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.
All operations must comply with relevant standards, appropriate procedures and/or enterprise requirements.

These procedures include or may have been prepared from
Australian and international standards, such as -
AS ISO/IEC 17025 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
ISO 5725-11, 6 Accuracy (trueness and precision) of measurement methods and results
ISO 9000-1 Quality management and quality assurance standards Part 1 Guidelines for selection and use
ISO 9004-1 Quality management and quality system elements - Part 1 Guidelines
ISO 9004-4 Quality management and quality system elements - Part 4 Guidelines for quality improvement
ISO 10012 Quality assurance requirements for measurement equipment
Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement, issued by BIPM, IEC, IFCC, ISO, IUPAC, IUPAP, OIML
industry/sector specific guides, such as Eurachem/CITAC Guide on 'Quantifying Uncertainty in Analytical Measurement'
laboratory calibration software and programs, manufacturer's proprietary software
material safety data sheets (MSDSs)
enterprise recording and reporting procedures, standard operating procedures (SOPs)
quality manuals, equipment and operating/technical manuals
test methods and calibration procedures (validated and authorised)
test methods and calibration procedures published by: international, national or regional standards, reputable technical organisations, scientific texts or journals, equipment manufacturers
incident and accident/injury reports
schematics, workflows, laboratory layouts, production and laboratory schedules.

Editing or creating automated procedures may involve using, testing and or calibrating the following
common test equipment, such as: anemometers, balances, barometers, callipers, environmental chambers, hygrometers, manometers, masses, micrometers, pressure equipment, spectrophotometers, tape measures, rules, temperature (digital) indicating systems, thermometers, thermocouples, timing devices, vibration analysis equipment, weighing instruments
electrical reference standards, such as: air-lines, analogue meters, attenuators, bridges-manual balance, capacitors, DC voltage references, digital instruments (calibrators, DMMs, electronic transfer standards), inductors, instrument and ratio transformers, instrument transformer test sets, potentiometers, resistors, RF power meters, RF thermistor mounts and thermal converters, shunts, time interval and frequency standards, transfer standards AC-DC, voltage dividers, volt ratio boxes, watt-hour references
working standards, instruments and testing equipment, such as: EMC test equipment, field strength meters, flammability test equipment, gauges/test fingers/test pins, hipot testers, impact hammers, impulse testers, instrument calibrators, network analysers, signal generators, spectrum and harmonic analysers.

Hazards may include
electric shock
disturbance or interruption of services
manual handling of heavy equipment boxes
sources of electromagnetic radiation (lasers, RF generators/transmitters)
fluids under pressure
heat sources, such as ovens.

Safety procedures may include
use of personal protective equipment, such as hearing protection, gloves, safety glasses, coveralls
ensuring access to service shut off points
handling and storing hazardous materials and equipment in accordance with labels, MSDS, manufacturer's instructions, enterprise procedures and regulations
regular cleaning of equipment and work areas.

This unit of competency may involve communication with
supervisors and managers (laboratory, quality and customer service)
peers and other laboratory or relevant technical personnel
clients and end users of equipment
external auditors, or accreditation agency (for example, NATA)
equipment manufacturers and suppliers of spare parts.

The working environment will have a controlled environment but could be a
purpose-built designed facility
mobile facility in the field.

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. In particular, assessors should look to see that the candidate:

assesses the suitability of software controlled calibration procedures
researches current, alternative calibration methods and equipment for a given request
develops or modifies calibration procedures to automate as many processes as possible
writes efficient calibration procedures using an unambiguous, logical sequence of instructions that meet statutory and regulatory requirements
writes/edits efficient software programs for a range of calibration applications and assesses their integrity under test
applies specialised technical knowledge to critically analyse and resolve complex problems associated with measurement non-conformances where solutions are not obvious or readily available
explains automated calibration procedures to clients and clarifies their requirements
conducts reliable calibration/testing trials to ensure a high degree of reproducibility
liaises with peers and technical staff from other laboratories to clarify and validate automated procedures
estimates measurement uncertainty and applies statistical techniques for analysing test and/or calibration data
critically examines each calibration step to ensure repeatability and validity of data
prepares all test documentation accurately, concisely and in accordance with requirements
recognises opportunities for improvements to procedures.

