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, 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 assess to service shut off-points
recognising and observing hazard warnings and safety signs
labelling of samples and hazardous materials
extraction of dust
cages and 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 in accordance with enterprise procedures
reporting of abnormal emissions and airborne contaminants to appropriate personnel
Common system errors and corrective actions
Common system errors and corrective actions may include:
sample losses:
inspect mill for mechanical problems and worn hoses
inspect balance/load cell, clean and check calibration
check sample for dryness and contamination
collision of sample buckets, transport belt problem:
clear obstruction, cross-check sample, worksheet, job sequence and synchronise belt
loss of air pressure:
check pneumatic lines, compressor and solenoid values
LIMS network connections:
check all parameters are saved in system, if not, unload and reload data and cross-check samples with worksheets
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, monitor and adjust work flow to manage competing client/production priorities
ensure that the robotic sample preparation system operates efficiently and safely to produce outputs that meet the enterprise/client quality requirements
promptly identify/rectify common system problems
work closely with operators to improve safety, efficiency and quality.

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:
MSL944001A Maintain laboratory/field workplace safety
MSL977002A Troubleshoot equipment and/or production processes.
Resources may include:
access to a robotic sample preparation system
a variety of mineral ore samples, sample preparation methods, equipment and reagents
safety equipment
relevant enterprise procedures.

Method of assessment
The following assessment methods are suggested:
review of production logs, quality control, performance and analytical results traceable to samples prepared on shifts supervised by the candidate
review of system records prepared by the candidate
feedback from operators, service/maintenance technicians, clients and laboratory/production managers
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 study below to illustrate the practical application of this unit of competency and show its relevance in a workplace setting.
Mineral processing
An operator observes that the robotic sample preparation system is displaying an 'incorrect weight' error code and informs the shift supervisor. The supervisor notes that although the input weight for the sample being processed was 800g, the indicated output weight is zero. He/she immediately suspects that the sample is stuck in the bowl. He/she switches off the mill and tags it out so that the operator can continue unloading the completed samples. The supervisor checks the mill for a faulty hose but they are all functioning correctly. He/she decides that the problem could be in the grinding vessel and tries to manually discharge the sample with a pendant without success. After opening up the grinding vessel, he/she finds that a 'plastic' sample is stuck in the bowl. He/she replaces the grinding vessel with a new one. As he/she extracts the sample from the bowl, he/she notices a very strong smell of diesel. He/shesubsequently finds that the client's other samples are also contaminated and removes them from the input magazine. He/she deletes the client's worksheets from the robot control program, checks and synchronises the system and then restarts the robot. He/she reports the problem to the laboratory manager and asks him/her to notify the client of the diesel contamination and the laboratory's inability to prepare their batch of samples.