Elements and Performance Criteria

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 ISO 17025-2005 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
AS 1012 Methods of testing concrete
AS 1289 Methods for testing soils for engineering purposes
AS 2981 Methods of sampling and testing asphalt
AS 1141 Series - Methods for sampling and testing aggregates
AustRoads test methods
conservation requirements
enterprise quality manual, customer quality plan
equipment manuals and warranties, supplier catalogues and handbooks
MSDS
National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) documents regarding construction materials testing
sampling and test methods, enterprise or standard operating procedures (SOPs)
site safety plans
State/Territory Road Authority test methods
Hazards
Hazards may include:
electric shock
light, dust, noise and heat
biohazards, such as microbiological organisms and agents associated with soil
chemicals such as acids, alkalis and hydrocarbons
flammable liquids and gases
burns from hot bitumen, hot plates, hot moulds or ovens
inhalation or burns from sulphur during preparation of concrete samples
fluids under pressure
hand tools
occupational overuse syndrome, slips, trips and falls
manual/handling of heavy equipment or materials
crushing, entanglement and cuts associated with moving machinery
Enterprise safe work procedures
Enterprise safe work procedures may include:
use of MSDS
barriers recognising and observing hazard warnings and safety signs/barriers
labelling of samples, reagents and hazardous materials
cleaning and decontaminating equipment and work areas regularly using recommended procedures
handling and storing hazardous material and equipment in accordance with labels, manufacturer's instructions, enterprise procedures and regulations
following established manual handling procedures for tasks involving manual handling
use of personal protective equipment, such as hard hats, hearing protection, gloves, goggles, safety glasses, coveralls, respirators and safety boots
Tests
Tests may include:
testing of concrete:
drying shrinkage
chlorides and sulphates
chloride ion penetration
stiffness
testing of cement:
air permeability
setting times
normal consistency
testing of soils:
moisture-density relationships
California Bearing Ratio (CBR) (1 point)
unconfined compressive strength
quick tri-axial stress (total stress parameters)
permeability (e.g. drainage material)
hydrometer analysis
shrink/swell tests (site classification)
testing of asphalt:
Marshall stability/flow
skid tests
testing of bitumen seals:
viscosity
penetration
softening point
flash point
testing of aggregates:
10% fines, wet-dry strength variation
<2 micron test
sodium sulphate soundness
Los Angeles Abrasion
Washington degradation
polished aggregate friction value
Samples and test pieces
Samples and test pieces may include:
samples of aggregates, soil, rock, concrete, road pavement and binders
disturbed and undisturbed samples
Test and sample preparation equipment/materials
Test and sample preparation equipment/materials may include:
crushers, mulchers, grinders, mills, riffles and sieves
moulds, bags and containers
ovens, microwaves and water baths
mass balances
microscopes
dimension apparatus (e.g. calipers and micrometer)
rammers, compression rigs and load cells
chemical reagents and volumetric glassware
temperature measuring devices, such as thermometers and thermocouples
pH and conductivity meters
analogue and digital meters, charts/recorders, data loggers and computers
Appropriate corrective actions
Appropriate corrective actions may include:
accuracy check of data entry and transcription
logical check of equipment setup
check of calibration, zero error and drift for basic instruments
careful re-reading of procedures
repeat test measurements
seek advice
Technical/administrative records
Technical/administrative records may include:
test and calibration results
equipment use, maintenance and servicing history
faulty, unsafe or quarantined equipment
Minimising environmental impacts
Minimising environmental impacts may include:
collection of surplus or spent samples and test pieces for disposal
recycling of non-hazardous waste, such as chemicals, batteries, plastic, metals and glass
appropriate disposal of all waste
correct storage and handling of hazardous chemicals and samples
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

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:
plan efficient work sequences
prepare a range of laboratory samples or test pieces and conduct tests to determine their properties safely and accurately and within required timeframe
interpret trends in data and results to identify obvious errors or unexpected results and take corrective action.

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 other relevant units of competency such as:
MSL924001A Process and interpret data
MSL943002A Participate in laboratory/field workplace safety
MSL953001A Receive and prepare samples for testing.
Resources may include:
data sets and records
test methods and description of test setup
computer and relevant software or laboratory information system
relevant enterprise procedures.

Method of assessment
The following assessment methods are suggested:
review of test data, results and records generated by the candidate
feedback from supervisors and clients regarding the candidate's ability to conduct a range of multi-stage tests to determine the properties of samples reliably, safely and efficiently
questions to assess understanding of enterprise procedures and multi-stage test methodsrelevant to their job role (including key treatment and measurement steps, expected values, sources of uncertainty and corrective actions).
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 to show its relevance in a workplace setting.
Construction materials testing
A materials technician employed at a consulting laboratory reviews the ten job sheetsassigned to him/her at the start of the day. The first client is a road construction company and requires a soaked California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test on a sandy gravel sample (@98% density ratio using modified compactive effort and 105%OMC). The technician locates and reads through the appropriate test methods (AS 1289.6.1.1 and AS1289.5.2.1) and assembles the necessary equipment.He/she uses a 19mm sieve to obtain suitable material for the test and prepares representative sub-samples to determine the dry density and optimum moisture content and CBR.
To determine theCBR, he/she adds the required amount of water to the test portion to achieve the required laboratory density ratio and sets it aside to cure for the recommended time. Using the modified compactive effort procedure, he/she fills the mould in five layers taking care that each layer thickness meets specification. He/she then positions the required surcharges on top of the specimen and places it in a water bath to soak for four days. After retrieving the specimen, the technician checks the swell and performs the penetration test before the specimen dries out.After positioning the specimen, zeroing the measuring instruments, he/she applies the load with a constant penetration of 1+/- 0.2mm/min and records the load (kN) at penetrations of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0 and 12.5mm. Afterwards,the technician removes the sample carefully and determines the moisture content for both the top 30mm layer and the rest of the specimen. He/she plots the load vs penetration data and applies corrections at 2.5mm and 5.0mm to compensate for its initial upward concave shape. He/she reads off force values of 9.2kN (at 2.5 mm) and 13.9kN (at 5.0mm) respectively and calculates CBR values of 69.7% and 70.2%. After checking all measurements, data plots and calculated values the technician decides that the results are consistent with expected values. He/she reports each of the required results to the precision specified in the test method (e.g. CBR=70% @ 2.5 and 5.0mm penetration) and other test details such as the surcharges used and the period of soaking. After completing the test report, he/she forwards it to the laboratory manager for review prior to its release to the client.
Construction materials testing
A laboratory receives a job request from a building developer to determine the shrink/swell index for soil samples collected from a proposed housing estate. A technician logs the job and locates the appropriate test method (AS 1289.7.1.1). Given the commercial importance of establishing whether or not there are any significant cut/fill variations across the development site, he/she reviews the method carefully. The technician notes that they need to be careful when removing the sample from the U50 tube to preserve its undisturbed state and to also check for stones and inert materials. He/she works through the steps required for separately conditioning and measuring the two specimens required for determining the index and notes that if the shrink specimen cracks while drying to constant length, the results will be invalid. After assembling and checking the required equipment, he/she performs the test successfully.