STANDARDISATION UPDATEFEBRUARY 2014
The Following report has been sent to all UOGITTS (OPITO) Focal Points and must be forwarded to all assessors and Internal verifiers involved in assessing either the SVQ (OPITO) Process Operations Hydrocarbon or Process Engineering Maintenance Level 3.
Assessor and Verifiers should then retain a copy of this update for their own records.
NAME OF PERSON COMPILING UPDATE / John FraserJOB TITLE OF PERSON COMPILING UPDATE / MA Scheme Manager
DATE / 03/02/14
General feedback to assessors/IVs:
The following feedback has been compiled following recent internal quality assurance reviewsof both the Process Engineering Maintenance Level 3 VQs and the Process Operation Hydrocarbon Level 3 VQs, as well as from feedback from the OPITO Reviewers (Frank Tyreman, Kevin Nicolson, Alex Strathdee).
Feedback on Process Engineering Maintenance
Assessor and IV Competence
There have been cases recently where assessors have tried to assess all 4 disciplines. For the
avoidance of doubt,assessors must be competent and qualified to carry out the assessment
process. Assessors must meet the following minimum requirements:-
- be technically competent in the discipline being assessed, even when using an EWA – this could be demonstrated in a number of ways, for example:
- they are an experienced practitioner or supervisor in the same discipline;
- they have been assessed as competent for the relevant Standard(s) and/or have achieved an equivalent qualification;
- they have previously performed or supervised the activities defined in the Standard(s) and can demonstrate that they have maintained their technical expertise and knowledge of current processes and practices;
- hold (or be working towards) a recognised Assessor’s qualification (e.g. L&D9DI, L&D9D, A1, A2, D32, D33).
- have sufficient occupational expertise in the broad discipline area covered by the relevant Standard(s) to permit valid judgements about assessments and appeal decisions – typically this would be demonstrated by the Internal Verifier having worked at either operational or supervisory level in the broad discipline area;
- hold (or be working towards) a recognised Internal Verifier’s qualification (e.g. L&D11, V1, D34).
New PEM Portfolio lay out.
2013 saw the first cohort complete to the new 2 folder requirement, where the trainee builds a
TrainingPortfolio from day one and his assessor then builds his Assessment folder. The
Assessment folder should contain evidence from minimum of 3 separate assessment activities for
each of the 9 Technical Units selected. The 3 assessment activities for each unit must be from 3
different Activity Items from the 7 selected. The assessment activity evidence can be drawn from the
trainees Training Folder but it would be expected that there would be at least 4 observations.
On the whole this new format was an success with most assessors compiling a comprehensive
Assessment Portfolio. However a small minorityare still trying to assess and submit the whole
Training folder, SQA will not accept this as they see this as over assessment and only require the 3
pieces of evidence for each
of the 9 Technical units.
The assessment folder should contain:-
SECTION 1:
• All relevant candidate information, signature sheets, EWA, Assessor and IV information forms, Unit Progress Record, Unit Achievement Records, Assessor and IV Final Statements, etc.
SECTION 2:
• Copies of all assessment material and evidence produced by trainees for the appropriate PEM Level 3 SVQ. Examples of assessment material in the form of reports, testimonies and supporting evidence are:
− Assessment Plans
− Observation Reports (written by EWA or assessor)
− Personal Reports (activity reports written by trainee)
− Witness Testimonies
− Risk Assessments (trainee involvement in producing or using RA must be obvious)
− Work Permits (trainee involvement in permit raising/issue/revalidation/cancelling/etc. must be obvious)
− Isolation Certificates (trainee involvement in either creating or using isolation certificates must be obvious)
− Daily and handover logs (trainee involvement in providing input must be obvious)
− Assessor/EWA Feedback Reports (including summary feedback report from EWA/Assessor where used)
− Underpinning knowledge questionnaires specific to the selected activity items
Assessment Plans
There have been several instances where the information recorded in assessment plans is not aligned to the evidence provided. Examples are:
1.Dates in assessment plans do not match dates of evidence provided
2.Assessment methods stated in the assessment plan such as witness testimonies are not provided as evidence.
3.Evidence such as candidate personal reports are provided in the evidence pack but not
referenced in the assessment plan
Assessors should review and amend your assessment plans if necessary to ensure that the assessment methods used are referenced in the plan and that all dates are aligned. If you state in the assessment plan that logs/recordswill be required then these should be included in the evidence pack. If you are looking for COSHH Assessments, Permits, Risk Assessments or other similar documents then state that clearly in the plans.
