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. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs if the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.
Codes of practice/ standards
Where reference is made to industry codes of practice, and/or Australian/international standards, the latest version must be used.
Context
This unit of competency includes all such items of equipment and unit operations which are utilised in the maintenance of pipeline easements. For your enterprise this may include:
light aircraft (pilot provided)
off road vehicles
gas leakage detectors
vegetation control documentation
workplace mapping, eg pipeline alignment drawings, topographical maps, geographical maps
pipeline access route manuals
MSDS information
operating procedures.
Typical problems
Typical problems for your enterprise may include:
isolation and risk of exposure
gas or fluid leaks
accidental or geophysical rupturing of pipelines.
Easement
An easement is an area or strip through which a pipeline, or similar infrastructure runs. It may be owned by the operating company or a third party (or government, NGO or similar). The pipeline may be above or below the easement.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders may include:
landowners
contractors
company personnel
regulators and other officials.
Appropriate action
Appropriate action includes:
determining problems needing action
determining possible fault causes
rectifying problem using appropriate solution within area of responsibility
following through items initiated until final resolution has occurred
reporting problems outside area of responsibility to designated person.
Procedures
Procedures may be written, verbal, computer-based or in some other form. They include:
all work instructions
standard operating procedures
formulas/recipes
batch sheets
temporary instructions
any similar instructions provided for the smooth running of the plant.
For the purposes of this Training Package, 'procedures' also includes good operating practice as may be defined by industry codes of practice (eg Responsible Care) and government regulations.
Health, safety and environment (HSE)
All operations to which this unit applies are subject to stringent health, safety and environment requirements, which may be imposed through State or Federal legislation, and these must not be compromised at any time. Where there is an apparent conflict between Performance Criteria and HSE requirements, the HSE requirements take precedence.

EVIDENCE GUIDE
The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment
Assessment of this unit should include demonstrated competence on actual pipeline and equipment in a work environment. The unit will be assessed in as holistic a manner as is practical and may be integrated with the assessment of other relevant units of competency. Assessment will occur over a range of situations, which will include disruptions to normal, smooth operation.
Simulation may be required to allow for assessment of parts of this unit. Simulation should be based on the actual plant and will include walk-throughs of the relevant competency components. Simulations may also include the use of case studies/scenarios, role plays and 3D virtual reality interactive systems. In the case of evacuation training or training for competencies practised in life threatening situations, simulation may be used for the bulk of the training.
This unit of competency requires an application of the knowledge contained in the use of the pipeline and its integral equipment, to the level needed to maintain control and recognise and resolve problems. This can be assessed through questioning and the use of what-if scenarios both on the plant (during demonstration of normal operations and walk-throughs of abnormal operations) and off the plant.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Competence must be demonstrated in the ability to recognise and analyse potential situations requiring action and then in implementing appropriate corrective action. The emphasis should be on the ability to stay out of trouble rather than on recovery from a disaster.
Consistent performance should be demonstrated. In particular look to see that:
early warning signs of pipeline easements needing attention or with potential problems are recognised
the range of possible causes can be identified and analysed and the most likely cause determined
appropriate action is planned and implemented to rectify identified problems
effective communication and interpersonal skills are used in relation to third party liaison activities.

Context of and specific resources for assessment
These aspects may be best assessed using a range of scenarios/case studies/what-ifs as the stimulus with a walk through forming part of the response. These assessment activities should include a range of problems, including new, unusual and improbable situations which may have been generated from the past incident history of pipelines, incidents on similar pipelines around the world, hazard analysis activities and similar sources.

Method of assessment
Assessment will require access to pipeline easements and pipeline maintenance work sites over an extended period of time or a suitable method of gathering evidence of operating ability over a range of situations. A bank of scenarios/case studies/what-ifs will be required as will a bank of questions which will be used to probe the reasoning behind the observable actions.
It may be appropriate to assess this unit concurrently with relevant teamwork and communication units. Consider co-assessment with:
PMASUP242B Monitor pipeline civil works
Guidance information for assessment
Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate and appropriate to the oracy, language and literacy capacity of the assessee and the work being performed.