Unit of competency Outline

Date retreived
23/07/2026 7:19 AM AWST

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Locate, diagnose and rectify faults

Locate, diagnose and rectify faults

Unit of competency
National Code
ICTTEN4081A
State Code
D3460
TGA Status
Replaced
DTWD Status
Replaced
Current Release Number
1.00
Current Release Date
15/06/2010
View on TGA
State Implementation and Classification
Approved Date
15/04/2014
Field of Education
031309 - Communications Equipment Installation And Maintenance
Original Release Date
15/04/2014
Nominal Hours
50
Description
This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to locate, diagnose and rectify faults in telecommunications networks. Telecommunications networks include cabling, customer premises equipment (CPE), access, telephony, broadband deployment, local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN) and internet protocol (IP) networks for enterprise and customer systems and installations.No licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of endorsement but users should confirm requirements with the relevant federal, state or territory authority.
Notes
Elements and Performance Criteria
1. Plan to locate and rectify a fault
  • 1.1. Prepare for given work according to relevant legislation, occupational health and safety (OHS), codes, regulations and standards and identified hazards
  • 1.2. Arrange access to the site according to required procedure
  • 1.3. Obtain information on the nature of fault from the customer
  • 1.4. Obtain suitable testing tools and equipment and specify personal protective equipment
  • 1.5. Conduct fault finding using methodical and safe practices suitable for system and problem type
2. Locate and diagnose the fault
  • 2.1. Conduct appropriate test to identify type of fault
  • 2.2. Isolate the fault progressively to remove likely variables from assessment
  • 2.3. Locate the fault without undue interruptions to the customer activity in the shortest possible time
  • 2.4. Notify the customer of the findings
3. Rectify the fault
  • 3.1. Determine the options to rectify the fault and present them to the customer
  • 3.2. Advise the customer of costs of any repair not covered by service agreement
  • 3.3. Rectify the fault if in agreement with the client
  • 3.4. Conduct the work in a manner which is safe to the repairer and the customer
  • 3.5. Refer any unresolved faults to other parties for resolution or escalation if required
4. Complete documentation and clean up worksite
  • 4.1. Advise the customer of successful fault clearance and secure sign off
  • 4.2. Complete all records
  • 4.3. Complete reports to justify the fault diagnosis and rectification methodology if required
  • 4.4. Remove all waste and debris from worksite and dispose them according to environmental requirements
  • 4.5. Restore any changes made to the worksite during fault repair to the client's satisfaction
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.
Relevant legislation, OHS, codes, regulations and standards may include:
Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) standards and codes
AS Communications Cabling Manual (CCM) Volume 1
AS/NZS 3000:2007
AS/NZS 3080:2003
AS/NZS 3084:2003
AS/NZS 3085.1:2004
AS/NZS IEC 61935.1:2006
AS/NZS IEC 61935.2:2006
AS/NZS ISO/IEC 14763.3:2007
AS/NZS ISO/IEC 15018:2005
AS/NZS ISO/IEC 24702:2007
cabling security codes and regulations
contract law
National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) requirements
regulated or industry codes of practice including appropriate Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) technical standards
technical standards AS/ACIF S008:2006 and AS/ACIF S009:2006
Trade Practices Act
OHS including specific OHS and environmental requirements:
decommissioning and isolating work site and lines prior to commencement
environmental considerations include:
clean-up protection
stormwater protection
waste management
noise, dust and clean-up management
identifying other services including power and gas
safety equipment:
flashing lights
gas and other hazard detection equipment
safety barriers
trench guards
warning signs and tapes
witches hats
safe working practices such as the safe use and handling of:
asbestos
chemicals
materials
tools and equipment
work platforms
special access requirements
suitable light and ventilation.
Hazards may include:
building debris
earth potential rise (EPR):
event at a site, such as an electrical distribution substation may expose telecommunications personnel, users or plant to hazardous voltages
glass fibre
live power lines
manual handling
mud and water
natural gas and other gas build up
needle stick injury
optical fibre cable may contain hazardous light
radio frequency (RF) equipment emitting radiation
remote power feeding services which operate at above telecommunications network voltage (TNV)
vermin.
Nature of fault may include:
cable fault
distortion
excessive latency
interference
intermittent
low signal level
network fault
no transmission
poor grade of service
poor signal quality.
Customer may include:
fault centre
individual reporting the fault
network manager
network administrator
network operations centre staff
site manager.
Testing tools and equipment may include:
cable locater
cable test set
LAN Cat tester
network management system
optical fault locater
optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR)
protocol analyser
pulse echo test set
sniffer
spectrum analyser.
Personal protective equipment may include:
electrical isolators
gas detectors
personal protective clothing:
earmuffs
gloves:
leather
plastic
rubber
head protection
kneepads
masks
protective suits
safety boots
safety glasses.
Appropriate test may include:
bit error rate test (BERT)
cable tests
distortion
frequency measurement
insertion loss
packet sniffing
ping
protocol analysis
return loss
route test
signal loss:
optical
RF.
Type of fault may include:
cable fault:
attenuation
cracked fibre
crossed wires
crosstalk
damaged coax
faulty splice
incorrect terminations
moisture ingress
open circuit
short circuit
network fault:
customer equipment
drop out
latency
loss of addressing
packet loss
poor wireless connection
routing problems.
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
Evidence of the ability to:
identify different faults
establish context and background information and determine and rank likely causes of fault
obtain suitable tools and equipment and apply simple checks, tests and fault-finding methodology
apply recommended means to rectify fault
comply with all related OHS requirements and work practices.
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment must ensure:
site where fault identification and resolution may be conducted
use of test and related equipment currently used in industry
relevant technical specifications and requirements for telecommunications networks
regulatory and site-related documentation.
Method of assessment
A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:
direct observation of the candidate locating and rectifying faults following OHS requirements
oral or written questioning to assess knowledge of types of faults and implications
evaluation of written reports prepared by the candidate, outlining test result interpretation, fault rectification and recommendations.
Guidance information for assessment
Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplaces and job role is recommended, for example:
ICTOPN4115A Install and test a dense wavelength division multiplexer system
ICTTEN4051A Install configuration programs on PC based customer equipment
ICTTEN4198A Install, configure and test an internet protocol network
ICTTEN4199A Install, configure and test a router.

Aboriginal people and other people from a non-English speaking background may have second language issues.

Access must be provided to appropriate learning and assessment support when required.

Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate, and appropriate to the oral communication skill level, and language and literacy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.

In all cases where practical assessment is used it will be combined with targeted questioning to assess required knowledge. Questioning techniques should not require language, literacy and numeracy skills beyond those required in this unit of competency.

Where applicable, physical resources should include equipment modified for people with special needs.
Replaced By
State Code National Code Title Type
AWD39 ICTTEN410 Locate, diagnose and rectify faults Unit of competency