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 1678 Emergency procedure guide - Transport
AS 1940-2004 Storage and handling of flammable and combustible liquids
AS 3780-2008 The storage and handling of corrosive substances
AS 4332-2004 The storage and handling of gases in cylinders
AS ISO 17025-2005 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
AS/NZS 1269 Set:2005 Occupational noise management set
AS/NZS 2243 Set:2006 Safety in laboratories set
AS/NZS 2982.1:1997 Laboratory design and construction - General requirements
AS/NZS 4452:1997 The storage and handling of toxic substances
AS/NZS ISO 14000 Set:2005 Environmental management standards set
animal welfare legislation and codes of practice
Australian code of good manufacturing practice for medicinal products (GMP)
Australian Dangerous Goods Code
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) Export Control (Orders) Regulations 1982
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) Import Guidelines
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) Codes of Practice
customer database and supplier catalogues
enterprise or standard operating procedures (SOPs)
equipment manuals and warranty, supplier catalogues and handbooks
gene technology regulations
internal/external stock orders and overdue actions
material safety data sheets (MSDS)
National Code of Practice for the labelling of workplace substances (NOHSC:2012 (1994))
National Environment Protection Measures
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Guidelines
national measurement regulations and guidelines
occupational health and safety (OHS) national standards and codes of practice
principles of good laboratory practice (GLP)
Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1009
Workplace procedures
Workplace procedures may include:
ordering, purchase and receipt of stocks
verification of temperature control for delivered and stored stocks (e.g. reagents containing enzymes)
organisation of compatible batch or lot numbers
storage of stocks, stock control and rotation of stock
quality control testing, monitoring of use by dates of standards and shelf life of reagents (e.g. DNA, enzymes, antibodies, radioisotopes and vitamins)
reporting non-conformances
Records
Records could include:
stock usage
orders and progress of orders
equipment servicing and repairs
current inventories
quality control sampling, testing and stock rotation
Communication
Communication may require the use of equipment or systems, such as:
telephone, fax, email and mail
online information systems, inventories, print records, databases and catalogues
filing systems
Communication may involve::
suppliers
freight companies
internal customers
external customers
Hazards
Hazards may include:
electric shock
chemicals, such as acids and hydrocarbons
microbiological organisms associated with blood and blood products
radioisotopes
sharps, such as broken glassware
disturbance or interruption of services
manual handling of heavy boxes
fluids under pressure and industrial gas bottles
Safety procedures
Safety procedures may include:
use of personal protective equipment, such as hearing protection, gloves, safety glasses, coveralls and safety boots
ensuring access to service shut-off points
handling and storing hazardous materials and equipment in accordance with labels, MSDS, manufacturer's instructions, and enterprise procedures and regulations
regular cleaning of equipment and work areas
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:
confirm customer requirements with senior personnel where there is doubt
access online databases and/or catalogues efficiently
interpret labelling information (lot number, batch and date) and MSDS correctly
apply procedures for safe handling, storage and transport of stocks
use required safety and manual handling equipment and procedures
perform quality controlsampling and testing and rotate stock in accordance with SOPs
follow workplace procedures for predicting and/or determining demand for stock
maintain stock at prescribed levels for their work area, through regular inspections, timely ordering of replacement items and followup of late orders
cope with peak and seasonal variations in stock usage and production conditions
follow workplace procedures for researching, ordering and receipt of stock
complete and record all documentation accurately
demonstrate effective and appropriate communication and interpersonal skills when dealing with customers and suppliers.

Context of and specific resources for assessment
This unit of competency is to be assessed in the workplace or simulated workplace environment.
This unit of competency may be assessed with:
MSL935004A Maintain instruments and equipment.
Resources may include:
stocks of materials and equipment
stock order forms and documentation
sampling and testing equipment.

Method of assessment
The following assessment methods are suggested:
review of documentation for orders prepared by the candidate
examination of stock records maintained by the candidate
observation of the candidate handling stock and conducting quality control sampling and testing
feedback from the laboratory manager, quality manager, customer service manager, supervisor, customers and peers
explanation by the candidate of the labelling and storage requirements of a selection of stock items.
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 studies below to illustrate the practical application of this unit of competency and to show its relevance in a workplace setting.
Biotechnology
A technical officer arrived at work on Monday morning and discovered that the freezer had been turned off over the weekend and the restriction nucleases had thawed. These enzymes were to be used that morning. The technician needed to check the enzyme activity to determine whether the enzymes had been denatured by the rise in temperature. The technician quickly set up a digestion mix of affected enzyme with some viral DNA of known sequence. The digest produced DNA fragments of expected length, showing the enzyme still had activity. The technician reported the incident along with the results to the supervisor, who decided that the enzymes could be used for that day.
Manufacturing
Neglected chemicals may deteriorate on the shelf and turn into a completely different entity. Not only can this change in identity damage a chemical manufacturing process, it can also present an immediate hazard. For example, this occurred in a storeroom where stored ether built up high levels of peroxides. When it was used in an extraction process to make a starting material in a manufacturing process, the peroxides were concentrated and exploded. The company was fortunate that loss of life didn't occur. The company revised enterprise procedures to ensure that in the future, redundant or outdated stocks are identified and removed.
Food processing
The staff in a confectionary company laboratory use enzyme based methods to routinely analyse sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose and lactose) in products. Although the enzymes are stored as directed by the manufacturer, typically at -20(C in the dark, they do not retain their activity indefinitely. To avoid using inactive enzyme in an analytical procedure and obtaining a reduced or false negative result, several features of each enzyme preparation are routinely noted. These include the date of purchase, the number of times the enzyme has been thawed and refrozen and its initial activity. Periodically, the enzyme activity is verified and stock is discarded where its activity has fallen to a less than acceptable value. These practices ensure that the analytical methods that use enzymes are performed with functional reagents and give accurate results.