Assessor’s guidelines for the SVQs in Measurement Processes at level 3
February 2004
Price: £20.00
Publication code: DB1956
Published by the Scottish Qualifications Authority
Hanover House, 24 Douglas Street, Glasgow, G2 7NQ, and Ironmills Road, Dalkeith, Midlothian, EH22 1LE
The information in this publication may be reproduced in support of SQA qualifications. If it is reproduced, SQA should be clearly acknowledged as the source. If it is to be used for any other purpose, then written permission must be obtained from the Support Materials Development Officer at SQA. It must not be reproduced for trade or commercial purposes.
© Scottish Qualifications Authority 2004
Contents
About this guide
Introduction
About SVQs
How are standards defined in SVQs?
Who is involved in SVQs?
The steps involved in assessing a candidate for an SVQ
1 The SVQs in Measurement Processes
Sectors
About the SVQs
Structure of the SVQs
An assessment strategy for the SVQs
Why would people be interested in the SVQs?
How do candidates begin?
2 Preparing to assess the SVQs
Planning
Selecting methods of assessment
Methods of assessment
3Generating evidence
Observation
Questions and candidate responses
Witness testimony
Filling the gaps
Guidance and support to candidates
Judging candidate evidence and making an assessment decision
Authenticating candidates’ evidence
4Recording achievement
5Further information
Appendix 1: Blank recording forms
Appendix 2: Cogent Assessment strategy for Measurement Processes SVQ/NVQ at level 3 (extract)
Assessment strategy for the Offshore Oil and Gas Sector (extract)
Appendix 3: Guidelines for Unit 8
About this guide
This guide provides some practical examples of how to assess your candidates for the SVQs in Measurement Processes at level 3. You may be able to think of other ways of assessing your candidates and recording your decisions about their competence.
Using assessments based on these examples does not guarantee successful verification — it is still your responsibility to ensure that internal quality assurance procedures are followed.
Introduction
This introduction provides a brief overview of SVQs and how they are assessed in the workplace. If you are already familiar with the concept of SVQs, you may wish to go to the next section.
About SVQs
Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) are work-based qualifications which set the level of occupational competence for each sector of the economy. The qualifications have been designed by standards-setting bodies — made up of experienced practitioners who represent employers, professional bodies, trade unions, education and voluntary organisations.
Each standards-setting body is responsible for developing national standards which define what employees (or potential employees) must be able to do, how well, and in what circumstances, to show that they are competent in their work.
Each SVQ which a standards-setting body develops has to fit into a broad framework which allows qualifications in the UK and throughout Europe to be compared. SVQs are specified at five levels which reflect the various technical and supervisory skills knowledge and experience, which employees should have as they progress in their industry.
Explanation of levels
Level 1 / Defines competent performance in a range of activities which are largely routine and predictable.Level 2 / Specifies that competent performance must be shown in a broader range of work activities which are less routine and predictable. The employee will have more autonomy and responsibility, and may have to work as part of a team.
Level 3 / Specifies that competent performance must involve the employee in carrying out a broad range of varied work activities, most of which are complex and non-routine. There is considerable autonomy and responsibility, including the possibility of controlling or guiding others.
Level 4 / Specifies competence as complex technical or professional work activities which require a substantial degree of personal autonomy or responsibility. Managing staff and other resources is often involved.
Level 5 / Specifies competent performance as involving the employee in carrying out a significant range of activities in a wide variety of situations which are often unpredictable. Substantial responsibility and autonomy is involved in the work, which requires decision-making in the allocation of resources and the work of others. This will require complex skills such as analysis, design and evaluation.
How are standards defined in SVQs?
All SVQs consist of standards which can be broken down into various parts.
Units define the broad functions carried out in the sector, and are made up of a number of Elements. These Elements describe the activities which employees have to perform, and will require candidates to demonstrate certain skills or knowledge and understanding.
The quality of performance in what people must be able to do — how well they have to perform — is described by Performance Criteria. These may also be called Statements of Competence or what candidates should do.
The section on knowledge and understanding says what candidates must know and understand, and how this knowledge applies to their jobs.
You may also come across standards containing statements on scope. These statements could, for example, list the equipment that candidates are expected to be familiar with and use in their occupational area.
Increasingly, you may see changes to this format as standards become more user-friendly and are written in plain English. For example, there may be some standards containing Range Statements or Evidence Requirements, but over time these should disappear. You may, however, find that information on the context, nature and amount of evidence which is required to prove competence (which used to be given in Range Statements and evidence requirements) is now defined in the assessment guidance for the qualification. Assessment guidance is drawn up by the awarding body and is packaged along with the standards to form the SVQ.
Who is involved in SVQs?
