Application
Licences may be required if operating: load-shifting equipment, including forklifts vehicles vessels. All enterprise or workplace procedures and activities are carried out according to relevant government regulations, licensing and other compliance requirements, including occupational health and safety (OHS) guidelines, food safety and hygiene regulations and procedures, and ecologically sustainable development (ESD) principles. Equipment operation, maintenance, repairs and calibrations are undertaken in a safe manner that conforms to manufacturer instructions. Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) is selected, checked used and maintained. |
Elements and Performance Criteria
ELEMENT | PERFORMANCE CRITERIA |
1. Plan and organise for stock handling | 1.1. Handling specifications are interpreted and confirmed with senior personnel. 1.2. Labour and resource requirements for stock handling are confirmed with senior personnel and arranged. 1.3. Risk factors which could affect the health of stock during handling are identified and plans made to minimise risk. 1.4. Operational guidelines to achieve desired handling objectives are planned and communicated effectively to staff. |
2. Organise for handling | 2.1. Equipment is collected and checked for serviceability. 2.2. Repairs and calibrations are made to sub-standard equipment. 2.3. Transport and holding arrangements are confirmed. 2.4. Safety precautions for handling live stock are implemented. 2.5. Handling activities are planned to minimise stock damage and stress. |
3. Coordinate handling | 3.1. Equipment is positioned and operated. 3.2. Handling activities are monitored to ensure they are carried out in an efficient and timely manner. |
4. Finalise and review stock handling activities | 4.1. Clean up of work areas, including checking, repairing and storage of equipment, is supervised. 4.2. Relevant stock handling data, observations or information are recorded legibly and accurately, and any out of range or unusual records checked. 4.3. Non-compliances are conveyed to senior personnel. 4.4. Options for improving efficiency through mechanisation or automation of process or activity, and use of specialised contract staff are researched and presented to senior personnel as potential improvements. 4.5. Staff are given feedback on their work performance. |
Required Skills
Required skills |
communicating with senior personnel on handling specifications, labour and resource requirements coordinating work activities and staff handling activities undertaken with stock identifying potential improvements operating, maintaining and repairing handling equipment organising staff carrying out stock handling tasks planning guidelines for stock handling providing feedback to staff on performance, and on operations to senior personnel researching options for improvements recognising normal and abnormal stock behaviour and changing environmental conditions. Literacy skills used for: interpreting handling schedules recording handling information researching mechanisation or automation options. Numeracy skills used for: counting stock completing stock handling data sheets interpreting ratios, metric units and percentages. |
Required knowledge |
advanced stock behaviour and biological requirements of cultured or held stock equipment calibration and operating methods equipment maintenance and repairs categories or types of cultured or held stock operation and maintenance of automatic or mechanised equipment safety considerations and hazards associated with handling live stock safety considerations and hazards associated with stock handling equipment options and limitations. |
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 | |
Critical aspects for assessment evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit | Assessment must confirm the ability to: coordinate a range of stock handling activities, such as handling, cleaning, sampling, moving, grading and stocking culture structures, seeding of half pearls, and supervising employees performing these activities. Assessment must confirm knowledge of: advanced stock behaviour and biological requirements safety considerations and hazards associated with stock handling equipment options and limitations. |
Context of and specific resources for assessment | Assessment is to be conducted at the workplace or in a simulated work environment. It should cover the supervision range of handling activities routinely carried out on aquaculture farms in the region. Resources may include: culture structure and stock enterprise data sheets or record books equipment required for the handling activities being assessed handling schedule staff to coordinate. |
Method of assessment | The following assessment methods are suggested: demonstration practical exercises project work role play written or oral short-answer testing. |
Guidance information for assessment | This unit may be assessed holistically with other units within a qualification. |
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. | |
Stock handling activities may include: | anaesthesia cleaning and washing counting moving, transporting and transferring quality control, grading and sorting sampling for health assessment of stock seeding of half pearls in molluscs stocking culture or holding structures weighing and measuring. |
