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 the ability to:

analyse and improve problem finding capabilities of the organisation

improve the problem solving capability of the organisation

set KPIs for organisation problem solving

ongoing review of systems and processes relevant to problem solving

increasing problem solving capability through identification of appropriate strategies, including where required, identifying:

training needs in problem finding and solving

changes in organisational structure, decision making and processes

appropriate metrics

need for outside assistance.

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 language and literacy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.

Required skills

Required skills include:

reviewing current operations and procedures to determine if problems are being identified as early as possible

reviewing current operations and procedures to determine if problems are being defined appropriately

identifying and quantifying desired outcome from improved problem solving capability, such as:

improved customer service and delivery

defect elimination

capacity improvement

cost reduction

safety improvement

improved complaint resolution

establishing appropriate reporting arrangements for formal problem solving, including:

appropriate metrics (e.g. incident frequency and incident consequences)

trigger criteria for conducting problem solving activity

problem definition and quantification

cause and effect diagrams (or similar)

solutions identified

reviewing organisational structure, value stream and customer alignment in order to set performance indicators for organisation problem solving capability

Required knowledge

Required knowledge includes:

competitive systems and practices principles

competitive systems and practices at both a strategic and tools level, including:

value stream mapping

5S

Just in Time (JIT)

mistake proofing

process mapping

establishing customer pull

breakthrough improvement and continuous improvement (kaizen and kaizen blitz)

setting of key performance indicators (KPIs)/metrics

identification and elimination of waste (muda)

six sigma and lean six sigma

a range of problem solving methodologies, including:

cross-functional problem solving team

cross-functional nominal group (virtual team)

consulting and or brainstorming with members from outside the organisation on some basis

input from other members of the value stream

the use of known/proprietary problem solving approaches or some synthesis of methods

own or commissioned research either in whole or in part

organisation strategy and vision, value stream and value as defined by the organisation’s customers

corrective action tracking methods

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

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

Codes of practice/standards

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

Health, safety and environment (HSE)

All changes implemented are expected to be at least neutral, or preferably beneficial, in their impact on HSE

Organisational structure

A review of organisational structure may include:

operational and support functions and departments

links with value stream members

super-users and facilitators

roles and responsibilities with regard to problem solving

plans to broaden the users of problem solving approach

plans to improve the problem solving performance of personnel

Problem finding strategies

Problem finding strategies are the strategies used to identify:

problems before they become obvious or cause significant non-conformance or risk

situations not initially considered a problem but which may be hindering greater performance

strategies for finding opportunities for improvement

Complex problem

A complex problem may be described as one which has several of the following characteristics:

requires going into the extended value stream for data/information

is wider than just applying to a single job

applies to less common solutions or problems

requires a higher level of knowledge and skill (which may or may not be possessed directly by the person solving the problem), such as:

significant specialist knowledge

significant specialist skill

more theory/understanding of technology or process

data is not easily available and may need particular strategies to obtain, such as:

overcoming resistance from people, including employees, customers or suppliers

extracting data not regularly reported from SCADA or similar systems

the problem and/or proposed solutions require reporting or authorisations from a Board or external authorities, such as licensing or regulatory bodies

Effective solutions

Effective solutions will:

prevent recurrence

be within the control/ability of the organisation to implement

meet organisation goals and objectives

Required resources

Required resources may include:

plant

data processing equipment

measuring and diagnostic equipment

materials (e.g. raw materials, components, work in progress, other consumables, paper and forms in electronic or hard format)

energy (e.g. heating, cooling, fuel and power)

appropriately skilled people as employees and in the value stream

finances

feedback/visual operations resources

measuring equipment

Manager

Manager may include:

any person who may have either a permanent or an ad hoc role in facilitating the function of multiple teams in a workplace, departments or entire organisations