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

Establish scope of office processes to use be included in competitive systems integration

1.1

Identify office process links to other departments and external organisations

1.2

Establish deliverables expected by internal and external customers, including regulators, if any

1.3

Identify existing processes completely internal to the office

1.4

Confirm management support and identify any imposed exclusions or limits to the office competitive systems and practices implementation process

1.5

Identify any required budget and reporting processes

2

Facilitate engagement by office or administration work group with competitive systems and practices

2.1

Determine extent of capacity and commitment to efficiency improvement

2.2

Explain competitive systems and practices concepts

2.3

Gain commitment to competitive systems implementation

2.4

Agree with other employees on visual indicators to be used and their location

2.5

Determine skill base of office or administration employees in competitive systems and practices and techniques and arrange for any required training

2.6

Encourage or develop communications between employees and specialists outside the team

3

Facilitate initial implementation of competitive system and practices

3.1

Guide others in the process of selecting appropriate competitive practices

3.2

Collectively examine known customer requirements

3.3

Identify process stages

3.4

Establish triggers and indicators for customer pull in the office

3.5

Participate in and guide setting of initial key performance indicators (KPIs)

3.6

Encourage and lead implementation of competitive system and selected practices

3.7

Identify waste using implemented competitive systems and practices

3.8

Set up and guide processes for classifying and reducing waste

4

Facilitate continuous improvement and detailed implementation of competitive systems and practices

4.1

Review initial implementation of competitive systems and practices with office employees

4.2

Identify barriers to improvement from initial implementation

4.3

Gain commitment to continuous improvement (kaizen)

4.4

Apply appropriate tools to remove barriers to improvement and to establish continuous improvement

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

Required skills

Required skills include:

• facilitating goals, activities, communications and access to resources process mapping of typical office processes
• solving problems
• identifying waste (muda) in the office environment
• data gathering and analysis
• explaining and leading groups of office personnel in implementation of:

• value stream mapping
• 5S
• Just in Time
• mistake proofing
• process mapping
• establishing customer pull
• kaizen and kaizen blitz
• setting of KPIs/metrics
• identification and elimination of waste (muda)

• communicating effectively in informal and formal meetings, and with personnel at all levels
• providing effective feedback
• transferring knowledge and skill through informal one-on-one mentoring

Required knowledge 

Required knowledge includes:

• information technology systems used in the office
• principles of competitive systems and practices and their application to the office environment, including:

• value stream mapping
• 5S
• JIT
• mistake proofing
• process mapping
• establishing customer pull
• kaizen and kaizen blitz
• setting of KPIs/metrics
• identification and elimination of waste (muda)

• monitoring and data gathering systems used by an organisation, such as customer relationship management (CRM) database, accounting packages, business intelligence or other office process related database programs and proprietary systems which are used within an organisation and which require office input
• methods of gathering data against KPIs, for example:

• waste walk
• document tagging
• tracking/log sheets
• spaghetti diagrams
• existing information technology and management systems

• facilitation techniques to encourage team development and improvement
• organisational policies, plans and procedures

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 the scope of the services supplied by the office and the deliverables expected by customers
• facilitate and motivate others in competitive systems and practices
• identify barriers to implementation of competitive systems and practices in an office
• communicate and gain support for changes made as a result of the implementation of the competitive systems and practices
• review the implementation of 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 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 CRM database, accounting packages, business intelligence or other office process-related database programs
• 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
• 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

Office 

An office may include:

• a physical location where information/ administrative/transaction based functions are conducted and documents stored either in hard copy or electronically, such as:

• administration
• ordering and quoting
• sales and marketing
• contracts and tendering
• customer service

Office may also be applied to functions relevant to office responsibilities that are undertaken outside the physical office location, such as:

• sales representatives placing orders remotely
• employees working from home on office-related work
• office-related access levels and processes given to non-employees (e.g.customers, suppliers and regulators)

Lead implementation 

Leading implementation includes either:

• having formal leadership responsibility, such as a team leader or
• individuals who are required to have the ability to lead by example and mentor others, such as:

• experienced or senior operators
• specialists who must use their technical expertise to facilitate implementation of competitive systems and practices

Imposed exclusions 

Imposed exclusions are wastes (muda) that are required but do not add value. They should be formally identified as muda in the competitive systems implementation. Examples include:

• equipment excluded from efficiency or layout review because of budget constraints, licences, and so on
• regulatory requirements that do not add value
• enterprise requirements, policies or procedures beyond the influence of the team

Waste  

Waste (also known as muda in the Toyota Production System and its derivatives) includes:

• errors in documents or data
• transport of documents
• doing unnecessary work
• waiting for the next process step
• process of getting approvals
• unnecessary motions
• backlog in work queues
• underutilised employees
• too many signature/approval levels
• unclear job descriptions
• obsolete databases/files/folders
• collecting unnecessary data
• interruptions that do not add value
• purchase orders not matching quotation
• full or bulk printouts when partial printout would do
• printing out when electronic files could serve the purpose
• holding unnecessary stock of office supplies
• generating reports that are not read

KPIs 

KPIs may include metrics, such as:

• process/cycle time, lead time, response time and value-add time
• changeover time between different work processes
• customer demand rates
• inventory/work in progress/inbox
• equipment/technology access and reliability
• energy use
• waste to landfill
• percentage complete and accurate

Unit sector

Competitive systems and practices