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 competency covers process manufacturing plants which may involve workplace hazards such as:
chemicals and hazardous materials
gases and liquids under pressure
materials handling.
This competency includes:
legislation, codes and national standards relevant to the workplace which may include:
award and enterprise agreements and relevant industrial instruments
relevant legislation from all levels of government that effects business operation, especially in regard to OHS, environmental issues and industrial relations
relevant industry codes of practice
awareness of the environment and the effects on the environment of the organisation's:
liquid waste
solid waste
gas/fume/vapour/smoke emissions, including fugitive emissions
hazardous materials
excessive energy and water use
excessive noise
and the workplace practices that can be used to minimise or prevent these effects.
Information
Information may include:
organisational policies and procedures
relevant environmental legislation/regulation requirements
licence conditions
environmental treaties, conventions and national policies and strategies
National Pollutant Inventory
State of the Environment reports
voluntary environmental agreements entered into with external organisations/authorities
continuous improvement policies and processes for the organisation.
Work group
Work group may include:
formal or unstructured groups
two or more people.
Proactive environmental management
Proactive environmental management may include:
resource conservation and efficiency
minimisation of waste
recycling
reduction in use of non-renewable resources
maximisation of product yield from raw materials
reduction in volume of pollutants made
reduction in concentration/intensity of pollutants made
reduction in emissions.
Approaches to proactive environmental management
Some approaches to proactive environmental management may include:
preventing and minimising the production of pollution, eg discharges to air, land and water, hazardous waste
improving housekeeping, eg using a broom instead of a hose, using old rags for cleaning instead of toxic cleaners or water
substituting materials, eg replacing toxic solvent based coatings with water based ones
changing processes, eg mechanical cleaning, re-design of products/ procedures so that materials are used more efficiently.
Environmental management policies
Environmental management policies must be appropriate to the scope and scale of the enterprise and may include:
environmental load reduction and waste minimisation
tenders for the provision of goods and services that specify environmentally preferred selection criteria
protection of land and habitat
environmentally sustainable work practices.
Typical functions
Typical functions may include:
examining plant records
examining operating procedures and practices
liaising with a range of internal people
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 plant 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 and role plays.
This unit of competency requires a significant body of knowledge which will 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 apply plant and process knowledge to identify and analyse environmental hazards, and establish and review procedures for environmental management.
Consistent performance should be demonstrated. In particular look to see that:
a holistic 'clean production' approach to waste minimisation is taken
potential effects on the environment are understood
terms initiated are followed through until final resolution has occurred
the process/plant is understood and proposals are capable of implementation
training needs are addressed
records are kept.
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 extreme situations that may have been generated from the past incident history of the plant, incidents on similar plants around the world, hazard analysis activities (eg HAZOP) and similar sources.

Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment will require access to an operating plant 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.

Method of assessment
In all plants it may be appropriate to assess this unit concurrently with relevant teamwork units, communication units and units relevant to the process equipment.
In a major hazard facility, it may be appropriate to assess this unit concurrently with relevant OHS units.

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.