Evaluating and recommending circuit design options
Overview
This standard identifies the competences you need to evaluate circuit design options and to make recommendations on which option(s) should be implemented, in accordance with approved procedures. You will be required to evaluate and recommend design options for printed circuit board, semi-conductor layouts, thick, thin or flexible film circuitry. The design options could be for circuits such as power supplies, motor control systems, sensor/actuator circuits, digital control circuits, signal processing circuits, alarms and protection circuits, ADC and DAC hybrid circuits, communication device circuits or any other type of system that requires some form of circuit design.
Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for evaluating and recommending circuit designs and to report any problems with these activities that you cannot personally resolve, or are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You will be expected to work with a minimum of supervision, taking full responsibility for your own actions and for the quality and accuracy of the work that you carry out.
Your underpinning knowledge will provide a good understanding of your work and will provide an informed approach to evaluating and recommending printed circuit design options. You will understand the design requirements and their application and will know about the circuit design process, in adequate depth to provide a sound basis for agreeing the design specifications at the required level of detail.
You will understand the safety requirements and any health or safety implications of the circuit design options. You will be required to demonstrate safe working practices throughout and will understand the responsibility you owe to yourself and others in the workplace.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- work safely at all times, complying with health and safety legislation, regulations, directives and other relevant guidelines
- follow the relevant instructions and any other design specifications
- evaluate, prioritise and recommend design options according to intended use
- present recommended options clearly and in the required format
confirm that the design options are acceptable and note feedback for further design work
check the impact of the design in all relevant areas
deal promptly and effectively with problems within your control and report those that cannot be solved
- ensure that work records are completed, stored securely and available to others, as per organisational requirements
- leave the work area in a safe condition on completion of the activities, as per organisational and legal requirements
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- the specific safety precautions to be taken whilst carrying out the activities (including any specific legislation, regulations or codes of practice relating to the activities, equipment or materials)
- the health and safety requirements of the work area and the activities, and the responsibility these requirements place on you
- the hazards associated with the activities and how to minimise them and reduce risks
- the personal protective equipment and clothing (PPE) to be worn during the activities
- voltage ranges, what constitutes a hazardous voltage and how to reduce the risks of a phase to earth shock
- how to establish the detailed requirements for the circuit design
- the basic principles of how the electronic circuit functions, its operating sequence, the function/purpose of individual units/components and how they interact
- component and material characteristics relevant to the circuit design
- how to identify and obtain relevant sources of information about the circuit design options
- how to establish and compare the costs associated with given design options
- how to use methods to evaluate the various design options
- the level of detail needed to prepare a recommendation for given designs
- how to present circuit design recommendations (using drawings, Boolean algebra, truth tables, logic symbols, circuit diagrams, high level description language or other appropriate forms of presentation)
- the techniques that can be used for presenting technical information (such as verbally, one to one, one to many, in written form, using diagrams, drawings or other technical information techniques, web based tools)
- the types of drawing that can be used for circuit designs (component drawings, assembly drawings, schematic, circuit diagrams, block diagrams, wiring diagrams, circuit board designs)
- the legislation, regulations, directives, standards and guidelines that apply to the recommended design options and their implementation
- the extent of your own responsibility and whom you should report to if you have problems that you cannot resolve
- how to access, use and maintain information to comply with organisational requirements and legislation
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Take into account all of the following when evaluating circuit design options:
- the budget for the design
- the design function and operation
- any safety, legal or environmental considerations
- connections required to/from the circuit
- the target dimensions of the circuit
- any built in test points (where applicable)
- substrate material to be used
- accessibility requirements for servicing
- quality standards to be achieved
- any special types of components to be used
- type of circuit (such as digital, analogue, hybrid)
- any design constraints
- the technology of the circuit design (such as single sided, double sided, multi-layer, flexible or rigid, wafers or dies)
- operating conditions (such as temperature, humidity, shock, EMC/EMI and vibration)
Obtain relevant instructions, specifications and information on the circuit design options from one of the following sources:
- the client
- industry standards
- technical journals
- technical manuals/handbooks
Evaluate circuit design options for one of the following:
- power supplies (such as switched mode, series regulation, shunt regulation)
- motor control systems (such as closed loop servo system, inverter control)
- sensor/actuator circuits (such as linear, rotational, temperature, photo-optic, flow, level, pressure)
- digital circuits (such as process control, microprocessor, logic devices, display devices)
- signal processing circuits (such as frequency modulating/demodulating, amplifiers, filters)
- alarms and protection circuits
- analogue to digital conversion/digital to analogue conversion hybrid circuits
- communication device circuits
- other circuit types (specify)
Evaluate and recommend design options for one of the following:
- printed circuit boards
- semi-conductor layouts
- thick film circuits
- flexible film circuits
- thin film circuits
Present the recommended design options using the following method:
- verbal report
Plus one other method from the following:
2. electronic mail
3. computer based presentation
4. written/typed report
5. other appropriate media (such as web based tools)
Check that the recommended designs comply with one of the following standards:
- organisational guidelines and codes of practice
- client format and standards
- current industry standards and codes of practice
- other international standards