Elements and Performance Criteria

The range of variables relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that will affect performance.
Where reference is made to industry Codes of Practice, and/or Australian/international standards, it is expected the latest version will be used.
All operations and analytical methods must comply with relevant standards, appropriate procedures and/or enterprise requirements.

These procedures include or have been prepared from
Australian and international standards, such as -
AS ISO/IEC 17025 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
ISO 9000 series Quality management and quality assurance standards
AS 2243.2 Safety in laboratories - chemical aspects
AS 2830.1 Good laboratory practice - chemical analysis
Codes of Practice, such as GLP and GMP
material safety data sheets (MSDSs)
National Measurement Act
standard operating procedures (SOPs)
quality manuals, equipment and procedure manuals
equipment start-up, operation and shutdown procedures
calibration and maintenance schedules
data quality procedures
enterprise recording and reporting procedures
production and laboratory schedules
material, production and product specifications.

Electrophoretic methods, include both analytical and preparative procedures, may use
vertical or horizontal apparatus
support materials, such as cellulose acetate
gels, such as agarose, polyacrylamide
buffer solutions
denaturing electrophoresis, such as SDS-PAGE
blot transfer procedures in conjunction with electrophoresis, such as Western and Southern Blot transfers, agarose and polyacrylamide DNA gels
capillary electrophoresis.

Preparation of sample may include pre-treatment processes, such as
identification of any hazardous properties associated with the samples and/or analytical chemicals.
grinding, dissolving, extraction, centrifuging, refluxing, evaporation, washing, drying
determination of and, if appropriate, removal of any contaminants, impurities or interfering substances.

Tests may include methods for
control of starting materials, in-process materials and finished products (for example, food, manufacturing)
therapeutic drug analysis
forensic testing
diagnostic pathology tests
determination of chemical analytes
special conditions for handling minute sample volumes
environmental monitoring
problem solving techniques for non-routine samples
troubleshooting enterprise processes.

Common analytical procedure and equipment problems may include
problems with interfering substances
inappropriate support material or operating procedures
toxic or hazardous materials, including impurities in samples
lack of suitable or high purity reference standards
changes in operating variables, such as field strength, constant current, constant power, buffers, pH
problems with obtaining adequate sample volume.

Hazards may include
electric shock
biohazards, such as-
microbiological organisms and agents associated with soil, air, water, blood and blood products, human or animal tissue and fluids
mycotoxins
chemicals, such as-
acrylamide
acids for example, sulphuric, perchloric, hydrofluoric
hazardous materials, heavy metals, pesticides
sharps, broken glassware
aerosols from broken centrifuge tubes, pipetting
flammable liquids and gases
cryogenics, such as dry ice and liquid nitrogen
sources of ignition
disturbance or interruption of services.

Addressing hazards may involve
use of material safety data sheets (MSDS)
labelling of samples, reagents, aliquoted samples and hazardous materials
personal protective equipment, such as gloves, safety glasses, coveralls
use of fumehoods, direct extraction of vapours, gases
use of appropriate equipment, such as biohazard containers, laminar flow cabinets, Class I, II and III biohazard cabinets
use of Class PCII, PCIII and PCIV physical containment laboratories
handling and storage of all hazardous materials and equipment in accordance with labelling, materials safety data sheets and manufacturer's instructions.

Health, safety and environment
All operations to which this unit applies are subject to stringent health, safety and environmental (HSE) requirements, which may be imposed through State or Federal legislation, and these must not be compromised at any time. Where there is an apparent conflict between performance criteria and HSE requirements, the HSE requirements take precedence.
All operations assume the potentially hazardous nature of samples and require standard precautions to be applied. Users should access and apply current industry understanding of infection control issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council and State and Territory Departments of Health. All operations are performed in accordance with standard operating procedures.

