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
Just in Time (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
Improvement
Improvement may be any change aimed at reducing waste (muda). This unit is not about making the improvements, but ensuring beneficial changes remain in place
Customers
Customers may include:
internal or external customers, including final customers, as these should be used as the basis for the identification of value and waste
The individual does not need to interface directly with the external customer, but should be able to sufficiently identify customer benefit and customer features in processes and operations of their team and their work area
Suppliers
Suppliers may be:
internal or external suppliers and should be sufficiently close to the individual’s work as to be easily identifiable
The operator does not need to interface directly with external suppliers, but should be provided with sufficient information to enable them to identify supplier contribution to their own work and to customer benefit
Systems
Systems are used to mean any/all of the equipment, processes, procedures and work practices that are used to produce the product. A term often used in this context includes:
kaizen - the philosophy of continual improvement that every process can and should be continually evaluated and improved in terms of time required, resources used, resultant quality and other aspects relevant to the process
Resources
Resources for corrective actions may include:
equipment
modifications
consumables
people
suitable work area
Procedures
Procedures may include:
work instructions
standard operating procedures
formulas/recipes
batch sheets
temporary instructions and similar instructions provided for the smooth running of the organisation
good operating practice as may be defined by industry codes of practice (e.g. good manufacturing practice (GMP) and responsible care) and government regulations
Procedures may be:
written, verbal, computer-based or in some other format
Improvements
Improvements include:
techniques for preventing mistakes by designing the operations process, equipment and tools so that an operation literally cannot be performed incorrectly (e.g. baka-yoke)
techniques that generate warning signals were a mistake is about to be performed (poka-yoke)
Improvements may be sustained by:
use of technology so that it is impossible to do the job any other way
changes to process or procedures or other changes to the operations system which, if followed, will sustain the change and this unit may be applied to all these situations
Measuring performance

Measuring improvements may include:
personally taking measurements
arranging for measurements to be taken/made by appropriate personnel

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:
identify process and operational changes as a result of implementation of competitive systems and practices
identify and assess impact of performance improvements in a work area against objectives
identify actions and resources required for further improvements
communicate and negotiate with others on improvements
apply procedures for seeking approvals and reporting non-conformances
determine appropriate period and procedures for monitoring implemented changes.
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 some 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
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 oracy, language and literacy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.