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

It is essential that the process and equipment be understood and that the importance of critical material properties, settings and readings is known. Competence must be demonstrated in the ability to recognise and analyse potential situations requiring action and then in implementing appropriate corrective action.

Consistent performance should be demonstrated. In particular look to see that:

all reasonably available cores and/or fillers have been considered

an appropriate core/filler has been chosen

the reasons for choosing the core and/or filler are sound

the product meets its required performance.

Competence must be demonstrated in the operation of all ancillary equipment to the level required for this unit of competency.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment will require the selection and use of appropriate cores and fillers for specified composite jobs.

Assessment will occur over a range of situations which will include disruptions to normal, smooth operation.

Method of assessment

A single assessment event is not appropriate. On-the-job assessment should be included as part of the assessment process wherever possible. Where assessment occurs off the job, judgement must consider evidence of the candidate's performance in a productive work environment that includes a sufficient range of appropriate tasks and materials to cover the scope of application for this unit.

Assessors should gather a range of evidence that is valid, sufficient, current and authentic. Evidence can be gathered through a variety of ways, including direct observation, supervisor's reports, project work, samples and questioning. Questioning techniques should not require language, literacy and numeracy skills beyond those required in this unit of competency.

The candidate must have access to all tools, equipment, materials and documentation required. The candidate must be permitted to refer to any relevant workplace procedures, product and manufacturing specifications, codes, standards, manuals and reference materials.

Guidance information for assessment

Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate and appropriate to the language and literacy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed.

Required skills

Required skills include:

using relevant hand and power tools

fabricating composite products using appropriate techniques

interpreting quality control and quality assurance requirements

interpreting specifications

interpreting product/technical data sheets and material safety data sheets (MSDS)

Required knowledge

Required knowledge includes:

types of cores

chemical makeup of cores, including urethane, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) (e.g. Corefell), polymethacrylimide (PMI) (e.g. Rohacell), wood (e.g. end grain balsa), cellulose (e.g. phenolic coated paper), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), aluminium honeycomb and aramid honeycomb (e.g. Nomex)

types of fillers

machining techniques

function of cores and fillers

bonding of cores and fillers

wetability of cores and fillers by the resin

properties of cores and fillers and their contributions to the properties of the composite

interrelationship between cores, fillers and matrix

modes of core failure

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.

Procedures

Procedures may be written, verbal, computer-based or in some other form, and may include:

all work instructions

standard operating procedures

formulas/recipes

batch sheets

temporary instructions

any similar instructions provided for the smooth running of the plant

good operating practice as may be defined by industry codes of practice (e.g. Responsible Care) and government regulations

Cores

Core is used to include:

materials used to provide thickness and so rigidity (and perhaps thermal and acoustic insulation) to a laminate, but not significant structural strength, which is provided by reinforcing

Fillers

Fillers include:

particulate materials which may be added to the composite matrix to vary the bulk, stiffness, density or other properties of the final composite

Requirements of final product

Requirements of final product may be determined from various sources, including:

drawings

product specifications

customer requests

descriptions of required use of product

Requirements of core

Requirements of core include:

stiffness/flexibility

directionality

density

shear strength

insulating properties

operating temperature

Most appropriate core/filler

Most appropriate core/filler refers to that core/filler which has:

compliance with product requirements

greatest ease of use in manufacture

best financial return

greatest sustainability contribution

Sustainability

Sustainability incorporates the three aspects of:

survival of the ecology/physical environment – which means that an enterprise needs to manage the impact of the business to ensure the survival of the physical environment

economic viability – efficiency, cost and waste reduction and competitiveness to support survival of the business

social sustainability – an enterprise needs to manage the impact of the business to ensure its continued survival within the community and the survival of the community, including occupational health and safety ( OHS)

Preparing core

Preparing core includes:

cutting to size/shape, as required

tapering edges, as required

any pre-treatment required (e.g. dehumidifying and priming)

Preparing reinforcing

Preparing reinforcing includes:

cutting to size/shape, as required,

packaging into kits, as required

any pre-treatment required

Preparing filler

Preparing filler may include:

weighing

mixing with resin to required viscosity

any other required preparation

Fillers may include:

fillers, such as syntactic foam

Core direction

Core direction includes considerations such as:

directional properties

Reinforcing direction

Reinforcing direction includes considerations such as:

fibre orientation

fibre pre-forming

Logs and reports

Logs and reports may include:

paper or electronic based

verbal reports

items found which require action

Appropriate action

Appropriate action includes:

determining problems needing action

determining possible fault causes

rectifying problem using appropriate solution within area of responsibility

following through items initiated until final resolution has occurred

reporting problems outside area of responsibility to designated person

Typical problems

Typical problems may include:

cost/benefit of different core/filler systems

air/vapour entrapment

bonding/delaminating

contamination

selecting a core/filler suited to the fabrication process

Health, safety and environment (HSE)

All operations to which this unit applies are subject to stringent HSE requirements, which may be imposed through state/territory or federal legislation, and these must not be compromised at any time. Where there is an apparent conflict between Performance Criteria and HSE requirements, the HSE requirements take precedence