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 1000-1998 The international system of units (SI) and its application
AS ISO 17025-2005 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
AS/NZS ISO 14000 Set:2005 Environmental management standards set
AS/NZS ISO 9000 Set:2008 Quality management systems set
calibration and maintenance schedules
enterprise recording and reporting procedures
environmental legislation and regulations
equipment manuals
equipment startup, operation and shutdown procedures
industry codes of practice
laboratory schedules
material, production and product specifications
National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) documents regarding construction materials testing
occupational health and safety (OHS) national standards and codes of practice
production and laboratory schedules
project management methodology
quality manuals
standard operating procedures (SOPs)
Site hazards may include:
Site hazards may include:
solar radiation, dust and noise
manual handling of heavy materials and equipment
working in/on trenches, confined spaces, wet and uneven surfaces, heights and slopes
vehicular and pedestrian traffic
Safety procedures
Safety procedures may include:
location of site services before investigations commence
use of material safety data sheets (MSDS)
use of personal protective equipment, such as hard hats, hearing protection, sunscreen, gloves, masks, goggles, coveralls, safety boots and high visibility clothing
handling, and storage of hazardous materials and equipment in accordance with labels, MSDS, manufacturer's instructions, enterprise procedures and regulations
regular cleaning of equipment and vehicles
machinery guards
signage, barriers, flashing lights and traffic control
Tools and equipment
Tools and equipment may include:
excavation equipment, hand and power augers
consumables, including sample bags and labels
documentation, including maps, plans, contract documents and worksheets
field test equipment, including sand replacement apparatus and dynamic cone penetrometer
still/video camera
communication equipment, such as two-way radio and mobile telephone
levelling equipment (dumpy and automatic levels)
Common site problems
Common site problems may include:
caving of the excavation
drilling difficulties
not knowing the requirements of the design engineer
not understanding the nature of the item being designed (e.g. retaining wall, piled structure and earthworks)
sample loss during retrieval
knowing when to stop a hole, or what and when to test and sample
misidentification of samples and sampling locations
equipment breakdown and breakage
environmental problems and issues, including site access, inclement weather, traffic, wildlife, vegetation and construction activities
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:
liaise with stakeholders at various levels of complexity
plan, coordinate and monitor a diverse range of geotechnical activities
analyse, collate and report geotechnical investigation findings.

Context of and specific resources for assessment
This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or simulated workplace environment through observation over time. The timeframe must allow for adequate assessment of operation under all normal and a range of abnormal conditions. Where this is not practical, additional assessment techniques must be used.
This unit of competency may be assessed with:
MSL915001A Provide information to customers
MSL915002ASchedule laboratory work for a small team
MSL935001A Monitor the quality of test results and data.
Resources may include:
access to sites, tools and equipment
enterprise procedures, sampling plans, test methods and equipment manuals.

Method of assessment
The following assessment methods are suggested:
review of work outputs over a period of time to ensure accurate and consistent work is obtained within required timelines
examples of completed workplace documentation
feedback from peers and supervisors
oral or written questioning.
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 to show its relevance in a workplace setting.
Construction materials testing
The materials laboratory of a large local authority has been requested to investigate a 10 km section of road pavement that shows varying degrees of distress.
As the road is to be rebuilt and upgraded, the supervising engineer requires information to identify the reasons for the distress and to inform the design of the new pavement. The investigation will require test pits at 500 m intervals to allow examination of the underlying strata, in situ testing and sampling of existing pavement and sub-grade materials. The work will be performed by an experienced technician and a testing assistant, with supervision by a senior technician. The Council's Works Department will provide a backhoe with an operator and traffic management team. The engineer briefs the senior technician on the scope, purpose and requirements of the investigation and provides himher/ with the available documentation including maps, drawings and previous reports on the project. They refer to relevant ARMIS data, Falling Weight Deflection testing and surface defect mapping data. They carry out an on-site reconnaissance to confirm the available data and initial assumptions.
The senior technician conducts a desk study to ensure that he/she understands the full requirements of the project. He/she plans the on- and off-site activities including locating the relevant services and utilities, arranging for the necessary permits and preparing a health and safety management plan. He/she also plans the excavations, sampling and in situ testing and the laboratory testing regime. Finally, he/she prepares a GANTT chart showing all activities and the critical control points. The project is expected to take one week to complete.
He/she conducts a briefing session with the relevant stakeholders to nominate job roles and explain the required timelines. The scope of testing requires coring of UCS samples, cutting of asphalt slabs for MATTA testing, Material Quality testing (i.e. gradings, atterbergs and CBR's) as well as in situ DCP and moisture content testing. PAVSET data is also to be collected onsite.
On completion of the field activities, the senior technician checks the samples and then, if required, adjusts the testing schedule so as to capture enough relevant test data. Once all required testing has been completed and checked, the senior technician collates the test data and summarises it into a report for the project engineer. He/she then meets with the engineer who, after reviewing the report, finds that a 1 km section of the road needs further sampling and testing because this section is in a known flood plain. The engineer issues a new test request specifying that this section of road requires a sample and test pit every 100 m. Previously collected data is to be collated with these new samples.
The senior technician then organises for the added sampling and testing to be included into the laboratory's work schedule, mindful of any new time constraints. After completing the additional testing, he/she collates all the data into a final report for the engineer.