Cultured or held stock may include: | adults, broodstock (ready to breed), seedstock or stockers, eggs and sperm, fertilised eggs, larvae, post-larvae, seed, spat, hatchlings, yearlings, juveniles, fry, fingerlings, yearlings, smolt, sporophytes, seedlings and tissue cultures finfish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic reptiles, amphibians, polychaete and oligochaete worms, plankton, micro-algae, seaweed, aquatic plants, live rock, sponges and other aquatic invertebrates for human consumption (seafood), stockers for other farms, stockers for conservation or recreational fishing, display or companion animals (ornamentals), and other products, including pearls, skins, shells, eggs, chemicals and pigments wild caught, hatchery or nursery reared. |
Seeding may include: | gluing or attachment of half pearls on the inside of the shell (mabe) pearl oysters, freshwater mussels, abalone and conch. Note: Does not include insertion of a nucleus into the gonadal or somatic tissue of the shellfish for round pearl production. |
Relevant government regulations, licensing and other compliance requirements may include: | biodiversity and genetically modified organisms biosecurity, translocation and quarantine business or workplace operations, policies and practices correct marketing names and labelling environmental hazard identification, risk assessment and control food safety/Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), hygiene and temperature control along chain of custody, and Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) Export Control (Fish) orders health and welfare of aquatic animals maritime operations, safety at sea and pollution control OHS hazard identification, risk assessment and control. |
OHS guidelines may include: | appropriate workplace provision of first aid kits and fire extinguishers codes of practice, regulations and/or guidance notes which may apply in a jurisdiction or industry sector enterprise-specific OHS procedures, policies or standards hazard and risk assessment of workplace, maintenance activities and control measures induction or training of staff, contractors and visitors in relevant OHS procedures and/or requirements to allow them to carry out their duties in a safe manner OHS training register safe lifting, carrying and handling techniques, including manual handling, and the handling and storage of hazardous substances safe systems and procedures for outdoor work, including protection from solar radiation, fall protection, confined space entry and the protection of people in the workplace systems and procedures for the safe maintenance of property, machinery and equipment, including hydraulics and exposed moving parts the appropriate use, maintenance and storage of PPE. |
Food safety and hygiene regulations and procedures may include: | Australian Shellfish Sanitation program equipment design, use, cleaning and maintenance exporting requirements, including AQIS Export Control (Fish) orders HACCP, food safety program, and other risk minimisation and quality assurance systems location, construction and servicing of seafood premises people, product and place hygiene and sanitation requirements Primary Products Standard and the Australian Seafood Standard (voluntary) product labelling, tracing and recall receipt, storage and transportation of food, including seafood and aquatic products requirements set out in Australian and New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) Food Standards Code and state and territory food regulations temperature and contamination control along chain of custody. |
ESD principles may include: | applying animal welfare ethics and procedures control of effluents, chemical residues, contaminants, wastes and pollution improving energy efficiency increasing use of renewable, recyclable and recoverable resources minimising noise, dust, light or odour emissions preventing live cultured or held organisms from escaping into environment reducing emissions of greenhouse gases reducing energy use reducing use of non-renewable resources undertaking environmental hazard identification, risk assessment and control. |
PPE may include: | gloves, mitts or gauntlets and protective hand and arm covering buoyancy vest or personal floatation device (PFD) hard hat or protective head covering hearing protection (e.g. ear plugs and ear muffs) non-slip and waterproof boots (gumboots) or other safety footwear personal locator beacon or Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) protective outdoor clothing for tropical conditions safety harness sun protection (e.g. sun hat, sunscreen and sunglasses) uniforms, overalls or protective clothing (e.g. mesh and waterproof aprons) waterproof clothing (e.g. wet weather gear and waders). |
Labour requirements may include: | plant, equipment, vehicle or vessel operators skilled handling workers and unskilled labourers specialised equipment operators transport operators. |
Resource requirements may include: | handling equipment holding and transport equipment vessels, vehicles, trucks, trailers, cranes and load-shifting equipment. |
Sectors
Unit sector | Aquaculture operations |
Employability Skills
This unit contains employability skills. |
Licensing Information
Refer to Unit Descriptor