Underpinning knowledge

Competency includes the ability to apply and explain:

requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories (for example, AS ISO/IEC 17025) as they affect job role and responsibilities
limits of authority and procedures for creating or modifying automated calibration procedures
structure and terminology used in standard calibration methods, procedures, requests and instructions
current automated calibration methods, procedures and technology applications used in laboratory
computer operation/automation using graphical user interfaces
equipment specifications and limitations and the implications of equipment substitution
equipment and testing method troubleshooting procedures
the hierarchy and appropriate selection of reference materials
handling, transport, storage and operation of reference and working standards
laboratory environmental control requirements
calculation procedures to give results in appropriate accuracy, precision and units
methods for statistical analysis (means, ranges, standard deviations) and estimation of uncertainty of measurement (may include the use of soft ware)
enterprise procedures and legislative requirements for documenting calibration procedures
enterprise and/or legal traceability requirements
relevant health, safety and environmental requirements.

Knowledge is also required of the:

layout of the enterprise, divisions and laboratory
organisational structure of the enterprise
lines of communication
role of laboratory services for the enterprise and customers.

Specific industry

Additional knowledge requirements may apply for different industry sectors. For example, testing conducted in the following fields:

acoustic and vibration measurement
chemical testing
construction materials testing
electrical testing
heat and temperature measurement
mechanical testing
metrology
non-destructive testing
optics and radiometry
pressure testing.

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 documented automated procedures modified or developed by the candidate and associated validation data
feedback from supervisors and/or customers regarding quality of automated procedures developed or modified by the candidate
observation of the candidate trialing automated procedures as part of their development
oral or written questioning to check underpinning knowledge of automated procedures, calibration software and programming techniques used in the laboratory.
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:

PMLDATA500B Analyse data and report results.

Resource implications

Resources may include:

specialised calibration/test equipment, reference standards and materials, laboratory facilities
access to a library of calibration methods, procedures, equipment specifications
laboratory calibration software and programs, manufacturer's proprietary software
enterprise quality manual and procedures.

This competency in practice
Automated calibration relies heavily on computers to assist technicians to do their jobs. While calibration software is used to conduct the actual calibrations, it is usually not necessary to know how to program in a computer programming language to conduct the actual tests. Most systems do not require high-order programming expertise for generating calibration procedures. Often, procedures are self-documenting and resemble familiar manual procedures. Most off-the-shelf applications incorporate error checking, online help screens, tolerance calculation, and test uncertainty ratio checking. Many systems display illustrations that show connection points or operator locations of adjustments in devices being tested. Sample procedures are often provided to guide new users through the steps of writing an automated procedure for an instrument.
The laboratory supervisor presents a signal generator to a senior calibration technician/specialist and explains that a client will send another 20 units for calibration if the laboratory can calibrate each item within a day. The laboratory currently has an automation station configured to test similar instruments in five hours and therefore the client's request should present no problem. On closer inspection, the specialist realises that the instrument is fitted with a higher-specification option rendering the laboratory's automated procedure deficient in a number of respects. The specialist searches the internal database for something more applicable but concludes that either a new procedure needs to be sourced externally or the current one needs to be modified.
Checks on the Internet confirm that no suitable procedure has been developed yet and so they obtain approval from the supervisor to edit the current one. The specialist determines which tests have to be modified and where new instructions have to be compiled. They analyse all the equipment specifications, including calculating the measurement uncertainties and what data is to be collated. Particular attention is paid to highlighting the safety measures that must be observed.
On completion of the software program, the specialist conducts a dummy run to confirm that the program is bug free. A colleague vets the procedure and verifies that each step is technically justified. The supervisor emails a copy of the procedure interstate for external validation by means of inter-laboratory comparison. Following successful feedback, the laboratory obtains agreement from the client to use the procedure, calibrates the instrument in 5.5 hours and returns it with a certificate of conformance. The automated procedure is entered into the laboratory's database as an authorised procedure and distributed to affiliated laboratories.

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
(2)

Collecting analysing and organising information
(3)

Planning and organising activities
(3)

Working with others and in teams
(2)

Using mathematical ideas and techniques
(3)

Solving problems
(3)

Using technology
(3)