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

Identify own place in the value chain

1.1

Identify customers relevant to own work and their needs/requirements

1.2

Identify suppliers for own work

1.3

Identify value contributions along the chain

1.4

Identify and recommend methods of increasing own contribution to the value chain

2

Improve the product and process value

2.1

Identify customer features/benefits in the product and process

2.2

Identify aspects of product and process which contribute to customer features/benefits

2.3

Identify aspects of product and process which do not contribute to customer benefits/features

2.4

Recommend methods of reducing waste and increasing features/benefits

3

Use competitive systems and practices

3.1

Identify competitive systems and practices used in organisation and own work area

3.2

Apply practices appropriate for the job or process

3.3

Monitor the job/process and make adjustments to improve it in accordance with procedures

3.4

Identify own skill requirements and seek skill development, if required

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

Required skills 

Required skills include:

• communicating with others to clarify scope of competitive systems and practices implementation and contributing suggestions for improvement
• visualising normal operational procedures in terms of flow and contribution to customer outcomes
• planning own tasks to support competitive systems and practices implementation
• implementing competitive systems and practices in own work area according to instructions
• identifying waste (muda)

Required knowledge 

Required knowledge includes:

• internal and external customers and the value they derive from operations
• suppliers, their capabilities and contribution to value (this may be obtained from an existing value stream map or other enterprise documentation)
• waste (muda)
• relevant competitive systems and practices for own job and how to apply them
• factors impacting on product, operations and waste, particularly those wholly or partially under their control (and how to control them)

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.

Overview of assessment

A person being assessed against this unit will work effectively in a competitive systems and practices environment, making continual positive contributions to the improvement of the business within the scope of their job.

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 competitive systems and practices implemented in their work area
• identify services and/or functions supplied by suppliers and to customers
• identify own tasks and responsibilities and relate them to organisation and customer requirements
• identify aspects of products and process which add to or detract from customer benefit
• contribute suggestions for improvement.

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

Customers 

Customers may include:

• internal or external customers and should be sufficiently close to the individual’s work as to be easily identifiable
• final customers 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 provided with sufficient information to enable them to identify customer benefits and customer features

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

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

Unit sector

Competitive systems and practices