Telecommunications officers, installers, maintenance staff and manufacturer or equipment specialists apply the skills and knowledge in this unit. It may be applied by those in advisory roles and technical rectification roles.

Networks include cabling, customer premises equipment (CPE), Access, telephony, broadband deployment, local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN) and internet protocol (IP) networks for enterprise and customer systems and installations.

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Prepare to locate and rectify complex faults

1.1. Prepare for given work according to relevant legislation, codes, regulations and standards

1.2. Notify client to arrange access to site

1.3. Obtain report of any action taken by first fault repairer and subsequent result

1.4. Obtain fault history to establish any fault patterns

1.5. Obtain all available data on the system equipment to assist with fault diagnosis

1.6. Develop strategies for identification and repair in discussion with other engineering and technical personnel

1.7. Obtain tools and test equipment relevant to the identified system type and fault

1.8. Set up equipment according to manufacturer's specifications and reconfigure as required

2. Locate and diagnose faults

2.1. Use methodical work practice suitable for system and problem type to identify system fault

2.2. Isolate and test fault progressively to remove likely variables from assessment and record test results

2.3. Refer faults that may involve third party services if required

2.4. Diagnose fault in the shortest time possible with minimum inconvenience to other client activity

2.5. Provide regular progress reports to client

2.6. Raise fault identification to a national support level within a specified timeframe if required

2.7. Undertake guidance from national support in fault diagnosis as required

2.8. Negotiate any necessary system downtime with the client

3. Rectify fault

3.1. Determine options to rectify fault including any system downtime and present to client for decision

3.2. Rectify fault totally, partially or provide temporary solution

3.3. Replace or repair faulty parts or equipment according to service agreement

3.4. Reprogram equipment as required

3.5. Dismantle and remove any temporary service in a safe and efficient manner where appropriate

3.6. Perform repair under national support guidance as required

3.7. Perform routine checks to identify likelihood of further or likely problems

3.8. Rectify any further problems identified or bring to the attention of the customer for decision on further action necessary

4. Clean up worksite and complete records

4.1. Produce a report on fault diagnosis and rectification

4.2. Remove and dispose of waste and debris from worksite according to environmental requirements

4.3. Ensure changes made to the work area during fault repair are restored to the client's satisfaction

4.4. Complete all records, explain and justify faults and rectification action taken

Required skills

communication skills to:

listen and liaise with clients on technical and operational matters

negotiate with other repairers and support staff

raise occupational health and safety (OHS) matters

literacy skills to:

explain and justify faults and rectification actions

incorporate technical language into written tasks such as records and reports

interpret technical documentation and standards

numeracy skills to interpret technical data, such as specifications of equipment operations

problem solving skills to apply methodology in fault diagnosis

research skills to access technical information and sources to assist fault identification

safety awareness skills to:

apply precautions and required action to minimise, control or eliminate hazards that may exist during work activities

select and use required personal protective equipment conforming to industry and OHS standards

work systematically with required attention to detail without injury to self or others, or damage to goods or equipment

technical skills to select and use appropriate methods for fault identification and rectification

Required knowledge

fault escalation procedures

fault finding techniques and of test equipment

fault types and rectification

safety requirements and standards

service agreements

types of networks and equipment:

Access

broadband deployment

cabling

CPE

IP networks for enterprise and customer systems and installations

LAN

telephony

WANs

workplace environment and practices

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:

methodically analyse fault details and diagnose potential faults

conduct advanced tests to determine complex network fault

isolate and locate the fault logically

rectify faults using appropriate organisational procedures and OHS requirements

comply with all related OHS requirements and work practices.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment of this unit requires:

sites on which fault diagnostics may be conducted

use of testing equipment currently used in industry

relevant regulatory and equipment documentation that impact on complex fault repairs.

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 applying safety aspects to the locating and rectifying the faults

oral or written questioning of the candidate to assess knowledge of types of faults and implications

evaluation of report prepared by the candidate including test result interpretation

written reports prepared by the candidate outlining fault rectification methodologies and recommendations.

Guidance information for assessment

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

ICTTEN5058A Acceptance test new systems and equipment

ICTTEN5059A Commission telecommunications network equipment

ICTTEN5092A Undertake planned outage management.

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.

Relevant legislation, codes, regulations and standards may include:

Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) standards and codes

AS Communications Cabling Manual (CCM) Volume 1

AS/NZS 3000:2007

AS/NZS 3080:2003 - Telecommunications Installations - Generic cabling for commercial premises, clause 10.3.2 includes:

colour codes used to identify the various types of fibre

signals these cables would normally carry

AS/NZS 3084:2003

AS/NZS 3085.1:2004

AS/NZS ISO/IEC 14763.3:2007

AS/NZS ISO/IEC 15018:2005

AS/NZS ISO/IEC 24702:2007

cabling security codes and regulations.

OHS

regulated or industry codes of practice including appropriate Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) technical standards

technical standards AS/ACIF S008:2006 and AS/ACIF S009:2006.

Client may include:

enterprise personnel

fault centre

network operations centre staff

reporter of fault

site manager.

System equipment may include

asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) or frame relay (FR) switch

carrier network

CPE network

gateways

multiplexing

optical transmission

radio network equipment

routers

servers

transmission paths:

cable

microwave

optic fibre

radio

satellite

wireless broadband.

Other engineering or technical personnel may include:

carrier or service provider staff

electrical contractor

equipment manufacturer

equipment supplier

external customer

on site operation staff.

Tools may include:

adaptors

laser source

light meter

optical attenuators

transmitter or receiver filter combiner.

Test equipment may include:

analogue transmission measuring sets

cable tester

digital analysers

error meter

frequency measurer

global system for mobiles (GSM) spectrum frequency synthesiser

microwave link analyser

modulator tester

multimeters

network management set

optical fibre power meters

optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR)

pattern generators

portable computer

power meters

protocol analysers

radio frequency (RF) band noise measurer

RF microwave test sets

RF sweep tester

spectrum analysers

sweep tester for coaxial

standing wave ratio (SWR) meters

time domain reflectometer (TDR)

video tester.

System fault may include:

'out of specification' faults

dynamic loops

intermittent performance problems

latency

network dropout

severe cable or transmission path damage

system configuration problems

system equipment failure or partial failure

traffic congestion.

Test may include:

bit error rate

equipment self diagnostics

protocol analysis

return loss

signal level:

electrical

optical

RF

signal to noise

TDR

test data (ping)

testing functionality of:

individual equipment

system

transmission paths, including egress or ingress via third party provider services.

Services may include:

ATM interface

fibre to premises equipment

hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) cable and modem

ISDN (PRA) interface unit

microwave equipment

satellite receiver

synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) interface

telephone line

wireless modem

wireless transceiver equipment.

Environmental requirements include:

clean-up management

dust

noise

waste management.

Records may include:

service agreement

trouble ticket

work order

written site log.

Unit sector

Telecommunications

Telecommunications networks engineering

This unit contains employability skills.