Unit of competency details

Unit descriptor 

This unit of competency specifies the outcomes required to establish and maintain effective contractual requirements with spatial data providers. It requires the ability to analyse, diagnose, design and execute judgements across a broad spatial contractual context and accountability for personal and group outcomes. Functions will entail complying with and developing or amending organisational guidelines.

Application of the unit 

Core unit within the Advanced Diploma of Spatial Information Services.

This unit of competency supports high-level project management activity in the spatial information services industry sector. It requires the application of planning, organisational, high-level communication, negotiation and problem-solving skills; interpreting technical documentation; the ability to demonstrate initiative and enterprise; and an understanding of technology. The skills and knowledge acquired upon completion of this unit would support the needs of employees in surveying, cartography, town planning, mapping and geographic information systems.

While no licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply holistically to this unit at the time of publication, relevant federal, and state or territory legislation, regulations and codes of practice impact upon this unit (see unit performance criteria and range statement).

Prerequisite units 

Nil

Employability skills 

The required outcomes described in this unit of competency contain applicable facets of employability skills. The Employability Skills Summary of the qualification in which this unit of competency is packaged, will assist in identifying employability skills requirements.

Elements describe the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

Performance criteria describe the required performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised  text is used, further information is detailed in the required skills and knowledge and/or the range statement. Assessment of performance is to be consistent with the evidence guide.

ELEMENT 

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 

1 Establish legal agreements .

1.1 Provider's  legal agreement  is obtained and analysed according to organisational guidelines .

1.2 Protocols for communication between spatial data  providers and the organisation are followed.

1.3 Advice  is sought from relevant personnel  to determine whether the agreement addresses client needs .

1.4 Amendments to agreement are negotiated with providers in line with legal advice.

1.5 All pertinent legal , statutory and industry requirements and standards  and OHS  considerations are researched and considered in determining the feasibility of the contract.

1.6 Legal agreement is ratified by all parties, according to organisational guidelines and spatial information services  (SIS) to be provided.

1.7 Skills and knowledge are updated to accommodate changes in contractual relationships.

2 Manage contracts .

2.1 Provider's performance is monitored  against the terms of the contract.

2.2 Provider organisation is monitored to ensure it meets the terms and conditions of the contract .

2.3 Higher authority  endorsements are obtained where necessary to ensure project is in line with organisational priorities and capabilities.

2.4 Contingencies  and spatial technology  requirements are managed.

3 Conduct review of agreements .

3.1 Legal agreement is reviewed on an agreed basis to assess its continuing viability.

3.2 Advice is sought from relevant personnel to assess agreement revisions.

3.3 Amendments to original agreement are negotiated in line with legal advice.

3.4 Revisions to legal agreement are ratified by all parties.

4 Resolve conflict as required .

4.1 Breaches  of agreements are investigated  according to organisational contractual requirements.

4.2 Advice is sought from relevant professionals to assess alleged breaches.

4.3 Settlement of breach is negotiated according to legal advice.

4.4 Contract review is initiated to address any breach.

4.5 Breach notice is issued according to contract.

4.6 Solution is agreed to by all parties.

5 Complete documentation transactions .

5.1 Documentation  is completed promptly, accurately and according to organisational guidelines.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE 

This section describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level, required for this unit.

Required skills :

• ability to relate to people from a range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and with a range of physical and mental abilities
• communication skills to:

• consult effectively with clients and colleagues
• impart knowledge and ideas through oral, written and visual means
• write complex reports

• computer skills (high technical user level) to develop business documentation
• conflict resolution
• delegation of duties
• human resource management in relation to recruitment and performance setting
• literacy skills to:

• assess, develop and use workplace information
• locate and interpret legislation and other written documentation
• prepare and manage documentation and information flow
• read and write key performance reports, including technical reports
• research and evaluate (high level)

• negotiation skills (high level)
• numeracy skills to:

• analyse errors
• conduct image analysis
• estimate costs
• interpret and analyse statistics
• perform mental calculations
• record with accuracy and precision
• undertake high level computations

• organisational skills to:

• plan and coordinate technical and human resource inputs to research activities
• plan and prioritise activities to meet contractual requirements

• presentation of information (high level)
• prioritisation
• project management skills, including ability to meet deadlines
• research and analytical skills
• self-management skills
• spatial skills to:

• exercise precision and accuracy in all spatial operations
• perform spatial data archival and retrieval and train others in this task
• perform spatial data management and manipulation and train others in this task
• perform file management and train others in this task
• solve complex problems relating to height, depth, breadth, dimension, direction and position in actual operational activity and virtual representation
• train others in spatial precision techniques
• understand implications of height, depth, breadth, dimension and position to actual operational activity and virtual representation.

Required knowledge and understanding :

• contract law
• existing spatial datasets and dataset sources
• information management
• legislation as it applies to project work
• OHS policies
• organisational guidelines
• project management principles
• project management tools, techniques and methodologies
• quality assurance principles
• relationships to universal locations
• relevant legislative, statutory and industry requirements and standards
• resource management processes
• risk analysis principles
• spatial data handling
• spatial data management practices
• spatial data structure requirements
• spatial database operation
• spatial information principles and their application
• SIS project contingencies
• spatial technologies
• working within budgetary constraints.

Overview of assessment 

This unit of competency could be assessed on its own or in combination with other units relevant to the job function, for example units CPPSIS6003A Determine client spatial requirements, and CPPSIS6004A Design a spatial project plan.

