MSS402001A
Apply competitive systems and practices

This unit of competency covers the skills and knowledge required to implement basic improvement practices within an organisation using competitive systems and practices. The unit focuses on bringing together the basic concepts and the holistic application of these basic concepts and processes to operations. It would typically be carried out working as part of a team.

Application

This unit applies to an individual in an organisation that has embarked on competitive systems and practices. The unit covers the skills and knowledge required to contribute to the competitive systems and practices processes and assumes that they are to be used within the scope of the individual’s job and authority.

This unit requires the application of skills associated with planning and organising an individual’s own role within the competitive systems and practices framework.


Prerequisites

Not applicable.


Elements and Performance Criteria

1

Identify own place in the value chain

1.1

Identify customers relevant to own work and their needs/requirements

1.2

Identify suppliers for own work

1.3

Identify value contributions along the chain

1.4

Identify and recommend methods of increasing own contribution to the value chain

2

Improve the product and process value

2.1

Identify customer features/benefits in the product and process

2.2

Identify aspects of product and process which contribute to customer features/benefits

2.3

Identify aspects of product and process which do not contribute to customer benefits/features

2.4

Recommend methods of reducing waste and increasing features/benefits

3

Use competitive systems and practices

3.1

Identify competitive systems and practices used in organisation and own work area

3.2

Apply practices appropriate for the job or process

3.3

Monitor the job/process and make adjustments to improve it in accordance with procedures

3.4

Identify own skill requirements and seek skill development, if required

Required Skills

Required skills

Required skills include:

communicating with others to clarify scope of competitive systems and practices implementation and contributing suggestions for improvement

visualising normal operational procedures in terms of flow and contribution to customer outcomes

planning own tasks to support competitive systems and practices implementation

implementing competitive systems and practices in own work area according to instructions

identifying waste (muda)

Required knowledge

Required knowledge includes:

internal and external customers and the value they derive from operations

suppliers, their capabilities and contribution to value (this may be obtained from an existing value stream map or other enterprise documentation)

waste (muda)

relevant competitive systems and practices for own job and how to apply them

factors impacting on product, operations and waste, particularly those wholly or partially under their control (and how to control them)

Evidence Required

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

A person being assessed against this unit will work effectively in a competitive systems and practices environment, making continual positive contributions to the improvement of the business within the scope of their job.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to provide evidence of the ability to:

identify the scope of competitive systems and practices implemented in their work area

identify services and/or functions supplied by suppliers and to customers

identify own tasks and responsibilities and relate them to organisation and customer requirements

identify aspects of products and process which add to or detract from customer benefit

contribute suggestions for improvement.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment of performance must be undertaken in a workplace using or implementing one or more competitive systems and practices.

Access may be required to:

workplace procedures and plans relevant to work area

specifications and documentation relating to planned, currently being implemented, or implemented changes to work processes and procedures relevant to the assessee

documentation and information in relation to production, waste, overheads, and hazard control/management

reports from supervisors/managers

case studies and scenarios to assess responses to contingencies.

Method of assessment

A holistic approach should be taken to the assessment.

Competence in this unit may be assessed by using a combination of the following to generate evidence:

demonstration in the workplace

workplace projects

suitable simulation

case studies/scenarios (particularly for assessment of contingencies, improvement scenarios, and so on

targeted questioning

reports from supervisors, peers and colleagues (third-party reports)

portfolio of evidence.

In all cases it is expected that practical assessment will be combined with targeted questioning to assess underpinning knowledge.

Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability.

Guidance information for assessment

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


Range Statement

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.

Competitive systems and practices

Competitive systems and practices may include, but are not limited to:

lean operations

agile operations

preventative and predictive maintenance approaches

monitoring and data gathering systems, such as Systems Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) software, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, Materials Resource Planning (MRP) and proprietary systems

statistical process control systems, including six sigma and three sigma

Just in Time (JIT), kanban and other pull-related operations control systems

supply, value, and demand chain monitoring and analysis

5S

continuous improvement (kaizen)

breakthrough improvement (kaizen blitz)

cause/effect diagrams

overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)

takt time

process mapping

problem solving

run charts

standard procedures

current reality tree

Competitive systems and practices should be interpreted so as to take into account:

the stage of implementation of competitive systems and practices

the size of the enterprise

the work organisation, culture, regulatory environment and the industry sector

Customers

Customers may include:

internal or external customers and should be sufficiently close to the individual’s work as to be easily identifiable

final customers used as the basis for the identification of value and waste

The individual does not need to interface directly with the external customer, but should be provided with sufficient information to enable them to identify customer benefits and customer features

Suppliers

Suppliers may be:

internal or external suppliers and should be sufficiently close to the individual’s work as to be easily identifiable

The operator does not need to interface directly with external suppliers, but should be provided with sufficient information to enable them to identify supplier contribution to their own work and to customer benefit

Procedures

Procedures may include:

work instructions

standard operating procedures

formulas/recipes

batch sheets

temporary instructions and similar instructions provided for the smooth running of the organisation

good operating practice as may be defined by industry codes of practice (e.g. good manufacturing practice (GMP) and responsible care) and government regulations

Procedures may be:

written, verbal, computer-based or in some other format


Sectors

Unit sector

Competitive systems and practices


Employability Skills

This unit contains employability skills.


Licensing Information

Not applicable.