This unit applies to technical support personnel who are required to maintain basic hardware equipment and associated consumables in a small or large office environment. The effective operation and maintenance of computing and peripheral equipment are key components of any information and communications technology (ICT) environment. Personnel undertaking this unit may work under direct supervision or with limited responsibility.
Not applicable.
1. Clean equipment | 1.1 Access and verify cleaning supplies for usability on the selected equipment 1.2 Record maintenance actions undertaken according to organisational procedures 1.3 Clean equipment according to manufacturer specifications and organisational manuals 1.4 Ensure basic OHS principles and guidelines are followed |
2. Replace and maintain consumables and supplies | 2.1 Access consumables from storage points and record usage information according to organisational procedures 2.2 Replace consumables when needed and log the action undertaken 2.3 Dispose of consumables following environmental guidelines 2.4 Test equipment to ensure it is in working order at set time periods and according to organisational procedures |
3. Maintain equipment | 3.1 Establish which equipment requires maintenance 3.2 Maintain equipment according to organisational guidelines and manufacturer specifications 3.3 Document maintenance procedures performed according to organisational guidelines 3.4 Exercise care to prevent interruption of business activities during maintenance procedures 3.5 Store unused equipment devices according to manufacturer specifications and organisational guidelines |
Required skills
communication skills to:
communicate with peers and supervisors
seek assistance and expert advice
literacy skills to:
document maintenance procedures
interpret technical documentation, equipment manuals and specifications
planning and organisational skills to:
organise and maintain equipment
schedule required maintenance
problem-solving skills to solve equipment and logistics problems
safety-awareness skills to:
apply precautions and required action to minimise, control or eliminate hazards that may exist during work activities
work systematically with required attention to detail without injury to self or others, or damage to goods or equipment
technical skills to:
maintain equipment
test and evaluate equipment maintenance requirements.
Required knowledge
basic knowledge of:
current industry-accepted hardware and software and manufacturer maintenance guides
organisational systems related to storage and retrieval of information and equipment
OHS principles and responsibilities, including ergonomics, work periods and breaks, and conservation techniques
chemical storage, control and disposal procedures
features and operating requirements of equipment.
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 | Evidence of the ability to: clean equipment following manufacturer specifications and OHS policy and procedures replace and dispose of consumables according to regulations and organisational policy test and maintain equipment in working order following OHS procedures. |
Context of and specific resources for assessment | Assessment must ensure access to: a site on which equipment maintenance may be carried out use of equipment currently used in industry relevant equipment documentation that may affect maintenance activities appropriate learning and assessment support when required. Where applicable, physical resources should include equipment modified for people with special needs. |
Method of assessment | A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit: verbal or written questioning to assess candidate’s knowledge of suitable cleaning materials direct observation of candidate replacing consumables direct observation of candidate maintaining and testing equipment review of documents, including maintenance procedures performed. |
Guidance information for assessment | Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, where appropriate. Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate, and suitable to the communication skill level, language, literacy and numeracy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed. Indigenous people and other people from a non-English speaking background may need additional support. In cases where practical assessment is used it should be combined with targeted questioning to assess required knowledge. |
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. 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) may also be included.
Equipment may include: | hard drives hubs modems and other connectivity devices, such as digital subscriber line (DSL) modems monitors other peripheral devices personal computers personal digital assistants (PDA) printers switches workstations. |
OHS principles may include: | basic principles and responsibilities relating to ICT equipment: disposal environmental control storage. |
Consumables may include: | cartridges cleaners disks paper printer toners ribbons tapes. |
Environmental guidelines may include: | disposal through an authorised body of redundant hardware, such as: circuit boards hard drives motherboards recycling safe disposal of packaging, such as: cardboard paper plastic polystyrene. |
Systems administration and support
This unit contains employability skills.
No licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of endorsement but users should confirm requirements with the relevant federal, state or territory authority.