This unit describes a participant’s skills and knowledge required to conduct secondary blasting in the Metalliferous and Coal mining and Extractive.

This unit is appropriate for those working in operational roles.

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

Evidence is required to be collected that demonstrates a candidate’s competency in this unit. Evidence must be relevant to the roles within this sector’s work operations and satisfy all of the requirements of the performance criteria of this unit and include evidence that the candidate:

locates and applies relevant documentation, policies and procedures

works effectively with others to plan, prepare and conduct blasting operations including:

complying with written and verbal reporting requirements and procedures

communicating clearly and concisely with others to receive and clarify work instructions

communicating clearly and concisely with others to resolve coordination requirements prior to commencing and during work activities

demonstrates completion of conducting secondary blasting that safely, effectively and efficiently meets all of the required outcomes on more than one (1) occasion including:

planning and preparation

conducting blasting

completing blasting operations

working with others to undertake and complete secondary blasting

The candidate must demonstrate knowledge in conducting secondary blasting:

Australian standards and code of practice

site and equipment safety procedures

environmental requirements, including vibration, noise, dust and chemicals

site environmental requirements and constraints

types, physical and technical characteristics, uses and limitations of explosives and protection measures associated with their use

basic geological and technical information

blast plans

planning processes

equipment characteristics, technical capabilities and limitations

selection of appropriate explosives to meet site conditions

risk management including application of appropriate controls to identified risks

non-conforming conditions

An assessor of this unit must satisfy the requirements of the NVR/AQTF or their successors; and Industry regulations for certification and licensing; and,

this unit is best assessed in the context of this sector’s work environment;

where personal safety or environmental damage are limiting factors, assessment may occur in a simulated environment provided it is realistic and sufficiently rigorous to cover all aspects of this sector’s workplace performance, including environment, task skills, task management skills, contingency management skills and job role environment skills; and,

this unit must be assessed in compliance with relevant legislation/regulation and using policies, procedures, processes and operational manuals directly related to the industry sector for which it is being assessed; and,

assessment may be conducted in conjunction with the assessment of other Units of Competency; and,

assessment must confirm consistent performance can be applied in a range of relevant workplace circumstances; and,

assessors must demonstrate the performance evidence, and knowledge evidence as outlined in this Unit of Competency, and through the minimum years of current* work experience specified below in an Industry sector relevant to the outcomes of the unit; or,

where the assessor does not meet experience requirements a co-assessment or partnership arrangement must exist between the qualified assessor and an Industry subject matter expert. The Industry subject matter expert should hold the unit being assessed (or an equivalent unit) and/or demonstrate equivalence of skills and knowledge at the unit level. An Industry technical expert must also demonstrate skills and knowledge from the minimum years of current work experience specified below in the Industry sector, including time spent in roles related to the unit being assessed; and,

assessor and Industry subject matter expert requirements differ depending on the Australian Qualifications Framework Level (AQF) of the qualification being assessed and/or Industry Sector as follows:

*Assessors can demonstrate current work experience through employment within Industry in a role relevant to the outcomes of the Unit; or, for external assessors this can be demonstrated through exposure to Industry by conducting frequent site assessments across various locations.

**Where a unit is being delivered outside of a Qualification the first numeric character in the Unit code should be considered to indicate the AQF level

Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit. Further information is available in the Resources and Infrastructure Industry Training Package Companion Volume.

Metalliferous mining

Coal mining

Extractive