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:

• applying cost consideration
• assessing and acting upon breaches or non-conformities
• developing qualitative and quantitative measurements for a contract
• high-level communication and negotiation skills
• managing risks and contingencies
• presenting material appropriately
• understanding client needs for spatial project management.

Specific resources for assessment 

Resource implications for assessment include access to:

• assessment instruments, including personal planner and assessment record book
• assignment instructions, work plans and schedules, policy documents and duty statements
• registered training provider of assessment services
• relevant guidelines, regulations and codes of practice
• suitable venue and equipment.

Access must be provided to appropriate learning and assessment support when required.

Where applicable, physical resources should include equipment modified for people with disabilities.

Context of assessment 

Holistic: based on the performance criteria, evidence guide, range statement, and required skills and knowledge.

Method of assessment 

Demonstrated over a period of time and observed by the assessor (or assessment team working together to conduct the assessment).

Demonstrated competency in a range of situations, that may include customer/workplace interruptions and involvement in related activities normally experienced in the workplace.

Obtained by observing activities in the field and reviewing induction information. If this is not practicable, observation in realistic simulated environments may be substituted.

Guidance information for assessment 

Assessment requires that the clients' objectives and industry expectations are met. If the clients' objectives are narrowly defined or not representative of industry needs, it may be necessary to refer to portfolio case studies of a variety of SIS requirements to assess competency.

Oral questioning or written assessment and hypothetical situations (scenarios) may be used to assess underpinning knowledge (in assessment situations where the candidate is offered a preference between oral questioning or written assessment, questions are to be identical).

Supplementary evidence may be obtained from relevant authenticated correspondence from existing supervisors, team leaders or specialist training staff.

All practical demonstration must adhere to the safety and environmental regulations relevant to each State or Territory.

Where assessment is for the purpose of recognition (recognition of current competencies [RCC] or recognition of prior learning [RPL]), the evidence provided will need to be authenticated and show that it represents competency demonstrated over a period of time.

In all cases where practical assessment is used it will be combined with targeted questioning to assess the underpinning knowledge.

Assessment processes will be appropriate to the language and literacy levels of the candidate and any cultural issues that may affect responses to the questions, and will reflect the requirements of the competency and the work being performed.

Provider  may include:

• external to organisation
• clearing house
• customer with routine or special request
• internal to organisation
• regular and new customer, including:

• business enterprise
• government agency
• member of the public
• supplier

• specialist company.

Agreement  may include:

• copyright
• license
• memorandum of understanding
• royalty contracts.

Organisational guidelines  may include:

• code of ethics
• company policy
• legislation relevant to the work or service function
• manuals
• OHS policies and procedures
• personnel practices and guidelines outlining work roles and responsibilities.

Spatial data  may include:

• digital
• hard copy
• image
• text
• vector.

Advice  may be formal or informal and include:

• information on:

• cost
• insurance details
• resources
• timelines

• information from management on financial and legal constraints
• internal or external financial information
• legal specialists.

Relevant personnel  may include:

• accountants
• colleagues
• lawyers
• management
• staff or employee representatives
• managers
• suppliers
• users.

Client needs  may include:

• communication channels
• contingency planning
• cost consideration
• information disclosure
• payment arrangements
• project specific
• spatial data
• surveying
• training needs.

Legal , statutory and industry requirements and standards  may include:

• confidentiality and privacy requirements
• compliance requirements with financial services
• duty of care
• ethics
• equal employment opportunity (EEO)
• industrial relations and anti-discrimination
• industry standards of practice
• OHS requirements
• organisational instructions
• relevant environment protection legislation
• other relevant state and federal legislation.

OHS  may include:

• Australian standards
• development of site safety plan
• identification of potential hazards
• inspection of work sites
• training staff in OHS requirements
• use of equipment and signage.

Spatial information services  may include:

• administration (e.g. postcodes, suburbs, and federal and state electoral counties)
• analysis of environmental, land and geographic information
• asset management
• cartographic services
• civil engineering
• digital imagery
• electricity
• emergency services management
• environmental datasets
• geographic information systems
• integrated services - environmental, land and geographic related datasets
• land ownership tenure system
• local government
• location-based services
• global positioning
• mapping facilities
• site analysis
• survey marks
• sewerage
• telecommunications
• town planning
• utility services such as water
• water catchment.

Monitored  may include:

• delegating
• implementing processes
• meeting deadlines
• overseeing practices
• planning
• targeting.

Contract  may refer to:

• an agreement between parties to perform a task or deliver a service and may be:

• email
• memo
• verbal
• written.

Higher authority  may include:

• client
• customer
• other personnel within the organisation, such as higher management.

Contingencies  may include:

• adverse weather
• changes in plans
• contractual issues
• equipment failure
• human resource issues
• legislative impact
• political influences.
• stakeholder priorities.

Spatial technology  may include:

• data recording equipment
• electronic theodolites
• global positioning system units
• personal computer-based digitising boards
• photogrammetric instruments
• total station
• vehicles.

Breaches  may include:

• client requirements not adhered to
• costing altered
• deadlines not adhered to
• plans altered
• time restraints not observed.

Investigated  refers to:

• when practice is examined against contract.

Documentation  may include:

• agreements
• breach notices
• contracts
• correspondence
• minutes of meetings
• records of conversations.

Unit sector 

Spatial information services