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 who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to provide evidence that they can safely and efficiently saw flitches and cants within organisational requirements

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

The evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit must be relevant to, and satisfy, all of the requirements of the elements of this unit and include demonstration of:

following applicable Commonwealth, State or Territory legislative and regulatory requirements and codes of practice relevant to sawing flitches and cants

following organisational policies and procedures relevant to sawing flitches and cants

sawing log sections to produce flitches and cants in line with the work order and within prescribed organisational specifications

conducting operator maintenance on saw machinery

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Competency is to be assessed in the workplace or realistically simulated workplace

Assessment is to occur under standard and authorised work practices, safety requirements and environmental constraints

Assessment of required knowledge, other than confirmatory questions, will usually be conducted in an off-site context

Assessment is to follow relevant regulatory or Australian Standards requirements

The following resources should be made available:

workplace location or simulated workplace

materials and equipment relevant to undertaking work applicable to this unit

specifications and work instructions

Method of assessment

Assessment must satisfy the endorsed Assessment Guidelines of the FPI11 Training Package

Assessment methods must confirm consistency and accuracy of performance (over time and in a range of workplace relevant contexts) together with application of required knowledge

Assessment must be by direct observation of tasks, with questioning on required knowledge and it must also reinforce the integration of employability skills

Assessment methods must confirm the ability to access and correctly interpret and apply the required knowledge

Assessment may be applied under project-related conditions (real or simulated) and require evidence of process

Assessment must confirm a reasonable inference that competency is able not only to be satisfied under the particular circumstance, but is able to be transferred to other circumstances

Assessment may be in conjunction with assessment of other units of competency

The assessment environment should not disadvantage the candidate

Assessment practices should take into account any relevant language or cultural issues related to Aboriginality, gender or language backgrounds other than English

Where the participant has a disability, reasonable adjustment may be applied during assessment

Language and literacy demands of the assessment task should not be higher than those of the work role

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

Required skills

Technical skills sufficient to use and maintain relevant tools, machinery and equipment; accurately identify blunt or damaged saws; efficiently and safely saw flitches and cants

Communication skills and interpersonal techniques sufficient to interact appropriately with colleagues and others in the workplace

Literacy skills sufficient to accurately record and report workplace information, and maintain documentation

Numeracy skills sufficient to estimate, measure and calculate time required to complete a task

Problem solving skills sufficient to identify problems and equipment faults and demonstrate appropriate response procedures

Required knowledge

Applicable Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation, regulations, standards, codes of practice and established safe practices relevant to the full range of processes for sawing flitches and cants

Environmental protection requirements, including the safe disposal of waste material, minimising carbon emissions and the cleaning of plant, tools and equipment

Organisational and site standards, requirements, policies and procedures for sawing flitches and cants

Environmental risks and hazards

Flitch and cant sawing systems

Characteristics of timber and timber defects

Sawing processes, feed rates and finish

Blade condition assessment

Storage systems and labelling

Established communication channels and protocols

Problem identification and resolution strategies and common fault finding techniques

Types of tools and equipment and procedures for their safe use, operation and maintenance

Appropriate mathematical procedures for estimating and measuring, including calculating time to complete tasks

Procedures for recording and reporting workplace information

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.

OHS requirements:

are to be in line with applicable Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation and regulations, and organisational safety policies and procedures, and may include:

personal protective equipment and clothing

safety equipment

first aid equipment

fire fighting equipment

hazard and risk control

fatigue management

elimination of hazardous materials and substances

safe forest practices including required actions relating to forest fire

manual handling including shifting, lifting and carrying

machine isolation and guarding

Environmental requirements may include:

legislation

organisational policies and procedures

workplace practices

Legislative requirements:

are to be in line with applicable Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation, regulations, certification requirements and codes of practice and may include:

award and enterprise agreements

industrial relations

Australian Standards

confidentiality and privacy

OHS

the environment

equal opportunity

anti-discrimination

relevant industry codes of practice

duty of care

Organisational requirements may include:

legal

organisational and site guidelines

policies and procedures relating to own role and responsibility

quality assurance

procedural manuals

quality and continuous improvement processes and standards

OHS, emergency and evacuation procedures

ethical standards

recording and reporting requirements

equipment use and maintenance and storage requirements

environmental management requirements (waste minimisation and disposal, recycling and re-use guidelines)

Flitch

is a large piece of sawn log section cut longitudinally, sawn on at least two surfaces at ninety degrees and intended for further cutting

Cant

is a thick piece of timber with two or more surfaces cut longitudinally on the angle (obliquely) sawn from a log section and intended for further sawing

Work order is to include:

instructions for the sawing logs and despatch of flitches or cants from the work site to down-stream processing

and may include:

treating

species

size

length

quantity

grade

instructions for the environmental monitoring of work and procedures

environmental care requirements relevant to the work

Appropriate personnel may include:

supervisors

suppliers

clients

colleagues

managers

Equipment may include:

circular saws

bench saws

overhead frame saws or band saws (single, twin, single edges and twin edges)

mechanical feed

conveyors

standard three headed dog carriages

flat top carriages with head rigs

and is to include:

procedures for machine lock-out such as protecting operators and co-workers from accidental injury by isolating the machine from the power source

Optimising includes:

planning the cutting of a log to achieve the most from it

ensuring environmental requirements are central to this planning process

Communication may include:

verbal and non-verbal language

constructive feedback

active listening

questioning to clarify and confirm understanding

use of positive, confident and cooperative language

use of language and concepts appropriate to individual social and cultural differences

control of tone of voice

body language

Pre start-up checks

are conducted to ensure:

saw has been set-up correctly

blades are installed accurately

machinery is operating to optimum performance

Log sections

are large sections and lengths of timber available for further processing as a result of breaking down logs

Dogs

are the carriage devices which support logs during break down

Feed rate is to include:

rate of speed the material is passed through the machine affecting the sharpness of the blades

finish of the material

production output

Defects may include:

defects arising from a change in moisture content

warp

wane

curvature

shakes

insect defects

knots and resin pockets

sweep

taper

end splits

shape

Disposing of may include:

recycling timber sections with defects and sawn edges

re-using timber sections with defects and sawn edges

Records and reports may include:

the sawing procedures

product type

size

inspection

grading and labelling outcomes

storage locations

quality outcomes

hazards

incidents

equipment malfunctions

and may be:

manual

using a computer-based system other appropriate organisational communication system

Dealing with may include:

repair of damaged saws and blunt or damaged saw blades

disposing of saws and saw blades that cannot be repaired