Elements and Performance Criteria

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.
Competitive systems and practices

Competitive systems and practices may include, but are not limited to:
lean operations
agile operations
preventative and predictive maintenance approaches
monitoring and data gathering systems, such as Systems Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) software, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, Materials Resource Planning (MRP) and proprietary systems
statistical process control systems, including six sigma and three sigma
JIT, kanban and other pull-related operations control systems
supply, value, and demand chain monitoring and analysis
5S
continuous improvement (kaizen)
breakthrough improvement (kaizen blitz)
cause/effect diagrams
overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
takt time
process mapping
problem solving
run charts
standard procedures
current reality tree
Competitive systems and practices should be interpreted so as to take into account:
the stage of implementation of competitive systems and practices
the size of the enterprise
the work organisation, culture, regulatory environment and the industry sector
Codes of practice/standards
Where reference is made to industry codes of practice, and/or Australian/international standards, the latest version must be used
Health, safety and environment (HSE)
All changes implemented are expected to be at least neutral, or preferably beneficial, in their impact on HSE
Organisation systems
Organisation systems may include:
problem recognition and solving
operational/process improvement
improvement projects
product/process design and development
processes for making incremental improvements
Relevant metrics
Relevant metrics include all those measures which might be used to determine the performance of the improvement system and may include:
hurdle rates for new investments
KPIs for existing processes
quality statistics
delivery timing and quantity statistics
process/equipment reliability (‘uptime’)
incident and non-conformance reports
complaints, returns and rejects
Improvement process yield
Improvement process yield may be regarded as:
the benefit achieved for the effort invested
Breakthrough improvements
Breakthrough improvements include:
those which result from a kaizen blitz or other improvement project or event and are a subset of all improvements
Timing of breakthrough improvements
Timing of breakthrough improvements includes:
frequency (which should be maximised) and duration (which should be minimised) of events/projects
Continuous improvement
Continuous improvement is part of normal work and does not require a special event to occur (although may still require authorisations) and contrasts with breakthrough improvement/kaizen blitz which occurs by way of an event or project
Resources for improvement
Resources for improvements include:
improvement budget
guidelines for trialling of possible improvements
mechanism for approvals for possible improvements
business case guidelines for proposed improvements
indicators of success of proposed improvement
mechanisms for tracking and evaluation of changes
forum for the open discussion of the results of the implementation
mechanisms for the examination of the improvement for additional improvements
organisation systems to sustain beneficial changes
Capturing value stream improvements
Capturing value stream improvements includes:
revised contractual arrangements
revised specifications
signed agreements
other documented arrangements which formalise the raised base line
Systems impacting improvements
Systems which impact/are impacted on improvements and the improvement system include:
office
purchasing
rewards (individual or team at all levels)
sales
marketing
maintenance
process/product
transport and logistics
Organisational knowledge
Organisational knowledge should:
be able to be quantified or otherwise modified to make its outcomes measurable or observable
be able to be expressed in an accessible and distributable form appropriate to the organisation operations and stakeholders
Improvements
Improvements may:
be to process, plant, procedures or practice
include changes to ensure positive benefits to stakeholders are maintained
Manager
Manager may include:
any person who may have either a permanent or an ad hoc role in facilitating the function of multiple teams in a workplace, departments or entire organisations

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.
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to provide evidence of the ability to:
critically review current continuous improvement processes
establish ongoing review of continuous improvement processes
implement improvements in the practice of continuous improvement
better align internal and external systems
gather data through interviews with stakeholders
review existing data
obtain additional data through a variety of techniques
communicate and negotiate at all levels within the organisation
Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment of performance must be undertaken in a workplace using or implementing one or more competitive systems and practices.
Access may be required to:
workplace procedures and plans relevant to work area
specifications and documentation relating to planned, currently being implemented, or implemented changes to work processes and procedures relevant to the assessee
documentation and information in relation to production, waste, overheads and hazard control/management
reports from supervisors/managers
case studies and scenarios to assess responses to contingencies.
Method of assessment
A holistic approach should be taken to the assessment.
Competence in this unit may be assessed by using a combination of the following to generate evidence:
demonstration in the workplace
workplace projects
suitable simulation
case studies/scenarios (particularly for assessment of contingencies, improvement scenarios, and so on)
targeted questioning for appropriate portions
reports from supervisors, peers and colleagues (third-party reports)
portfolio of evidence.
In all cases it is expected that practical assessment will be combined with targeted questioning to assess underpinning knowledge.
Where applicable, reasonable adjustment must be made to work environments and training situations to accommodate ethnicity, age, gender, demographics and disability.
Guidance information for assessment
Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate and appropriate to the language and literacy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.