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 2939 Industrial robot systems - Safe design and usage
AS 3988-1991 Copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver ores - Guide to sample preparation for the determination of gold
AS 4433.2-1997 Guide to the sampling of particulate materials - Preparation of samples
AS ISO 1000-1998 The international system of units (SI) and its application
Australian code of good manufacturing practice for medicinal products (GMP)
enterprise recording and reporting procedures
equipment startup, operation and shutdown procedures
material safety data sheets (MSDS)
national measurement regulations and guidelines
principles of good laboratory practice (GLP)
production and laboratory schedules
quality manuals, equipment and procedures manuals
standard operating procedures (SOPs) and published preparation methods
Samples
Samples may include:
solids, such as rocks, minerals, soils, sands and stream sediments
pulverised core and other drill samples (e.g. rotary air blast (RAB), reverse circulation (RC) and aircore)
powder concentrates
dump samples and grab samples
Client requests/documentation
Client requests/documentation may include:
client profile, sample identification, sample receipt, storage and analyses
required preparation method and service charges
Sample preparation methods
Sample preparation methods may include:
sorting, boxing and drying
sieving
milling
primary crushing (e.g. 10 mm, 2 mm)
fine pulverising (e.g. 100 micron, 75 micron)
robotic system parameters, such as grind time, crushing time and cleaning cycles to prevent cross-contamination
Sample preparation equipment
Sample preparation equipment may include:
splitters (e.g. riffles and rotary dividers)
mills (e.g. ball, ring and rod)
bowls (e.g. chrome-steel, tungsten-carbide and zirconia) and tumblers
crushers (e.g. cone, jaw and roll), grinders and disc pulverisers
sieves
ovens
sample containers and labels
Hazards
Hazards may include:
dust, silica and fibrous materials
asbestiform minerals
naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM)
samples containing nickel and lead-based compounds
noise and vibration
crushing, entanglement and cuts associated with moving machinery
impact injuries from contact with robot arms
failure of pneumatic hoses
manual handling of heavy loads, such as sample bags/containers, racks and trolleys
heat exhaustion/stress and fatigue
Safety equipment and procedures
Safety equipment and procedures may include:
ensuring access to service shut-off points
recognising and observing hazard warnings and safety signs
labelling of samples and hazardous materials
extraction of dust
guards for moving machinery parts
noise insulation
using personal protective equipment, such as masks, heat resistant mittens, boots, goggles, coats, ear muffs, safety boots and heat reflective clothing
following established manual handling procedures
regular cleaning of equipment and work areas using enterprise procedures
reporting of abnormal emissions and airborne contaminants to appropriate personnel
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:
operate a robotic sample preparation system reliably, efficiently and safely for a range of different samples with different preparation requirements and subsequent analysis
maintain sequential control of samples through all preparation stages
recognise and report common system error codes
minimise rework, waste and environmental impacts.

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:
MSL953001A Receive and prepare samples for testing
MSL943002A Participate in laboratory/field workplace safety.
Resources may include:
access to a robotic sample preparation system
a variety of mineral ore samples
sample preparation methods, equipment and reagents
safety equipment.

Method of assessment
The following assessment methods are suggested:
review of entries made by the candidate in operator and robotic system logs
review of quality control performance and analytical results traceable to samples prepared by the candidate
feedback from peers, clients and supervisors
written/oral questioning about robotic sample preparation procedures, common problems and their specified 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 show its relevance in a workplace setting.
Mineral processing
A robot operator checks the nearby whiteboard to identify what jobs are set down for the next shift and reviews the shift handover notes. He/she locates the first rack of samples, checks that the paperwork is complete for each sample and reviews the sample preparation parameters for each. He/she checks that the samples have been dried correctly and that the listed grind times are consistent with typical values. After scanning each barcode, he loads the batch of samples from the oven racks into the input magazine and starts the robot control program. He/she checks for the sample loss indicated on the screen as each sample is prepared to ensure that any loss doesn't exceed ~2%. After 20 minutes operation, the screen displays an error code that indicates that the system has detected an air pressure problem in the pneumatic control lines. He/she promptly notifies the shift supervisor for assistance. While the supervisor is attending to the problem, the operator unloads the output magazine and removes the sample containers that have been correctly prepared according to the set parameters. He/she extracts analytical portions from each one using a standard procedure for obtaining representative samples and then boxes them up using labels generated by the system. He/she arranges for the excess sample material to be stored.