Elements and Performance Criteria

The range of variables relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that will affect performance.
Where reference is made to industry Codes of Practice, and/or Australian/international standards, it is expected the latest version will be used.
This unit of competency describes the work conducted by technical specialists who evaluate product/application development briefs and contribute to the development of products and applications to meet the requirements of the brief.
Product/application briefs may be provided by external customers or internal customers, such as marketing or production.
At this level, personnel should be able to interpret and explain those sections of legislation, codes, regulations and Australian standards that apply to the tasks undertaken in developing products and applications. They should also be aware of enterprise business goals and the impact of their projects on these goals.
Materials used to manufacture products/applications may include: solvents, emulsifiers, thickeners, surfactants, disintegrants, fillers, moisturising materials, colouring materials, flavours, perfumes, opacifiers, propellants and sunscreens. These will depend on the development brief.
Calculations may be required to adjust properties, such as: assay/potency, viscosity, application payload, hardness, moisture content and colour.

All operations must comply with relevant standards, appropriate procedures and/or enterprise requirements, such as
Australian and international standards
Codes of Practice (such as GLP and GMP)
relevant Acts and their regulations
product formulation documentation
suppliers of raw material catalogues
material safety data sheets (MSDSs)
standard operating procedures (SOPs)
equipment and quality manuals
calibration and maintenance schedules
enterprise recording and reporting procedures
material, production and product specifications.

Health, safety and environment
All operations to which this unit applies are subject to stringent health, safety and environmental (HSE) 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.
All operations assume the potentially hazardous nature of samples and require standard precautions to be applied. Users should access and apply current industry understanding of infection control issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council and State and Territory Departments of Health. All operations are performed in accordance with standard operating procedures.

The Evidence Guide describes the underpinning knowledge and skills that must be demonstrated to prove competence.
Critical aspects of competency

Competency must be demonstrated in the ability to perform consistently at the required standard. Candidates must be able to evaluate a product/application brief and contribute to the development of products and applications to meet the requirements of the brief. In particular, the assessor should look to see that the candidate:

interprets a brief to determine product/application development requirements
applies theoretical knowledge of starting material and formulation principles to develop product/applications
uses appropriate procedures to research alternative formulations
uses 'environment friendly' strategies for formulations
makes formulation recommendations for pilot batch manufacture
manufactures pilot batches
evaluates pilot batches against project brief
evaluates product/application stability
evaluates the OHS requirements to be observed for each ingredient during manufacture of product/application
evaluates the OHS suitability of each ingredient for use in the formulation
ensures that product/application meets regulatory requirements
follows enterprise procedures to document development process.

Underpinning knowledge

Competency includes the ability to apply and explain:

knowledge of theoretical and practical aspects of product/application development
physical and chemical aspects of product/application development
principles and practices of operation of a range of pilot batch equipment
uses, characteristics and limitations of formulation starting materials
formulation development procedures
performance outcomes expected and key indicators
enterprise and regulatory development, quality and stability testing requirements
business goals
operating budgets and plans for work area
relevant health, safety and environment requirements.

Assessment context and methods
This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or simulated workplace environment.

The following assessment methods are suggested:

review of development work completed by the candidate
review of development briefs completed by candidate over time to ensure that they were implemented consistently within the required timeframe
feedback from supervisors and/or clients
oral or written questioning to assess development and problem solving approaches.
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. Questioning techniques should suit the language and literacy levels of the candidate.

Interdependent assessment of unit

This unit of competency may be assessed with:

PMLTEST701B Troubleshoot equipment and production processes
PMLTEST702B Contribute to the validation of test methods
PMLTEST703B Develop or adapt analyses and procedures.

Resource implications

Resources may include:

standard laboratory equipped with appropriate pilot batch manufacturing and testing equipment
on line data search facilities
starting material and product formulation information
scheduling charts and project plans
appropriate SOPs and enterprise guidelines.

This competency in practice
Technical specialists who formulate cosmetics products must apply theoretical and practical knowledge during each stage of the formulation process. This is illustrated during the perfuming stage of the product development process for a product range consisting of soap, talc and a water-in-oil emulsion. For example, soaps are alkaline and the selected perfume must be stable under alkaline conditions. Perfumes consist of a large number of components, and any preferential adsorption of some of these components on the surface of the talc will alter the odour. When perfuming an emulsion, the components of the perfume will partition between the water and oil phases of the emulsion, altering the odour reaching the consumer. To get the three products smelling the same after manufacture requires attention to these theoretical concepts. Stability studies must be planned and carried out to ensure that the products are stable in the chosen packs and smell the same throughout their lifetime. When perfuming this rather small range of products, the technical specialists must apply a wide range of theoretical and practical knowledge to satisfy the product brief.
Technical specialists in food research laboratories evaluate product briefs provided by marketing. They then develop products to meet the requirements of the brief and convert the brief into a marketable product. After the product is successfully introduced, technical specialists must continue to upgrade the quality and desirability of products because of shortened product life cycles.

As part of their role technical specialists may be required to apply technical knowledge to:

reduce ingredient costs of existing formulation
standardise existing formulations and processes for quality and cost control
identify solutions to existing problems, such as product quality or shelf life
develop consumer preparation instruction methods
develop labelling or packaging information
formulate new or improve existing products
locate and evaluate new packaging alternatives to meet a range of requirements
assist in compliance with regulatory standards
assess consumer preferences
prepare pilot batches of new products
assist in scale up of pilot batches to full scale production batches
test product's shelf life.
This requires an in-depth knowledge of how to select and use various ingredients for specific applications, as well as the chemistry, technology and regulatory aspects of their job.

The seven key competencies represent generic skills considered for effective work participation. The bracketed numbering against each of the key competencies indicates the performance level required in this unit. These are stand-alone levels and do not correspond to levels in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).
Level (1) represents the competence to undertake tasks effectively
Level (2) represents the competence to manage tasks
Level (3) represents the competence to use concepts for evaluating and reshaping tasks.
Communicating ideas and information
(3)

Collecting analysing and organising information
(3)

Planning and organising activities
(3)

Working with others and in teams
(3)

Using mathematical ideas and techniques
(3)

Solving problems
(3)

Using technology
(3)