Until now the UK industry recognised route to demonstrating competence has been the Plant Operator Card Scheme. This card scheme has run for many years, becoming a two-tier system dependent upon the eventual achievement of a level 2 VQ. EMPI Awards says that the new OCA provides an alternative assessment of competence, giving employers a choice.
The new OCA is said to be a comprehensive assessment based on the National Occupational Standards (NOS) comprising an observation of Skills, a multiple-choice test of Knowledge, a consideration of training & experience and a discussion of other qualities. The OCA is designed to be a robust and rigorous assessment of competence.
The OCA certificate belongs to the site operator and can be used in the demonstration of workforce competence. It has been developed for all quarry and non-quarry operatives for mobile & static plant in the Extractive & Mineral Processing Industries by EMPI Awards. The OCA is delivered through EMPI Awards’ partner, MinTrain Ltd a wholly owned subsidiary of MinExp Ltd.
The intention of the new OCA is to provide a simple and unambiguous assessment of competence and give the industry choice. The OCA is not tied to the achievement of other qualifications and there are no probationary periods for ‘trained operator’ or ‘competent’ operator.
The OCA was launched in Summer this year and MinExp says employers can arrange assessments to suit them.
It adds: "The OCA is a thorough & detailed assessment of competence, encompassing much more than basic machine operation. Typically, the assessment will last around half a day, meaning that a maximum of two assessments per day may be possible. Renewals are carried out after 3 years."
The OCA can be carried out at workplaces using the operator’s own equipment within their own unit so that they can clearly demonstrate the skills required for the specific task they are required to do.
The new competence assessment has been created and developed by EMPI Awards, and is delivered by MinTrain and their partners and this clear separation is designed to remove conflicts of interest that may arise from both developing & delivering assessments of competence for industry.
The MinExp consultancy is operated by experienced industry professionals Mike Phillips, former general manager at the Institute of Quarrying, and Roy Bush, who worked for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as HM Inspector of Quarries from 1993 to 2017.
Further details can be found at: http://www.minexp.co.uk/index.php?id=whatwedo&opt=2
