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Evidence Guide: MSL913002A - Plan and conduct laboratory_field work

Student: __________________________________________________

Signature: _________________________________________________

Tips for gathering evidence to demonstrate your skills

The important thing to remember when gathering evidence is that the more evidence the better - that is, the more evidence you gather to demonstrate your skills, the more confident an assessor can be that you have learned the skills not just at one point in time, but are continuing to apply and develop those skills (as opposed to just learning for the test!). Furthermore, one piece of evidence that you collect will not usualy demonstrate all the required criteria for a unit of competency, whereas multiple overlapping pieces of evidence will usually do the trick!

From the Wiki University

 

MSL913002A - Plan and conduct laboratory_field work

What evidence can you provide to prove your understanding of each of the following citeria?

Plan and organise daily work activities

  1. Clarify allocated work activities and required resources if necessary
  2. Prioritise work activities as directed
  3. Break down work activities into small achievable components and efficient sequences
  4. Review work plan in response to new information, urgent requests, changed situations or instructions from appropriate personnel
  5. Update work plan and communicate changes to appropriate personnel
Clarify allocated work activities and required resources if necessary

Completed
Date:

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Prioritise work activities as directed

Completed
Date:

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Break down work activities into small achievable components and efficient sequences

Completed
Date:

Teacher:		 Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review work plan in response to new information, urgent requests, changed situations or instructions from appropriate personnel

Completed
Date:

Teacher:		 Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update work plan and communicate changes to appropriate personnel

Completed
Date:

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Complete allocated work

  1. Locate relevant workplace procedures for required tasks
  2. Undertake tasks following prescribed and routine work related sequences
  3. Seek assistance from relevant personnel when difficulties cannot be handled
  4. Record completion of activities to confirm outputs in accordance with plan
Locate relevant workplace procedures for required tasks

Completed
Date:

Teacher:		 Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Undertake tasks following prescribed and routine work related sequences

Completed
Date:

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Seek assistance from relevant personnel when difficulties cannot be handled

Completed
Date:

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Record completion of activities to confirm outputs in accordance with plan

Completed
Date:

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Identify and resolve work problems

  1. Recognise problems or opportunities for improved work performance
  2. Apply agreed problem solving strategies to consider possible causes and solutions
  3. Identify and access appropriate sources of help
  4. Consider available alternatives and keep them open before agreeing on the most appropriate action
Recognise problems or opportunities for improved work performance

Completed
Date:

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Apply agreed problem solving strategies to consider possible causes and solutions

Completed
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Identify and access appropriate sources of help

Completed
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Consider available alternatives and keep them open before agreeing on the most appropriate action

Completed
Date:

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Work in a team environment

  1. Cooperate with team members to negotiate and achieve agreed outcomes, timelines and priorities
  2. Recognise personal abilities and limitations when undertaking team tasks
  3. Confirm personal role and responsibility within the team for particular outputs
  4. Demonstrate sensitivity to the diversity of other team members' backgrounds and beliefs
Cooperate with team members to negotiate and achieve agreed outcomes, timelines and priorities

Completed
Date:

Teacher:		 Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recognise personal abilities and limitations when undertaking team tasks

Completed
Date:

Teacher:		 Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Confirm personal role and responsibility within the team for particular outputs

Completed
Date:

Teacher:		 Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Demonstrate sensitivity to the diversity of other team members' backgrounds and beliefs

Completed
Date:

Teacher:		 Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update knowledge and skills as required

  1. Recognise own strengths and weaknesses and take advantage of skill development opportunities
Recognise own strengths and weaknesses and take advantage of skill development opportunities

Completed
Date:

Teacher:		 Evidence:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assessed

Teacher: ___________________________________ Date: _________

Signature: ________________________________________________

Comments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructions to Assessors

Evidence Guide

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 and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

Assessors should ensure that candidates can:

follow workplace procedures to achieve quality outcomes within timelines

identify and resolve work problems

work effectively with team members and promote cooperation and good relations

prioritise activities and recognise potential disruptions or changed circumstances and modify the work plan in conjunction with relevant personnel.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or simulated workplace environment.

This unit of competency may be assessed with:

MSL913001A Communicate with other people

MSL943002A Participate in laboratory/field workplace safety

technical units related to the tasks undertaken.

Resources may include:

enterprise procedures, equipment and materials for relevant technical tasks.

Method of assessment

The following assessment methods are suggested:

review of a flowchart prepared by the candidate to show efficient sequencing of tasks

observation of the candidate performing a range of technical tasks over sufficient time to demonstrate their handling of a variety of contingencies

review of documents detailing completed tasks, such as completed job cards, a report or suggestions for quality improvement

feedback from peers and team members

feedback from supervisors

written or oral questions to partly assess the candidate's ability to handle a range of contingencies and work in a team environment.

In all cases, practical assessment should be supported by questions to assess underpinning knowledge and those aspects of competency which are difficult to assess directly.

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.

The language, literacy and numeracy demands of assessment should not be greater than those required to undertake the unit of competency in a work like environment.

This competency in practice

Industry representatives have provided the case studies below to illustrate the practical application of this unit of competency and show its relevance in a workplace setting.

Manufacturing

A plastic processing plant had to halt production because of a suspect raw material. The plant manager immediately requested the polymer testing laboratory to test and identify all batches of polypropylene additives and colouring agents. The laboratory team of three assistants and one technical officer allocated the workload amongst themselves to conduct the twelve different tests within a period of four hours to identify the 'out of specification' materials and report them to the production supervisor. All laboratory assistants had to reschedule their workplan, perform the required tests and assist each other to solve the production problem.

Biomedical

As part of a routine sequence, a technical officer is required to perform a series of tasks, including the calibration of instruments required for testing of blood samples. These tasks are to be completed within a specified timeframe to meet the output requirements of the enterprise. During the calibration of one of the instruments, the technician experiences difficulties that require expert technical assistance. The problem is referred to the appropriate person and is quickly resolved. Consequently, the officer is able to complete all necessary tasks within the prescribed timeframe and the required output is maintained.

Food processing

Each of the technical assistants working in the laboratory of a food processing company was dedicated to performing specific analyses. As a result, they often alternated between periods of inactivity and excessive workload (the latter case had the potential to compromise their health and safety and the accuracy of their food analyses). One of the contributing factors to the periods of intense activity was the need to quickly prepare standard solutions and reagents. The team discussed this problem and agreed that while it was not appropriate for each assistant to become competent to perform every analytical procedure, it was feasible for each person to be able to prepare solutions and reagents used by others. The team developed a central register in which impending shortages of these materials was noted. Each assistant referred to this register when no other work was due and prepared the materials on a 'first in, first out' basis unless a task was given a priority rating. The team found that this strategy more evenly distributed the workload over their shift, improved safety in the laboratory and reduced the risk of error.

Required Skills and Knowledge

Required skills

Required skills include:

conducting work based on ethical values and principles

clarifying tasks and recognising resource needs

following relevant procedures consistently

recognising potential disruptions or changed circumstances and modifying work plan in conjunction with relevant personnel

ability to adjust to a variety of working environments (indoor, outdoor and night)

seeking assistance from relevant personnel when difficulties arise

achieving quality outcomes within timelines

working effectively with team members who may have diverse work styles, cultures and perspectives

promoting cooperation and good relations in the team

assisting team members to organise and manage its workload

Required knowledge

Required knowledge includes:

enterprise procedures:

customer service

quality

occupational health and safety (OHS) and environmental legislative requirements

technical work that the candidate routinely performs

workplace agreements and employment conditions:

workers compensation

industrial awards enterprise agreements

equal employment opportunity

anti-discrimination and anti-harassment

ethical background relevant to the nature of the work:

use of animals for research

genetic modification, gene therapy, cloning and stem cells

invitro fertilisation

forensic testing of populations

importance of commercial confidentiality

problem solving strategies

interpersonal communication and conflict resolution techniques

relevant health, safety and environment requirements

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.

Codes of practice

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

Standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements

Standards, codes, procedures and/or enterprise requirements may include:

Australian and international standards such as:

AS/NZS 2243 Set:2006 Safety in laboratories set

AS/NZS ISO 14000 Set:2005 Environmental management standards set

AS/NZS ISO 9000 Set:2008 Quality management systems set

OHS national standards and codes of practice

Ethical and professional work performance

Ethical and professional work performance includes:

following enterprise policy and procedures, regulations and legislation

behaving honestly and openly

respecting others and treating them with courtesy and impartiality

working diligently and responsibly

ensuring confidentiality of information, including client identification and test results

ensuring proprietary rights, intellectual property and copyright are protected

clarifying personal values and ethics and analysing how they impinge on actions in the workplace

Workplace activities

Workplace activities may include:

setup and pre-use checks of laboratory equipment

calibration status checks

sampling and testing following standard procedures

maintenance and cleaning tasks

Workplace procedures

Workplace procedures may include:

standard operating procedures (SOPs)

job cards, batch cards and production schedules

job descriptions

methods, recipes, procedures and protocols

Problem solving

Problem solving may include:

accessing relevant documentation

identifying inputs and outputs

sequencing a process

identifying and rectifying a problem step

obtaining timely help

implementing preventative strategies wherever possible

Teams

Teams may:

be ongoing with responsibility for particular services or functions

be project based

have a mixture of full and part-time employees and contractors, laboratory, construction and production personnel

be separated by distance and work at sites outside laboratory facilities

Team operation

Team operation may occur within:

small, medium and large contexts

internal and external environments

enterprise guidelines covering access and equity principles and practices, licensing requirements, industrial awards, enterprise bargaining agreements and codes of practice

agreed responsibility and accountability requirements

appropriate goals, objectives

given resource parameters

Team tasks

Team tasks may vary according to:

the size of enterprise

the scope of the laboratory

their level of responsibility

Strategies to maintain work flow

Strategies to maintain work flow may include:

communicating critical events on shift

recognising shortages in reagents and problems with equipment

communicating quality breakdowns

recognising urgent and abnormal results to be processed

communicating and behaving in a courteous manner

being punctual

Occupational health and safety (OHS) and environmental management requirements

OHS and environmental management requirements:

all operations must comply with enterprise OHS and environmental management requirements, which may be imposed through state/territory or federal legislation - these requirements must not be compromised at any time

all operations assume the potentially hazardous nature of samples and require standard precautions to be applied

where relevant, users should access and apply current industry understanding of infection control issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and State and Territory Departments of Health