This unit of competency covers the skills and knowledge required to identify areas of improvement and work with colleagues to implement the changes.

It applies to operators who are required to contribute to continuous improvement of work processes by applying knowledge of customers and suppliers to identify improvements and to select and implement improvements.

This unit of competency applies to an individual working as part of a team/work group.

This unit of competency applies to all work environments and sectors within the industry.

No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.

Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy the requirements of the elements and performance criteria and demonstrate the ability to:

identify relationship of own role to the needs of internal and external customers and suppliers

identify variations and non-conformances

follow procedures for reporting and managing variations and non-conformances

communicate and work with others to:

analyse areas of variations and non-conformances to identify causes and develop strategies for improvements

implement changes to systems and procedures

evaluate whether changes have achieved improvements

interpret quality data and graphs.

Evidence must be provided that demonstrates knowledge of:

the use of information in developing improvements

types and application of analytical problem-solving techniques

organisation processes and approvals for making changes to systems and procedures

quality tools and techniques.

The unit should be assessed holistically and the judgement of competence based on a holistic assessment of the evidence.

The collection of performance evidence:

should occur over a range of situations which include typical disruptions to normal, smooth operations

will typically include a supervisor/third-party report focusing on consistent performance and opportunity for improvement recognition and resolution. A supervisor/third-party report must be prepared by someone who has a direct, relevant, current relationship with the person being assessed and who is in a position to form a judgement on workplace performance relevant to the unit of competency

must include the use of appropriate quality tools

may use industry-based simulation for part only of the unit (typically implementation) particularly where safety, lack of opportunity or significant cost is an issue.

Assessment should occur in operational workplace situations. Where this is not possible, or where personal safety or environmental damage are limiting factors, assessment must occur in a sufficiently rigorous simulated environment reflecting realistic operational workplace conditions. This must cover all aspects of workplace performance, including environment, task skills, task management skills, contingency management skills and job role environment skills.

Assessment in a simulated environment should use evidence collected from one or more of:

walk-throughs

pilot plant operation

demonstration of skills

industry-based case studies/scenarios

‘what ifs’.

Knowledge evidence may be collected concurrently with performance evidence (provided a record is kept) or through an independent process, such as workbooks, written assessments or interviews (provided a record is kept).

Assessment processes and techniques must be appropriate to the language, literacy and numeracy requirements of the work being performed and the needs of the candidate.

Conditions for assessment must include access to all tools, equipment, materials and documentation required, including relevant workplace procedures, product and manufacturing specifications associated with this unit.

Foundation skills are integral to competent performance of the unit and should not be assessed separately.

As a minimum, assessors must satisfy the Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015 assessor requirements.

This section describes those language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills that are essential to performance.

Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.

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