Field officers, technicians or technical supervisors from carriers, contractors or other service providers apply the skills and knowledge in this unit.

This unit applies to a switching, transmission or radio network and the various transmission paths including cable, optical fibre, radio, microwave and satellite that support it.

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Evaluate system needs

1.1. Determine need for additional electronic equipment from telecommunications project plan

1.2. Specify purpose of equipment and ascertain need for additional network equipment with customer

2. Analyse network and select design option

2.1. Analyse possible impacts on network and network service requirements

2.2. Generate options for system design that are realistic for the enterprise and network

2.3. Evaluate and select preferred option based on enterprise business strategy outcomes, service policy and compliance with relevant legislation

2.4. Discuss and confirm selected option with customer

3. Assess system compatibility

3.1. Assess compatibility of each equipment unit and intended use with other installed units from system plans, equipment manuals, installation environment and industry knowledge

3.2. Modify design accordingly

3.3. Provide customer with design and obtain sign off

Required skills

communication skills to liaise with customers and technical staff to ensure requirements are known and can be met within timeframes

literacy skills to interpret technical specifications and related documentation

planning and organisational skills to plan and prioritise own work

problem solving skills to:

deal with unexpected situations on the basis of safety and specified work outcomes

manage unexpected configuration anomalies

technical skills to:

analyse the impact of additional telecommunications equipment on the network

assess compatibility between existing and additional equipment

determine customer requirements and a design specification

identify the technical requirements, constraints and manageability issues for a given customer network requirement

Required knowledge

electrical and optical properties to be measured

integration, compatibility and interoperability of equipment

legislation and licensing relevant to installation of telecommunications equipment including spectrum allocation

power requirements and electrical safety

transmission type and signals that may be encountered

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:

evaluate system need for additional electronic equipment and design options

analyse network and design systems

assess system compatibility.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure:

telecommunications network where additional equipment design may be conducted

relevant regulatory and equipment documentation that impact on electronic system design.

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:

direct observation of the candidate undertaking network analysis and design

review of reports completed by the candidate

oral or written questioning to assess knowledge of types of systems and application and compatibility issues.

Guidance information for assessment

Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended.

Aboriginal people and other people from a non-English speaking background may have second language issues.

Access must be provided to appropriate learning and assessment support when required.

Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate, and appropriate to the oral communication skill level, and language and literacy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.

In all cases where practical assessment is used it will be combined with targeted questioning to assess required knowledge. Questioning techniques should not require language, literacy and numeracy skills beyond those required in this unit of competency.

Where applicable, physical resources should include equipment modified for people with special needs.

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.

Determine need may include:

customer requirements

existing infrastructure

network growth forecasts

test results.

Additional electronic equipment may include:

radio networks:

fixed

mobile

switching

various transmission paths:

cable

microwave

optical fibre

radio

satellite

transmission.

Customer may include:

a carrier

customer representative

internal organisational customer.

Possible impacts may relate to:

age and construction

building facility location

distances between units and installations

impacts on existing services and customers

need for outages

ownership of installation site

site type.

Compatibility may relate to:

electrical interfaces

protocols.

Unit sector

Telecommunications

Telecommunications networks engineering

This unit contains employability skills.