Selection of The correct Activity Areas & Coverage of Units
Last year, several Electrical candidates chose “Activity Item” A4 : Electrical Hand Tools, from
Group A : Rotating Machines (p17). On submission to the IV it became apparent that very little
Maintenance of handtools had been carried other than replacing a flex, plug etc. This meant that
there was very little evidence of the 9 Technical Unitsbeing covered and the portfolios had to be
returned to the candidate and his assessor.
Please ensure that if a candidate is choosing “Activity Item” A4 : Electrical Hand Tools, that they
are actually maintaining thehand tools and not just using them and that through the maintenance
activity they are able to cover all performance criteria for the 9 Technical Units.
Activity Reports and Supporting Evidence
Where assessors are using a candidates Activity Report and supporting evidence, please ensure that
the report and evidence have a corresponding date. There has been case where the report and
supporting evidence dates do not align, again this resulted in the IV returning the portfolio to the
candidate and his assessor. Trainee’s should date Activity reports on the day the job was
completed and not the day the report was written, this would apply to assessors and EWAs and their
respective Observation Reports also.
Expert Witness Advisors (EWAs)
Expert Witness Advisor should only be used if it is not reasonably practical for an Assessor to be
present during an observation. The Assessor however is still responsible for all assessment activities
and will use the Expert Witness Advisor Observation Report as an important piece of evidence in
judgingcompetence of trainees. It is expected that an EWA would participate in a briefing session
with the assessor to ensure that they are familiar with the Standard(s) being assessed and that they
understand their role to observe the Candidate and record observations and comments.The
Assessor and EWA both must be of the same discipline as the candidate.
EWAs should provide “Expert Witness Advisor Observation Reports” feeding back their findings of
each observation to both the assessor and the candidate. These should not be confused with
“Witness Testimonies” which are just testimonies from colleagues used to support the
Trainee’s activity reports. EWAs would then provide a “Expert Witness Advisor Summary Feedback
Report”, where they will make recommendations to the assessor on the candidatesprogress and
completion of units.All EWAs must be registered with OPITO, the registration forms can be
obtained from the OPITO Reviewers.
EWA’s should only be listed in the portfolio if they were actually required and used, where an
Assessor can carry out all assessments then EWAs should not be listed.
Knowledge Questions
Knowledge questions must not be developed by the trainee!
It would be expected that at least one third of the Knowledge points would be covered by Knowledge
Questions. If you chose to do this then it would be expected that there would be evidence
demonstrating knowledge for the remaining two thirds of knowledge points.
Assessors must ensure that all knowledge questions cover the required knowledge points and where
“Competency Question” booklets are used it should be clearly referencedas to which questions
cover the required knowledge points.
Trainees names should be listed on the answer sheets and the assessor should and initial each page
todemonstrate that he has looked at each answer and then sign the final page.
Internal Verification
It is expected that 100% verification will be carried out on the assessment portfolio.
Where IVs are signing off the Evidence Index, they should initial and date individually each evidence
box.
There has been cases recently where IVs have only received a portfolio once it has been completed
and they have identified a number of issues that have prevented the portfolio from going forward for
certification at that time. In all cases this could have been prevented by Interim Internal
Verification. This is something that both SQA and OPITO require to be done.
Feedback on Process Operations Hydrocarbons
Assessor and IV Competence
There have been cases recently where assessors have tried to assess all 4 disciplines. For the
avoidance of doubt, assessors must be competent and qualified to carry out the assessment
process. Assessors must meet the following minimum requirements:-
- be technically competent in the discipline being assessed, even when using an EWA – this could be demonstrated in a number of ways, for example:
- they are an experienced practitioner or supervisor in the same discipline;
- they have been assessed as competent for the relevant Standard(s) and/or have achieved an equivalent qualification;
- they have previously performed or supervised the activities defined in the Standard(s) and can demonstrate that they have maintained their technical expertise and knowledge of current processes and practices;
- hold (or be working towards) a recognised Assessor’s qualification (e.g. L&D9DI, L&D9D, A1, A2, D32, D33).
- have sufficient occupational expertise in the broad discipline area covered by the relevant Standard(s) to permit valid judgements about assessments and appeal decisions – typically this would be demonstrated by the Internal Verifier having worked at either operational or supervisory level in the broad discipline area;
- hold (or be working towards) a recognised Internal Verifier’s qualification (e.g. L&D11, V1, D34).