The Evidence Guide describes the underpinning knowledge and skills that must be demonstrated to prove competence.
Critical aspects of competency

Competency must be demonstrated in the ability to perform consistently at the required standard. In particular, assessors should look to see that the candidate:

interprets client request, test methods and procedures accurately
can safety set up and shut down equipment using enterprise procedures
checks calibration/qualification status of equipment
prepares standards and samples appropriately
chooses and optimises procedures and equipment settings to suit sample/test requirements
operates equipment to obtain valid and reliable data
makes approved adjustments to procedures for non-routine samples
recognises atypical data/results
troubleshoots common analytical procedure and equipment problems
applies theoretical knowledge to interpret data and makes relevant conclusions
records and reports data/results in accordance with enterprise procedures
maintains security, integrity and traceability of samples and documentation
follows OHS procedures and GLP.

Underpinning knowledge

Competency includes the ability to apply and explain:

electrophoretic principles and concepts related to instrumentation operation, material preparation and testing
handling of unstable or hazardous chemicals or samples and/or the fragile/labile nature of biological material
sample preparation procedures
function of key components of the equipment
use of different electrophoresis procedures for analysis of specific samples
effects on results of modifying instrumental variables, such as field strength, constant current, constant power
procedures for optimising separation through changing operation parameters, such as buffers, pH, detection methods
basic procedure and equipment troubleshooting procedures
preparation and use of calibration charts and/or standards
calculation procedures to give results in appropriate precision and units
basic equipment maintenance procedures
enterprise and/or legal traceability requirements
relevant health, safety and environment requirements.

Specific industry

Additional knowledge requirements may apply for different industry sectors. For example, in the biomedical and environmental services sector:

techniques that capitalise on biological properties to assist in electrophoretic separations.

Assessment context and methods
This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or simulated workplace environment.

The following assessment methods are suggested:

review of test data/results obtained by the candidate over time to ensure accuracy, consistency and timeliness of results
inspection of test records and workplace documentation completed by candidate
feedback from peers and supervisors
observation of candidate applying a range of electrophoretic techniques
oral or written questioning of chemical principles and concepts, electrophoretic techniques and enterprise procedures.
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. Questioning techniques should suit the language and literacy levels of the candidate.

Interdependent assessment of unit

This unit of competency may be assessed with:

PMLDATA500B Analyse data and report results.

Resource implications

Resources may include:

standard laboratory equipped with routine electrophoresis equipment, laboratory reagents and equipment
standard operating procedures (SOPs) and testing methods.

This competency in practice
The advent of DNA typing in the mid-1980s has enormously increased the ability of forensic technicians to identify individuals uniquely by testing a variety of their body fluids found at the crime scene. The samples obtained from the scene are first treated to extract the DNA with short tandem repeated (STR) markers. After isolating the DNA from its cells, specific regions are copied by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The resulting PCR products are then separated and detected in order to characterise the STR region being examined. The most common separation methods used today are slab gel and capillary electrophoresis (CE).
Given the enormous number of DNA samples to be processed, technicians frequently run fully automated injection, separation and detection stops. They use computerised data acquisition to enable rapid analysis and subsequent searching of digital storage of DNA results.
Technicians who work in the food and beverage processing industries regularly monitor the purity of food additives, such as dyes and colouring agents in products, such as sweets and soft drinks. For example, technicians may sample a batch of soft drink by low temperature evaporation of a known percentage of the water and then subject the remains to electrophoresis separation technique. In this way, both the identification and concentration of a dye (or other additive) present in the soft drink can be determined. Technicians may also be required to examine the electrophoresis results for any indication of harmful or toxic impurities, which may have inadvertently contaminated the product. Quality control and use of appropriate standards are important components of these analytical procedures.

The seven key competencies represent generic skills considered for effective work participation. The bracketed numbering against each of the key competencies indicates the performance level required in this unit. These are stand-alone levels and do not correspond to levels in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).
Level (1) represents the competence to undertake tasks effectively
Level (2) represents the competence to manage tasks
Level (3) represents the competence to use concepts for evaluating and reshaping tasks.
Communicating ideas and information
(2)

Collecting analysing and organising information
(2)

Planning and organising activities
(2)

Working with others and in teams
(2)

Using mathematical ideas and techniques
(2)

Solving problems
(2)

Using technology
(3)