral cleaners solvent cleaners. |
Equipment must include at least two of the following: | alcohol wipes buckets damp cloths drop sheets dust extraction tools, such as wall mates and fridge dusters extension poles lint-free dusters, such as lamb’s wool and feather dusters lint-free polishing cloths, such as cotton and colour-fast cloths microfibre products mini mops oil impregnated cloths polishing cloths scourers sponges vacuum cleaners. |
Personal protective equipment must include at least two of the following: | eye protection gloves masks safety shoes. |
Loose items must include at least five of the following: | ashtrays bins books and magazines calculators crockery desk calendars electrical leads food and drink containers kitchen implements mats picture frames radios recognition awards telephone indexes tissue boxes wall charts. |
Sectors
Cleaning operations