Elements and Performance Criteria

This competency applies to all blow moulding within the plastics and rubber industries. It includes the operation of all relevant additional equipment where that equipment is integral to the blow moulding process.

Procedures means all relevant workplace procedures, work instructions, temporary instructions and relevant industry and government codes and standards.

This competency includes tools and equipment such as:
bottom blow, top blow, needle blow, tail to tail blow, parison pre-blow and pre-squeeze, parison stretching and parison orientation type machines
additional equipment including chillers/cooling towers, die heating equipment, hopper driers, mixing hoppers, dehumidifying driers, air compressors, dosing machines, colour blending equipment and conveyors
hand tools as required
material loading equipment for raw materials
relevant personal protective equipment.

Typical hazards include:
spills
dusts/vapours
slip and fall, particularly due to spilt granules
temperature
hazardous materials
manual handling hazards
equipment operations.

Respond to/rectify 'non-routine problems' means 'apply known solutions to a variety of predictable problems'.

Typical process problems include:
equipment malfunction
variations in temperature, pressure, speed, inflation
variations in materials or contamination of materials
mould damage.

Typical product problems include:
routine blow moulding faults - wall thinning, holes, poor surface finish, warping, poor colour dispersion, ejection damage, colour contamination, black spots and other defects
machine malfunction
mould/tooling problems
variations in materials and/or contamination of materials.

Key variables to be monitored include:
operating temperatures
speed
cycle time
output rate
concentration or dispersion of colour
product weight
product wall thickness
product integrity and general conformance to specification/sample.

All operations are performed in accordance with procedures.

Essential knowledge and enterprise requirements
Application of knowledge of the materials, equipment and process sufficient to recognise material and equipment conditions which may lead to out of specification production.
Knowledge of the enterprise's procedures and relevant regulatory requirements along with the ability to implement them within appropriate time constraints and work standards.

Competence includes the ability for the practical completion of the job to:
apply and/or explain:
operation of blow moulding equipment and components
production workflow sequences and materials demand
reasons for checking process control panels and reporting readings which do not conform to the work instructions
purpose and requirements of 'dry running' before starting production
approved hazard control and safety procedures and the use of PPE in relation to handling materials, equipment operation and clean up
correct selection and use of equipment, materials, processes and procedures
the hierarchy of control including engineering controls
impact of variations in raw materials and equipment operation in relation to final product
changes to materials at various stages of production
waste management and importance of non-conforming materials
plan own work including predicting consequences and identifying improvements
interpret from production requests the correct selection and use of equipment, materials, processes and procedures
maintain output and product quality using appropriate instruments, controls, test information and readings
make adjustments to equipment operation to rectify variations in equipment operation or product quality
check blow moulding machine for correct set-up to job specifications and implement adjustments or report deviations immediately
start up equipment and make appropriate adjustments to bring process on line
take samples when required and identify product out of specification
safely shut down equipment in normal or abnormal circumstances
identify and describe own role and role of others involved directly in the blow moulding process
identify factors which may affect product quality or production output and appropriate remedies
identify when the operator is able to rectify faults and when assistance is required
identify hazards of the materials and process
implement appropriate procedures for hazard control
use PPE, safely handle products and materials, read relevant safety information and apply safety precautions appropriate to the task
distinguish between causes of faults such as:
contaminated materials/additives
equipment faults
mould damage
wrong raw materials/additives
incorrect quantity of materials/additives
machine failure.

Critical aspects
It is essential that competence is demonstrated in the ability to:
identify critical materials properties and blow moulding process characteristics in relation to the process requirements and the end product
plan own work process within workplace procedures and explain the reasons for the steps in the process
take appropriate action to observe equipment, materials and products for out of specification results, make adjustments and identify problems to be reported.

Consistent performance should be demonstrated. In particular look to see that:
production quality and output standards are met consistently
problems are anticipated from process observations
problems are efficiently resolved
the process runs consistently and smoothly.

Language, literacy and numeracy requirements
This unit requires the ability to read and interpret typical product specifications, job sheets and material labels as provided to operators.
Writing is required to the level of completing workplace forms and production reports.
Basic numeracy is required, eg, to determine how many 2 kg, 3 kg and 5 kg bags are needed to make up a requirement for 50 kg.

Assessment method and context
Competence in this unit may be assessed:
on an operating plant allowing for operation under all normal and a range of abnormal conditions
by use of a suitable simulation and/or a range of case studies/scenarios
by a combination of these techniques.

In all cases it is expected that practical assessment will be combined with targeted questioning to assess the underpinning knowledge and theoretical assessment will be combined with appropriate practical/simulation or similar assessment.

Resource implications
This section should be read in conjunction with the range of variables for this unit of competency. Resources required include suitable access to an operating plant or equipment that allows for appropriate and realistic simulation. A bank of case studies/scenarios and questions will also be required to the extent that they form part of the assessment method. Questioning may take place either in the workplace, or in an adjacent, quiet facility such as an office or lunchroom. No other special resources are required.