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.

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

Assessors must be satisfied that the candidate can competently and consistently:

identify, plan and establish key quality input and output variables, and requirements for the project, procedure or operation

establish resources required, including labour, materials, and equipment within budgets and procedures

commence project or operation management, including establishing, where required, support team and responsibilities

overcome constraints to achievement of the quality objectives

undertake appropriate internal and external reporting

investigate and validate quality performance analysis, and manage continuous improvement

undertake customer liaison, including surveys, warranty claim analysis and returns.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

This unit may be assessed on the job, or a combination of both on and off the job. Where assessment occurs off the job, that is, the candidate is not in productive work, then a simulated working environment must be used where the range of conditions reflects realistic workplace situations. The competencies covered by this unit would be demonstrated by an individual working alone or as part of a team.

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

Access must be provided to appropriate learning and/or assessment support when required. Where applicable, physical resources should include equipment modified for people with disabilities.

Method of assessment

Assessment must satisfy the endorsed Assessment Guidelines of the MEM05 Metal and Engineering 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 underpinning knowledge.

Assessment methods must be by direct observation of tasks and include questioning on underpinning knowledge to ensure its correct interpretation and application.

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 where required.

Guidance information for assessment

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

Required skills

Required skills include:

communicating, negotiating and reviewing with stakeholders and team members throughout project and operation duration

providing leadership in quality functions and monitoring

providing clear vision with ability to communicate goals

assessing internal and external customer requirements, and establishing key output requirements

assessing equipment, technologies and procedures for impact on quality, and establishing key input requirements, including appropriateness of maintenance strategies

assessing suitability of standard operations procedures and recommending revisions, when required

Required knowledge

Required knowledge includes:

process, procedure quality management and improvement procedures, zero defects, six sigma or similar programs

context of operations or project, such as competitive pressures or markets, customer-supplier relationships, regulatory and industrial environment, resourcing and labour issues

statistical process control (SPC) techniques

problem solving, root cause identification and elimination techniques

benchmarking and role in setting quality related performance indicators

conducting customer surveys to establish key quality issues

liaison with customers on warranty claims and legal obligations

maintenance strategies and implications for quality systems, such as total productive maintenance (TPM) and reliability centred maintenance (RCM)

use of employee suggestion schemes, employee involvement, quality circles, and so on

requirements for, and functions of, technical documentation, graphics and specifications and records of meetings, communications, negotiations, decisions and agreements with stakeholders

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.

Organisation formal policy documents

Organisation formal policy documents are those that have Board and/or senior management approval and include:

vision statements

organisation goals

annual reports

business plans

regulatory reports

Quality team

For this unit the term quality team means all employees, and in some cases suppliers and customers, who have a role in ensuring the quality of products and processes meet specifications. The quality team may be:

a formally designated team consisting of employees allocated full or part time to a quality role or a group of employees who have quality responsibilities as part of their normal job role

Coordination of the quality role

Coordination of the quality role includes:

aligning enterprise outputs products or services with customer requirements

identifying defective processes or procedure

establishing the engineering related key process input/output variables

establishing action plans and putting control systems in place

Coordination may also include:

contributing to current or new product, process or procedure design

External customer profiles and requirements

External customer profiles and requirements may include:

analysis of customer surveys

existing profiles

past orders

other communication and documentation

Internal customer specifications

Internal customer specifications may include:

employee surveys

operating procedures

drawings

other documentation/records

Maintenance strategies

Maintenance strategies include:

TPM

RCM

failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA)

proactive maintenance

breakdown or corrective maintenance

Areas of responsibilities for quality team members

Responsibilities for quality team members may be allocated on a departmental or functional basis. Examples of functional responsibilities include:

statistical data collection and analysis

non-conformances

managing quality performance of new products or processes

customer liaison, including surveys, warranty claim analysis and returns

contributing to design processes to ensure quality objectives are taken into account

Examples of functional quality responsibilities include:

production

maintenance

support services, including engineering-related quality logistics, administration and purchasing

Engineering-related quality advice on work environment

Engineering-related quality advice on work environments includes advice on:

skills development needed to enable employees to achieve quality targets

workstation design, including jigs and fixtures

equipment operation and machine and tool setting specifications

plant layout

inspection procedures

standardisation of processes

Employee feedback

Employee feedback may include:

toolbox meetings, quality circles

suggestion schemes

regular meetings between quality team, supervisors and employees

production and error reports