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

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

Evidence of the ability to:

plan, conduct and record HFC maintenance activities procedures and techniques

comply with site risk control, OHS, environmental, quality and communication requirements

perform RF and optical measurements

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure:

sites on which HFC maintenance may be conducted

use of maintenance tools and test instruments currently used in industry

relevant regulatory, enterprise and equipment documentation that impact on maintenance activities.

Method of assessment

A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:

direct observation of the candidate carrying out HFC maintenance activities

review of maintenance reports completed by the candidate for different sites and equipment within the HFC network

oral or written questioning to assess knowledge of maintenance procedures.

Guidance information for assessment

Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended.

ICTTEN4085A Monitor, analyse and action telecommunications network alarms

ICTTEN4086A Undertake routine maintenance of the telecommunications network.

Aboriginal people and other people from a non-English speaking background may have second language issues.

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

Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate, and appropriate to the oral communication skill level, and language and literacy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.

In all cases where practical assessment is used it will be combined with targeted questioning to assess required knowledge. Questioning techniques should not require language, literacy and numeracy skills beyond those required in this unit of competency.

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

Required skills

analytical skills to evaluate impact of maintenance on customers and network

communication skills to provide advice and guidance to others and to liaise with other technical staff on operational matters

initiative and enterprise skills to identify improvements to maintenance procedures

literacy skills to read technical data and interpret technical and non-technical information from a range of sources and write reports

PC skills to upgrade installed software

planning and organisational skills to plan for outage

technical skills to:

identify noise and ingress

set up, operate and interpret results on complex test instruments:

optical instruments: optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR), optical power meter

RF instruments: digital signal level meter, RF sweep equipment, spectrum analyser

use hand and power tools to assemble and disassemble equipment in pits and in elevated situated situations

Required knowledge

16 QAM

256 QAM

64 QAM

overview of AC and DC theory

amplifier types and placement

awareness of forward error correction (FEC) and Reed-Solomon Code

bi-directional RF amplifier and unidirectional RF amplifier

bit error ratio (BER) and acceptable values

calculation of overall gain or loss when given signal levels in dBmv

coaxial transmission line characteristics including cable tilt or slope

constellation diagram interpretation

digital modulation techniques

DOCSIS cable modem characteristics

eye diagram interpretation

forward path from head end to subscriber showing expected signal levels at key points

frequency spectrum and RF frequency plan HFC broadband cable network

future BCN and migration to all-optical cable networks

HFC broadband cable network principles, architecture and associated equipment

measurement of optical power

minimum standards allowable in the return path for ingress

modulation error ratio (MER) and acceptable values

optical fibre characteristics

passive devices including filter, attenuator, power inserter, coaxial splitter, coupler, multitap, equaliser

power supply requirements in a HFC broadband cable network

quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK)

return path from subscriber to head end showing expected signal levels at key points

RF amplifier characteristics including gain and tilt adjustment, equalisation, overload

services carried on HFC broadband cable network

spectrum utilisation of the return path showing location of telephony and data channels and signalling and test frequencies

forms of ingress and where they may fall in the return path

video stream transport formats:

DVB-ASI

HD-SDI

MPEG-2

SD-SDI

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.

Relevant legislation, codes, regulations and standards may include:

appropriate licences:

cable

electrical

elevated work platform (EWP)

rigger

Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) standards and codes

Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) technical standards

Australian building codes and regulations

Australian standards

enterprise standards

environmental protection

equipment standards

fire regulations

heritage legislation

international standards

intrinsically safe lightning protection

local government

OHS

site engineering standard

Telecommunications Act.

HFC network elements may include:

headend

optical network:

optical node

optical or RF hub

RF network:

customer tap

global network amplifier (GNA) with reverse path amplifier

isolator

line extender (LE) with reverse path amplifier

line power inserter

splitter.

Maintenance may include:

corrective maintenance

remote maintenance

routine maintenance.

Network Operations Centre may include:

coordination of repairs or changes to the network

escalation of faults

monitoring:

network alarms

optical fibre cuts

power failures

performing diagnostic tests

troubleshooting.

Maintenance schedule may be:

details from service level agreement (SLA)

frequency:

monthly

quarterly

procedures

responsibilities and commitment

timings.

Potential impact may include:

degradation of service to residential customers

disruption of service to residential customers

intermittent degradation of service to residential customers

intermittent performance

loss of service and revenue to enterprise customers

outage

total loss of service to residential customers.

Outage may include:

loss of service to customers due to a network fault or upgrade

planned in the case of network upgrades

unplanned in relation to faults.

Tools may include:

anti-static wrist strap

PC board or sub-rack removal tool

pliers

power drill

screwdrivers

sockets

soldering iron

spanners.

Resources may include:

elevated work platform hire

licensed cabler

licensed electrician

licensed rigger

optical fibre specialist

optical fibre splicer.

Test equipment may include:

network profiler - spectrum analyser and digital modulation analyser fitted with:

cable TV (CATV) module

dual path sweep module

sweep ingress analyser

integrated sweep transmitter

laptop computer

multimeter

optical fibre power meter

OTDR

oscilloscope.

Network stability may include:

reliability of the network:

over time

under varying load conditions

under varying traffic conditions.

Routine maintenance tasks may include:

adjusting pads and equalisers to obtain correct output signal levels in RF amplifiers

conducting:

basic AC DC voltage and resistance measurements using a multimeter

constellation measurement

MER measurement and BER measurement (pre and post FEC) using a digital analyser

multi channel tests across the whole band

system ingress measurement

digital channel power

measuring:

hum modulation

optical power levels at:

head end

hub

node

RF carrier levels at:

GNA

Hub

LE

tap

performing RF level and frequency measurements:

level

tilt

remotely monitoring and recording customer broadband cable modem levels to assist in pinpointing network problems

sweep testing the RF coaxial portion of the network:

forward sweep test:

high frequency short circuits

standing waves

frequency 'suck-out'

flatness - peak to valley

reverse sweep test

using a network profiler instrument to troubleshoot faults in the HFC network

verifying and confirming:

forward optical transmitter output power and optical loss budget

reverse optical transmitter output power and optical loss budget.

OHS and environmental requirements may relate to:

decommissioning and isolating worksite and lines prior to commencement

safe working practices, such as the safe use and handling of:

asbestos

chemicals

materials

tools and equipment

work platforms

safety barriers

safety equipment

warning signs and tapes

environmental considerations:

clean-up

noise and dust

stormwater protection

waste management.

Performance measurements may include:

Proof of performance tests on the:

forward path

return path

optical power levels and confirm correct operation

RF BER and MER measurements using network profiler.