There are several roles:
the candidate: the person who wants to achieve the SVQ (eg an employee)
the assessor*: the person who assesses the candidates and decides if they are competent (eg a supervisor)
the internal verifier*: (IV) an individual nominated by the centre (eg a company) who ensures that assessors apply the standards uniformly and consistently (eg the supervisor’s line manager)
the external verifier*: (EV) an individual appointed by SQA who ensures that standards are being applied uniformly and consistently across all centres offering the SVQ
*Assessors and verifiers will be asked by SQA to prove they have the appropriate occupational competence to assess and verify the SVQ. Occupational competence could be defined in terms of the number of years in an occupation, the contexts in which this must be achieved, and/or a range of qualifications recognised by the industry. There is a definition of occupational competence in the assessment strategy for these SVQs — see Extract in Appendix 2.
Assessors and verifiers are also expected to obtain an appropriate qualification in assessment and verification — this can be the Assessor/Verifier Units (the national standards for assessment and verification) either in their current format or as ‘D-Units’, or an alternative qualification which SQA also recognises.
The steps involved in assessing a candidate for an SVQ
In deciding whether a candidate should get an SVQ, you will go through these stages:
planning for assessment
generating and collecting evidence of the candidate’s competence in the Units
judging the evidence of the candidate’s ability and making an assessment decision based on the evidence
recording the assessment decision and the candidate’s achievement
1 The SVQs in Measurement Processes
Sectors
This guide is relevant to two distinct sectors of measurement:
1 Meter proving
Within this sector, two further distinctions are recognised by the industry:
proving of METERS used for fiscal or custody transfer accounting:
reference meters
aviation meters
pipeline meters
proving of PROVING DEVICES used for verifying meters in fiscal or custody transfer accounting service
2 Metering maintenance
Within this sector, the industry sees three distinct areas of activity:
inspection and verification of gas measurement systems
inspection and verification of liquid measurement systems
inspection and verification of bulk storage measurement systems
This makes it important that, in order to ensure a coherent and unambiguous award route, both you and your candidate are absolutely clear as to the context of your candidate’s portfolio development.
The four mandatory Units are common to both awards, and the industry considers the following underlying principles for any of the sector’s applications are sufficiently generic to be applicable to all:
preparations to attend site and perform the scheduled works
preparations to depart site and close out
participation in and contribution to proper industrial health and safety practices
provision of proper communications and ensuring continued client awareness of the condition of the client’s equipment
About the SVQs
The SVQs in Measurement Processes (both Meter Proving and Metering Maintenance) have been developed by Cogent and MPA (the Measurement Processes Association), and are intended for people involved in the measurement of fluid quantities. They cover measurement disciplines in the fiscal and precision process measurements used primarily, but not exclusively, in the petrochemical industry and may be offshore or onshore.
These people may be working as Metering Technicians, Meter Proving Technicians or Instrument Technicians. They must be able to demonstrate a diligent approach to safe working in their sector. They will require skills and knowledge in fluid flow, and its properties and dynamics. This will encompass understanding of the fundamental units of mass, length and time, and the inter-related derived units of flow, pressure, temperature, density and viscosity.
For the candidate to demonstrate competence in his or her work, an obvious good grounding is required in measurement errors, their origins and accumulation, measurement and control processes, traceability of standards, and computers and computing. In addition, they must know the statutory bodies and regulations applicable to the worksite, the relevant codes of practice and their application, safe working practices, risk assessments and the use of equipment in hazardous areas.
It is of absolute importance to recognise that, whilst the breadth of knowledge required is comprehensive, the candidate is NOT an Engineer, and does NOT need to demonstrate the depth of knowledge that would be required for an Engineering qualification.
Assessment
The SVQs are designed to be assessed in the workplace, or in conditions of the workplace. Candidates must be assessed in their normal working environment, which in this case would be the production or delivery systems in a processing facility or marketing terminal.
The majority of evidence of competence should be drawn from a candidate’s normal work activities and not from artificially contrived situations, created solely for the purposes of competence assessment. Simulation, though recognised as the only way to determine competence for certain operations, must be strictly controlled, and its use must have a clear justification. It will only be acceptable when a properly controlled plan has been developed and approved by the assessor and internal verifier. However, once approved, the approved centre may retain the simulation plan for future controlled use by other candidates.
Procedures and standards used should be those that are nationally or internationally recognised, or devised and specified by companies as standard operating procedures.
Certain terminal owners/operators offer the invaluable opportunity for candidates to partake in ‘joint exercises’ to enable single assessment days for multiple candidates. This can be arranged and co-ordinated through Cogent.
Structure of the SVQs
This section lists the Units which form the SVQs in Measurement Processes at level 3.
These SVQs were formed from the amalgamation of the previous (and discrete) Meter Proving and Metering Maintenance qualifications. The objective of the amalgamation was to provide a more manageable qualification without diluting the measure of competence for either of the original standards.
The SVQ certificate awarded to successful candidates will clearly identify the ‘Base Award’ and the discipline-specific routes for additional awards.
Candidates have to complete FOUR mandatory Units and either:
one from three optional Units to gain a qualification in Metering Maintenance
complete the Meter Proving Unit having selected one from four evidence routes to gain a qualification in Meter Proving specific to his/her chosen sector
Whichever route the candidate chooses, he or she must submit consistent evidence that is appropriate to Metering Maintenance or Meter Proving. The evidence will usually be derived from his or her normal work.
