Technical officers or engineers from private and public organisations apply the skills and knowledge in this unit. They combine technical skills with organisational skills to provide signalling facilities to interconnect telecommunications over trunked networks.

They may be responsible for small projects or parts of larger projects and their primarily roles are to provide trunked transmission paths for a reliable service to customers.

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Analyse signalling and digital path alarms and clear network faults

1.1. Obtain relevant legislation, codes, regulations and standards to prepare for the task

1.2. Activate alarm management system to produce a trouble report and verify CCS and data faults or problems

1.3. Investigate cause of alarm and analyse results to determine appropriate repair action and allocate resources

1.4. Monitor repair and restoration procedures to ensure commitment to specified timelines and initiate escalation procedures as appropriate and according to enterprise procedures

1.5. Reset alarms on completion of repair and monitor subsequent alarms to ensure no re-occurrence of the problem

2. Monitor integrity of data received on equipment ports

2.1. Activate alarm screens and monitor port times on a regular basis to ensure that procedures are running

2.2. Clear port blockage and problems on completion of planned works and log in appropriate database

2.3. Monitor repair and restoration procedures to ensure commitment to specified timelines and initiate escalation procedures as appropriate and according to enterprise procedures

3. Monitor and acceptance test repair

3.1. Verify network stabilisation throughout repair and monitor

repair action to ensure minimal impact on the overall network

3.2. Undertake acceptance testing according to prescribed operating procedures

3.3. Monitor network stability on completion and refer problems to the appropriate area for action

3.4. Block alarms for out of service circuits

4. Coordinate CCS relationships

4.1. Log requests for relationship change and follow up problems with appropriate support staff

4.2. Monitor network stability and manage loading of data until the process is completed

4.3. Update models and enterprise systems

5. Coordinate CCS rearrangements

5.1. Log requests for rearrangements scenarios and verify feasibility of rearrangement

5.2. Enter details of rearrangement in appropriate system and update system records

5.3. Monitor completed work for accuracy and network stability on completion

5.4. Produce a copy of documentation for future reference

Required skills

analytical skills to interrogate and evaluate complex information from multiple sources and to develop positions and recommendations

communication skills to:

liaise with vendors, customers, and technical experts on technical and operational matters

negotiate with other repair and support staff

literacy skills to incorporate technical language into written tasks such as records and reports

numeracy skills to interpret technical data

planning and organisational skills to work in a methodical and logical manner

research skills to access technical information and sources to assist fault identification

technical skills to operate testing tools

Required knowledge

acceptance tests

alarm set ups

CCS:

architecture

protocols

signalling

testing

data and signalling pathways

repair and restoration procedures

routing architecture

switching network equipment operation

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:

identify and implement repair action within service assurance guidelines

analyse and interpret alarms including CCS and digital path

apply enterprise fault management priorities and escalation procedures

resolve problems in a methodical and logical manner

conduct appropriate tests and interpret results.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure:

site with CCS network

tests and equipment currently used in industry

relevant legislation, codes, regulations and standards.

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 managing a CCS network

oral or written questioning of the candidate to assess required knowledge of CCS networks, testing and repair and restoration procedures

review of documentation and records completed by the candidate.

Guidance information for assessment

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

ICTTEN6043A Undertake network traffic management

ICTTEN6044A Coordinate fault rectification and restoration of service following network outages.

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.

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 include:

Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) standards as they apply to carrier operation

International Standards ISO 9000 and ISO 9001

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) recommendations network management series E410

occupational health and safety (OHS)

Privacy Act.

Repair and restoration procedures may include:

arranging test sequence

conducting clearance test

notifying network operation centre (NOC)

performing fault diagnosis

repairing or replacing affected component

restoring services

verifying alarm.

Escalation procedures may include:

pass onto network specialist at NOC

verification of fault status:

clearance likely to exceed set time

fault too complex for local attention

vendor technical specialist.

Acceptance testing may include:

compatibility

functionality

operational

performance.

Rearrangements scenarios may include:

CCS SS7 violations

digital path alarms

digital information path (DIP) running errors

link conversions.

Documentation may include:

alarm management system printouts

fault clearance methods

fault details

final fault clearance tests

recommendations

test results.

Unit sector

Telecommunications

Telecommunications networks engineering

This unit contains employability skills.