PMAOMIR424B
Develop and maintain community relationships

This unit covers the establishment of workable arrangements which engage and inform the community about aspects of the plant's operations and incident response systems. This could apply to information about the products the operation produces, critical events on the organisation's calendar such as incident response practices and means by which the community would be kept informed during an incident.

Application

In a typical scenario the person is a member of the incident room team and is designated with the task of ensuring the preparedness of the communities surrounding and/or affected by the facility to respond to an incident. For example the organisation is preparing to shut down part of the plant for routine maintenance and as part of that process some of the gas will be flared off. This will create a spectacular plume over the plant but because the community is alerted to both timing and what to expect, community panic and concern is limited.

Key aspects of the competency include:

gathering and disseminating key information to the community

identifying key organisations in the community with which communication links need to be established

establishing inclusive strategies concerning both routine and non-routine events.

This person would:

establish networks within the community

design and conduct public safety awareness activities that will establish community preparedness by enhancing awareness.

While independent action may sometimes be required, the person is expected to liaise, cooperate and consult with other members of the incident management team as necessary.


Elements and Performance Criteria

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Identify information that needs to be disseminated to the community

1.1. Access and examine incident response plans

1.2. Conduct consultations with appropriate personnel as necessary

2. Establish networks within the community

2.1. Identify stakeholders within the community

2.2. Initiate contact with key community stakeholders

2.3. Establish and maintain rapport

2.4. Enlist cooperation and support in organising and conducting public safety awareness activities

3. Design and conduct public safety awareness activities

3.1. Develop a plan in consultation with stakeholders and appropriate personnel

3.2. Design activities to support the plan in consultation with stakeholders and appropriate personnel

3.3. Clearly identify measures for assessing the outcome of activities

3.4. Develop and distribute marketing materials and educational materials/resources appropriate to the context, issue and audience

3.5. Identify and secure other resources required

3.6. Develop and implement strategies for delivery of the project to ensure maximum effectiveness

3.7. Make adjustments as required to meet the needs of specific groups

4. Evaluate activities

4.1. Assess activity outcome against the planned goals/objectives and measures

4.2. Complete reports detailing activities, results and recommendations according to procedures

Required Skills

This describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level, required for this unit.

Required skills

Competence includes the ability to isolate the causes of problems within the incident response system and to be able to distinguish between causes of problems indicated by:

expressions of community concern about a lack of communication with the organisation

an atmosphere of mistrust existing between the community and the organisation

constant referrals of organisational activities to local, State or Commonwealth authorities

the volume of requests for information received from community groups or individuals

protest meetings or rallies by concerned residents.

Required knowledge

The knowledge referred to in the Evidence Guide for this unit includes:

relevant legislation

incident response plans and management systems (particularly warning signals and evacuation procedures)

promotional techniques and methods

group dynamics

a range of presentation strategies and techniques

protocols and procedures

relevant organisational policies.

Evidence Required

The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Assessment for this unit of competency will be by way of simulation or observation under incident conditions. The unit will be assessed in as holistic a manner as is practical and may be integrated with the assessment of other relevant units of competency. Assessment will occur over a range of situations which can include a variety of incident circumstances.

Simulations must, as closely as possible, approximate actual incident conditions and should be based on the actual facility. Assessments should include walk-throughs of the relevant competency components and may include the use of case studies/scenarios and role plays.

This unit of competency requires a significant body of knowledge which will be assessed through questioning and the use of 'what-if' scenarios both in the facility (during demonstration of normal operations and walk-throughs of abnormal operations) and off the site.

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

Consistent performance should be demonstrated. In particular look to see that competence in this unit reflects successful assessment in the critical aspects of:

identification of networks critical to the development and implementation of public safety awareness activities

design, conduct and evaluation of public safety awareness activities

effective communication skills

These assessment activities should include a range of problems, including new, unusual and improbable situations which may have been generated from past workplace incident history, incidents in similar workplaces around the world, hazard analysis activities and/or similar sources.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment will require (1) access to an accurately simulated environment or (2) a suitable method of gathering evidence of responding ability over a range of situations. A bank of scenarios/case studies/what-ifs and a bank of questions to probe the reasoning behind the observable actions will likewise be required.

Method of assessment

It may be appropriate to assess this unit concurrently with other relevant units.

Guidance information for assessment

Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate and appropriate to the oracy, language and literacy capacity of the assessee 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. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs if the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.

Codes of practice/ standards

Where reference is made to industry codes of practice, and/or Australian/international standards, the latest version must be used.

Context

Public safety awareness activities may include:

distribution of educational materials/resources

use of media to disseminate information

public educational presentations

conduct of or attendance in community meetings/forums

incident exercises

Relevant information may include:

incident response plan and management systems in place to prevent an incident

warning signals in the event of an incident

procedures to be followed in the event of an incident relating to evacuation and welfare operations

appropriate people to contact and contact details

post-incident management systems

Health, safety and environment (HSE)

All operations to which this unit applies are subject to stringent health, safety and environment requirements, which may be imposed through State or Federal legislation, and these must not be compromised at any time. Where there is an apparent conflict between Performance Criteria and HSE requirements, the HSE requirements take precedence.

Relationship to Major Hazard Facility Legislation

Organisations within the Chemical, Hydrocarbons and Oil Refining industries may find themselves falling under the provisions of various Major Hazard Facilities legislation. In developing this unit consideration has been given to the requirements of Sections 8 and 9 of the National Standard for the Control of Major Hazard Facilities [NOHSC:1014(2002)] and the National Code of Practice for the Control of Major Hazard Facilities [NOHSC:2016(1996)].

This unit will assist individuals to meet some of their obligations under the relevant State or Territory legislation. Responsibility for appropriate contextualisation and application of the unit to ensure compliance however, remains with the individual organisation.


Sectors

Unit sector

Support/generic


Employability Skills

This unit contains employability skills.


Licensing Information

Not applicable.