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
material, production and product specifications
National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) documents regarding construction materials testing
OHS national standards and codes of practice
production and laboratory schedules
quality manuals
standard operating procedures (SOPs)
Site hazards
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
underground services such as gas and electricity
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 and safety boots
handling and storage of (hazardous) materials and equipment in accordance with labels, MSDS, manufacturer's instructions, and 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:
hand tools, including shovels, crowbars, scoops, spanners, wrenches and tape measure
consumables, including sample bags, labels, sample tubes and wax
documentation, including maps, plans and worksheets
field test equipment, including dynamic cone penetration (DCP) testing, standard penetration testing (SPT), shear vane, pocket penetrometers and water level indicator
safety clothing and equipment, including helmets, boots, gloves, earmuffs and glasses
excavation equipment, including hand and power augers, powered excavators, generators and jack hammers
Common site problems
Common site problems may include:
caving in of excavation walls
drilling difficulties
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 impacts of construction activities on wildlife, vegetation, waterways and inclement weather
working close to earth moving equipment, trucks and overhead loads
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:
prepare for site operations and perform geotechnical sampling, testing and site reinstatement under direction
work safely at geotechnical investigation sites
follow instructions and work as part of a small team.

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:
MSL952002A Handle and transport samples or equipment
MSL952001A Collectroutine site samples
MSL973001A Perform basic tests.
Resources may include:
access to geotechnical sites, tools, 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
A geotechnical consultancy company is carrying out the investigation for the construction of an industrial complex involving building pads and roadways. A contract drilling company has been hired to carry out auger drilling for the building pad foundations. The drill rig will be used to perform standard penetration tests in some boreholes to determine bearing capacities. Undisturbed sample tubes will be pushed to obtain samples for consolidation testing in the laboratory.
A senior technician is in charge of site activities and arranges for the drill rig to be on-site. She/he plans a program of drilling, sampling and testing and a laboratory assistant is assigned to assist with drilling, testing and sampling operations at the site. The senior technician has a marked-up plan of the site showing borehole locations to help him/her direct where to drill.
The drilling contractor operates the drill rig, takes tube samples, performs the standard penetration tests and cases the hole if required, as directed by the senior technician. The assistant assists with recording and sampling the soil profile, sealing the sample tubes with wax and labeling them. He/she also records the SPT readings and bags and labels the material from the split-spoon sampler. Each borehole is capped to prevent access by unauthorised persons so that the assistant can record the standing water level 24 hours after the hole has been drilled. The assistant wears a helmet, work boots and earmuffs while working near the rig. He/she covers up and wears sunscreen while working in the sun and drinks large quantities of water.
The assistant also excavates hand auger holes to a depth of 1 m at regular intervals in the proposed roadways to obtain samples for California Bearing Ratio (CBR) tests. Adjacent to each, he/she performs a dynamic cone penetrometer test to 2 m to assess the insitu material. He/she records the logs of the auger holes and the test results on the company's standard data sheets and backfills each auger hole immediately after sampling.