Chapter 5 - 8
Figure 11. The Assessment Process
20.
In the case of BTC, the apparent complications of overlaying the many Occupational Standards
identified in the role profiling activities was almost overwhelming for the company. It was
decided that a mock assessment might help in understanding the Standards in better detail and
so choose those Standards that best demonstrate the critical competences for each role. This
‘down-selecting’ of the number of Standards is a very important part of the design of
qualifications that the awarding organisation undertakes when creating international, national,
industry-recognised or bespoke qualifications
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. For our purposes, i.e. understanding the
principles of assessment of competence in the workplace and improving our understanding of
the use of occupational standards, we would only need to assess one of each of our ‘candidates’
against one or two of the Standards identified in the Role Profile we created for each.
21.
We decided to conduct a mock assessment of a Test Leader and the Assembly/Disassembly
Foreman and, as is often the case with assessments of ‘candidates’ in their real-time working
environment, the actual Standards and elements of those Standards that would be assessed
could not be predicted until the week before the assessment at the very earliest. Over a two-day
period, we:
•
Used a presentation about the Assessment Process as the basis for a discussion/workshop
for the President of BTC.
•
Conducted some 'Assessment Planning’ to confirm which qualification/Standards/Elements
would be assessed and by which type(s) of evidence
•
Conducted assessment by observation and verbal questions.
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For more detail, contact Homeland Security Qualifications
http://www.homelandsecurityqualifications.co.uk/
Chapter 5 - 9
•
Had a period of Reflection during which the President of BTC evaluated the work we had
done.
22.
This activity was very helpful in teasing out exactly what was required to demonstrate
competence for the ISO 17025 accreditation, which could be summarised as ‘Prepare the work –
do the work – report on the work’. For this very specific requirement this would allow BTC to
‘down-select’, from the role profiles that they created, to as few as three or four Standards for
each role. The presentation and discussion was followed by a very useful session on finding
occupational standards for other disciplines in BTC
25
so that we could demonstrate that the
principles of the Standards are common to all disciplines and therefore the principles of
assessment could be applied across the whole company.
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As ISO 17025 will be focused towards the "products" BTC delivers, i.e. measurements results, the focus will be on
competences and skills directly involved in that area. The roles will be the:
•
HS-Photographers.
•
Measurement engineers, operating different systems, were each system has its own set of competences and
skills in three different levels.
•
Environmental laboratory engineers, operating different machines such as vibrators, chock machines etc.
ANNEX A - 1
CASE STUDY – SAAB BOFORS TEST CENTER
BACKGROUND
Bofors Test Center's
(BTC) core business is testing of products containing explosive substances. We
have access to a large field of operations (approx. 100 km2) with six permanent test sites available.
All these sites have well-developed infrastructure such as advanced anti-shrapnel cover for
personnel and equipment. Should these sites not fulfil customer’s particular requirements, BTC has a
number of mobile solutions for setting up a temporary test site within or outside our facility. With
our large areas of land, recording equipment and filming capabilities we have great scope for testing
almost anything. We are certified to ISO 9000 and ISO 14000.
Being a test centre, it is logical to take the next step, certifying towards ISO 17025. One of the key
issues lacking today is a system to verify the personal skills and competences of our employees. One
possible solution is to implement the occupational standards. BTC participation in this project aims
to examine these possibilities. A certification according to standard ISO 17025 means a greater
opportunity to market the products and services on both the civil and defence market.
The ISO website
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describes ISO 17025 as follows:
ISO/IEC 17025:2005 specifies the general requirements for the competence to carry out
tests and/or calibrations, including sampling. It covers testing and calibration performed
using standard methods, non-standard methods, and laboratory-developed methods. It is
applicable to all organizations performing tests and/or calibrations. These include, for
example, first-, second- and third-party laboratories, and laboratories where testing and/or
calibration forms part of inspection and product certification. ISO/IEC 17025:2005 is
applicable to all laboratories regardless of the number of personnel or the extent of the
scope of testing and/or calibration activities. When a laboratory does not undertake one or
more of the activities covered by ISO/IEC 17025:2005, such as sampling and the
design/development of new methods, the requirements of those clauses do not apply.
ISO/IEC 17025:2005 is for use by laboratories in developing their management system for
quality, administrative and technical operations. Laboratory customers, regulatory
authorities and accreditation bodies may also use it in confirming or recognizing the
competence of laboratories. ISO/IEC 17025:2005 is not intended to be used as the basis for
certification of laboratories. Compliance with regulatory and safety requirements on the
operation of laboratories is not covered by ISO/IEC 17025:2005.
The ISO 17025 Standard itself states that:
“5.2.1 The laboratory management shall ensure the competence of all who operate specific
equipment, perform tests and/or calibrations, evaluate results, and sign test reports and calibration
certificates. When using staff who are undergoing training, appropriate supervision shall be
provided. Personnel performing specific tasks shall be qualified on the basis of appropriate
education, training, experience and/or demonstrated skills, as required.
5.2.2 The management of the laboratory shall formulate the goals with respect to the education,
training and skills of the laboratory personnel. The laboratory shall have a policy and procedures for
identifying training needs and providing training of personnel. The training programme shall be
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http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=39883
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