The structure of this suite of SVQs has been designed to enable candidates to accomplish all seven qualifications without having to repeat the four mandatory Units. However, because significant time may have elapsed since acquiring the original qualification, statutory, regulatory and procedural changes may have occurred. Therefore, the candidate must demonstrate and the assessor must be satisfied that the candidate does have current competence in these areas. The Unit Guidance for the optional Units enables you to request evidence of this knowledge and understanding.
Measurement Processes at level 3
Mandatory Units
SQA ref / Unit refDE1C 04 / 1 / Perform Pre-Measurement Processes Operations
1.Prepare for worksite attendance
2.Perform pre-job inspection
3.Schedule activities
B5K9 04 / 2 / Contribute to the Health and Safety of the Working Environment
1.Monitor and maintain the health and safety of self and others
2.Monitor and maintain pollution control measures
DE1D 04 / 3 / Establish and Maintain Effective Working Relationships in the Measurement Processes Environment
1.Establish and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues
2.Establish and maintain effective communications with colleagues
3.Carry out work handovers
DE1E 04 / 4 / Perform Post-Measurement Processes Operations
1.Perform post-job worksite inspection
2.Prepare for worksite departure
The Assessment Strategy requires Unit 4 to be subject to 100% external verification.
Metering Maintenance route to full SVQ
Optional Units
Each candidate must achieve all of the mandatory core Units and one of the following optional Units:
SQA ref / Unit refD7VE 04 / 5 / Inspect and Verify Gas Measurement Systems
- Inspect and verify primary gas devices
- Inspect and verify secondary gas devices
- Inspect and verify gas quality devices
D7VF 04 / 6 / Inspect and Verify Liquid Measurement Systems
1. Inspect and verify primary liquid devices
2. Inspect and verify secondary liquid devices
3. Inspect and verify liquid quality devices
D7VG 04 / 7 / Inspect and Verify Bulk Storage Measurement Systems
- Inspect and verify primary bulk storage devices
- Inspect and verify secondary bulk storage devices
Meter Proving route to full SVQ
Optional Units
Each candidate must achieve all of the mandatory core Units and complete the following optional Unit by one of the evidence routes listed below:
SQA ref / Unit ref8 / Proving Operations
- Connect proving equipment to client system
- Prepare client system for proving
- Monitor the condition of reference devices and ancillary equipment
- Carry out proving operation using reference devices
- Carry out proving calculations
- Return to normal operation
Evidence routes for Unit 8
The candidate will elect to submit evidence in one of the following:
SQA ref / Unit ref / Evidence routeDE1F 04 / 8/1 / Reference Meter
DE1G 04 / 8/2 / Aviation Meter
DE1H 04 / 8/3 / Pipeline Meter
DE1J 04 / 8/4 / Prover
An assessment strategy for the SVQs
As part of their review of the SVQs in Measurement Processes at level 3, the standards-setting body (SSB), Cogent and MPA, have developed an assessment strategy which defines a range of requirements:
the occupational expertise of assessors and verifiers
a definition of simulation
a definition of the workplace
information on a model of independent assessment or external quality control
Extracts from this assessment strategy are given in Appendix 2, and both SQA and centres must comply with these requirements.
Why would people be interested in the SVQs?
People will take SVQs for a variety of reasons; to gain promotion, to prove their job competence, or for personal development. There will be other reasons too. One of the first things to do is to find out why your candidates want to do the SVQs, and to advise them of the appropriateness of the qualification. If anyone is acting as a coach or mentor to your candidates, they might help you to do this.
How do candidates begin?
Choosing the SVQ
You should make sure that candidates get guidance before starting out on an SVQ — they need advice to ensure that their existing job remit, skills, experience, and their plans for progression, are matched to the SVQ selected. It does not have to be you as the assessor, who carries out the matching process, but whoever has responsibility for this should ensure that the assessment opportunities available to the candidate are also considered.
Example 1
Paul has worked for 12 years in the maintenance of fiscal and custody transfer metering systems, principally offshore. He served an apprenticeship in instrumentation, and gained an ONC in Instrumentation and Control. During the time he has been in the specialist field of metering he has gained additional skills and knowledge. Paul has now realised that having a nationally-recognised qualification related to his sphere of expertise could enhance his position. There’s another factor too: because Paul (like his colleagues) is essentially a ‘lone worker’, their employer is being pressed by clients to demonstrate the competence of his employees. The employer, consequently, thinks all his Metering Technicians should acquire the SVQ to satisfy the increasing demands for accredited competence.
The manager has reviewed the standards and matched them to Paul’s normal work activities, and has concluded that the Measurement Processes SVQ in Metering Maintenance would be the tool to best demonstrate his competence.
The matching exercise has also shown that Paul would, in the course of his normal work, be able to gather sufficient evidence for a portfolio of these SVQ Units: