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

A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to provide evidence of their ability to:

gather appropriate data to allow energy analyses

categorise energy use into necessary use and waste

develop options for energy reduction including presenting of alternatives and benefit/cost analyses

develop strategies and plans for energy use and monitor implementation.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment of performance must be undertaken in a workplace using or implementing one or more competitive systems and practices.

Access may be required to:

workplace procedures and plans relevant to work area

specifications and documentation relating to planned, currently being implemented, or implemented changes to work processes and procedures relevant to the assessee

documentation and information in relation to production, waste, overheads and hazard control/management

reports from supervisors/managers

case studies and scenarios to assess responses to contingencies.

Method of assessment

A holistic approach should be taken to the assessment.

Competence in this unit may be assessed by using a combination of the following to generate evidence:

demonstration in the workplace

workplace projects

suitable simulation

case studies/scenarios (particularly for assessment of contingencies, improvement scenarios, and so on)

targeted questioning

reports from supervisors, peers and colleagues (third-party reports)

portfolio of evidence.

In all cases it is expected that practical assessment will be combined with targeted questioning to assess underpinning knowledge.

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

Guidance information for assessment

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

Required skills

Required skills include:

using common units, symbols and formulae common in energy-related calculations

applying mathematics

communicating with a variety of groups and individuals using different media

solving complex problems individually and as part of a team

reviewing range of existing data for suitability and determining where new data gathering is required

planning and organising complex whole of organisation activities relating to energy use, including objectives, timelines, implementation procedures and monitoring strategy

determining where energy balancing techniques are required

accessing manufacturers’ data and other sources of energy consumption for individual equipment and processes

mapping processes and energy flows

calculating, manipulating and interpreting numerical data

ranking energy consumption and waste for area, sites or processes

calculating the efficiency of use of energy by equipment and processes

consulting with technical and operative staff on possible non-obvious energy wastes

consulting and negotiating with stakeholders on implementation process for sustainability improvement

Required knowledge

Required knowledge includes:

types and sources of energy

methods of analysing energy efficiency for different types of energy

methods of converting energy values from one form to another

alternative sources of energy

principles of energy efficiency

relevant regulatory/legislative requirements

energy trading schemes and procedures

organisation and process needs for energy

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.

Competitive systems and practices

Competitive systems and practices may include, but are not limited to:

lean operations

agile operations

preventative and predictive maintenance approaches

monitoring and data gathering systems, such as Systems Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) software, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, Materials Resource Planning (MRP) and proprietary systems

statistical process control systems, including six sigma and three sigma

Just in Time (JIT), kanban and other pull-related operations control systems

supply, value, and demand chain monitoring and analysis

5S

continuous improvement (kaizen)

breakthrough improvement (kaizen blitz)

cause/effect diagrams

overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)

takt time

process mapping

problem solving

run charts

standard procedures

current reality tree

Competitive systems and practices should be interpreted so as to take into account:

the stage of implementation of competitive systems and practices

the size of the enterprise

the work organisation, culture, regulatory environment and the industry sector

Waste

Waste (also known as muda in the Toyota Production System and its derivatives) is any activity which does not contribute to customer benefit/features in the product.

Within operations, categories of waste include:

excess production and early production

delays

movement and transport

poor process design

inventory

inefficient performance of a process

making defective items

activities which do not yield any benefit to the organisation or any benefit to the organisations customers

Necessary waste

Necessary waste is:

any activity or cost which does not contribute directly to customer benefit/feature in the product, and which cannot be avoided (e.g. regulatory compliance and fixed costs). Necessary waste cannot be eliminated but should be managed

Unnecessary waste

Unnecessary waste is:

any activity or cost which does not contribute directly to customer benefit/features in the product and can be avoided. Unnecessary waste should be eliminated as quickly as practical

Energy

Energy includes:

all sources of energy used by the process be it electricity, gas or mobile transport fuel

The uses of the energy will also be potentially wide and include:

heating and cooling

moving materials (e.g. pumps and conveyors)

modifying materials (e.g. cutting, forming, weaving, knitting, reacting, moulding, extruding and mixing)

generating pressure/vacuum or providing motive power for equipment and transport

Energy trading

Energy trading means both formal trading where the organisation investigates alternatives to:

the buying of energy through alternative suppliers and tender processes

selling of excess energy produced by the organisation to energy companies or other producers

and

internal trading of excess energy from one area to an energy consuming area elsewhere in the organisation