Assessment Plans
There have been several instances where the information recorded in assessment plans is not aligned to the evidence provided. Examples are:
1.Dates in assessment plans do not match dates of evidence provided
2.Assessment methods stated in the assessment plan such as witness testimonies are not provided as evidence.
3.Evidence such as candidate personal reports are provided in the evidence pack but not
referenced in the assessment plan
Assessors should review and amend your assessment plans if necessary to ensure that the assessment methods used are referenced in the plan and that all dates are aligned. If you state in the assessment plan that logs/recordswill be required then these should be included in the evidence pack. If you are looking for COSHH Assessments, Permits, Risk Assessments or other similar documents then state that clearly in the plans.
Activity Reports and Supporting Evidence
Where assessors are using a candidates Activity Report and supporting evidence, please ensure that
the report and evidence have a corresponding date. There has been case where the report and
supporting evidence dates do not align, again this resulted in the IV returning the portfolio to the
candidate and his assessor. Trainee’s should date Activity reports on the day the job was
completed and not the day the report was written, this would apply to assessors and EWAs and their
respective Observation Reports also.
Selection & Coverage of Systems & Processes
Some key points to remember:-
- The 4 chosen Systems must include a minimum of 2 Systems from the following Systems:-
- System 2, Oil Storage/Discharge Process
- System 3 Gas Process, and
- System 4 Oil/Gas Process and Export
- When choosing the Process to be assessed by “Knowledge Only,” it would be expected that the trainee would still have practical experience of the Processes but that the assessment only requires to be knowledge only.
Expert Witness Advisor should only be used if it is not reasonably practical for an Assessor to be
present during an observation. The Assessor however is still responsible for all assessment activities
and will use the Expert Witness Advisor Observation Report as an important piece of evidence in
judging competence of trainees. It is expected that an EWA would participate in a briefing session
with the assessor to ensure that they are familiar with the Standard(s) being assessed and that they
understand their role to observe the Candidate and record observations and comments. The
Assessor and EWA both must be of the same discipline as the candidate.
EWAs should provide “Expert Witness Advisor Observation Reports” feeding back their findings of
each observation to both the assessor and the candidate. These should not be confused with
“Witness Testimonies” which are just testimonies from colleagues used to support the
Trainee’s activity reports. EWAs would then provide a “Expert Witness Advisor Summary Feedback
Report”, where they will make recommendations to the assessor on the candidates progress and
completion of units. All EWAs must be registered with OPITO, the registration forms can be
obtained from the OPITO Reviewers.
EWA’s should only be listed in the portfolio if they were actually required and used, where an
Assessor can carry out all assessments then EWAs should not be listed.
Knowledge Questions
Knowledge questions must not be developed by the trainee!
Where Processes are to be assessed on both “Performance and Knowledge”, It would be expected
thatat least one third of the Knowledge points would be covered by Knowledge Questions. If you
chose to do this then it would be expected that there would be evidence demonstrating knowledge
for the remaining two thirds of knowledge points.
Assessors must ensure that all knowledge questions cover the required knowledge points and
Where“Competency Question” booklets are used it should be clearly referenced as to which
Questionscover the required knowledge points.
In the assessment booklets, the knowledge points should be referenced clearly to the individual
knowledge question. It is only acceptable to reference only to the Knowledge Question Work
booklet, if that booklet is numbered exactly as per the knowledge points and each Knowledge Point
is covered in it.
Trainees names should be listed on the answer sheets and the assessor should initial each page
todemonstrate that he has looked at each answer and then sign the final page.
Assessment Booklets
Within the Assessment Booklets, each performance standard should be clearly referenced to
the specific piece of evidence and not just the “Work Pack.”
Assessors and IVs would sign each page of Assessment booklet.
Within the Generic Unit Assessment Booklet, the Assessment Plan (page 3) should be completed.
Internal Verification
It is expected that 100% verification will be carried out on the assessment portfolio.
There has been cases recently where IVs have only received a portfolio once it has been completed
and they have identified a number of issues that have prevented the portfolio from going forward for
certification at that time. In all cases this could have been prevented by Interim Internal
Verification. This is something that both SQA and OPITO require to be done.
IVs should sign and date in the appropriate section on each page of the assessment booklets
including the Generic Unit Booklet and include their SQA or certificate Number
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