Unit of competency details

Elements describe the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

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

1

Sort needed items from unneeded

1.1

Identify all items in the work area

1.2

Sort items to achieve deliverables and value expected by downstream and final customers

1.3

Sort items required for regulatory or other required purposes

1.4

Place any non-essential item in a appropriate place other than the workplace

1.5

Regularly check that only essential items are in the work area

2

Set the workplace in order

2.1

Identify the best location for each essential item

2.2

Place each essential item in its assigned location

2.3

After use immediately return each essential item to its assigned location

2.4

Regularly check that each essential item is in its assigned location

3

Shine the work area

3.1

Keep the work area clean and tidy at all times

3.2

Conduct regular housekeeping activities during shift

3.3

Ensure the work area is neat, clean and tidy at both beginning and end of shift

4

Standardise activities

4.1

Follow procedures

4.2

Follow checklists for activities, where available

4.3

Keep the work area to specified standard

5

Sustain the 5S system

5.1

Clean up after completion of job and before commencing next job or end of shift

5.2

Identify situations where compliance to standards is unlikely and take actions specified in procedures

5.3

Inspect work area regularly for compliance to specified standard

5.4

Recommend improvements to lift the level of compliance in the workplace

This section describes the skills and knowledge required for this unit.

Required skills 

Required skills include:

• communicating with others to clarify issues during 5S implementation, communicate results and contribute suggestions for improvement
• visualising operations in terms of flow and contribution to customer outcomes
• planning own tasks in implementation of 5S
• implementing 5S in own work area according to instructions
• identifying waste (muda)
• prioritising activities and items
• reading and interpreting documents describing procedures
• recording activities and results against templates and other prescribed formats
• working with others
• solving problems

Required knowledge 

Required knowledge includes:

• operations and processes relevant to own job
• meaning and application of 5S steps to own job and work area
• principles of efficient workplace organisation
• purposes of 5S
• methods of making/recommending improvements

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 own tasks and responsibilities and relate them to organisation and customer requirements
• identify and explain the stages of 5S
• implement 5S in own work area
• identify waste (muda) in the work area.

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
• 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.

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

5S 

5S is a system of work organisation originally developed in Japan based around housekeeping principles. A close translation of the five stages in the housekeeping approach is:

• sort
• set in order
• shine
• standardise
• sustain

Sort  

Sort involves keeping only what is absolutely necessary for the processes in the work area. Sort includes:

• clearing the work area of all non-essential equipment and materials

Non-essential items are those not required to either produce product, conduct process or operations, or make required adjustments to equipment during process or operations

Set in order 

Set in order includes:

• assigning required equipment and materials appropriate locations in the work area

Shine 

Shine includes:

• keeping the work area clean at all times. This should be carried out to a regular daily schedule against allowed time and, on most occasions, at the end of a job

Standardise 

Standardising includes:

• activities that help maintain the order and the housekeeping standards
• using procedures and checklists developed from a procedure

Sustain 

Sustain includes:

• making sure that daily activities are completed every day regardless of circumstance
• cleaning up after a job
• undertaking inspections, including:

• informal inspections carried out often, at least weekly
• formal inspections carried out at least monthly

• generating continuous improvement actions from daily activities
• following up specific actions to generate continuous improvement

Items in work area 

Items in work area may include:

• tools
• jigs/fixtures
• materials/components
• plant and equipment
• manuals
• personal items (e.g. bags, lunch boxes and posters)
• safety equipment and personal protective equipment
• other items which happen to be in the work area

Procedures 

Procedures may include:

• work instructions
• standard operating procedures
• formulas/recipes
• batch sheets
• temporary instructions and similar instructions provided for the operation of the plant
• 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

Unit sector

Competitive systems and practices