Maintaining workplace environmental control systems
Overview
This standard identifies the competences you need to carry out corrective maintenance activities on workplace environmental control systems, such as heating and ventilation, air conditioning and ventilation, chillers, lighting, lifts, building/room access, fire systems and CCTV systems, in accordance with approved procedures. This will involve dismantling, removing and maintaining faulty or damaged components, such as sensors, switches, thermostats, meters, thermocouples, transformers, timers, interlocks, electrical components and wiring, electronic boards and components, controller units, computer systems, peripheral devices and environmental monitoring and targeting software. You will be expected to apply a range of dismantling and assembly methods and techniques, to include marking/labelling of components to aid the reassembly, dismantling components by unplugging, de-soldering, removal of screwed, clamped and crimped connections, and aligning and adjusting components.
Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for the maintenance activities undertaken, and to report any problems with the maintenance activities, or the tools and equipment used that you cannot personally resolve, or that are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You must ensure that all tools, equipment and materials used in the maintenance activities are removed from the work area on completion of the activities, and that all necessary job/task documentation is completed accurately and legibly. You will be expected to work with minimal supervision, taking personal 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 applying maintenance procedures to workplace environmental control systems and equipment. You will understand the dismantling and reassembly methods and procedures used, and their application. You will know how the equipment functions, the purpose of the individual components and associated defects, in adequate depth to provide a sound basis for carrying out the maintenance activities, correcting faults and ensuring that the repaired equipment functions to the required specification and remains compliant with all standards and regulations. You will also have sufficient knowledge of these components to ensure that they are fit for purpose and meet the specifications, thus providing a sound basis for carrying out re-assembly.
You will understand the safety precautions required when carrying out the maintenance activities, especially those for isolating the equipment. You will be required to demonstrate safe working practices throughout, and will understand your responsibility for taking the necessary safeguards to protect yourself and others in the workplace.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- work safely at all times, complying with health and safety legislation and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
- follow the relevant maintenance schedules to carry out the required work
- carry out the maintenance activities within the limits of your personal authority
- carry out the maintenance activities in the specified sequence and in an agreed timescale
- report any instances where the maintenance activities cannot be fully met or where there are identified defects outside the planned schedule
- complete and store all relevant maintenance documentation in accordance with organisational requirements
- dispose of waste materials in accordance with safe working practices and approved procedures and leave the work area in a safe condition
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- the health and safety requirements of the area in which the maintenance activity is to take place
- the isolation and lock-off procedures or permit-to-work procedure that applies to the equipment being maintained
- the specific health and safety precautions to be applied during the maintenance procedure, and their effects on others
- hazards associated with carrying out maintenance activities on workplace environmental equipment/systems (such as stored pressure/force, live electrical connections, using damaged or badly maintained tools and equipment, not following laid-down maintenance procedures), and how to minimise them to reduce any risks
- what constitutes a hazardous voltage and how to recognise victims of electric shock
- how to reduce the risks of a phase to earth shock (such as insulated tools, rubber matting and isolating transformers)
- the importance of wearing protective clothing and other appropriate safety equipment (PPE) during the maintenance process
- how to obtain and interpret drawings, specifications, manufacturers' manuals and other documents needed in the maintenance process
- the procedure for obtaining replacement parts, materials and other consumables necessary for the maintenance activities
- organisational policy on repair/replacement of components during maintenance process
- the procedures and precautions to be adopted to eliminate electrostatic discharge (ESD) hazards
- the sequence to be adopted for the dismantling/reassembly of various types of assemblies
- the methods and techniques used to dismantle/assemble workplace environmental control equipment (such as unplugging, de-soldering removal of screwed, clamped and crimped connections)
- methods of checking that components are fit for purpose, how to identify defects and wear characteristics, and the need to replace `lifed' items (such as batteries, lamps, seals and gaskets)
- how to make adjustments to components/assemblies to ensure they function correctly
- the basic principles of how the equipment functions, its operation sequence, the working purpose of individual units/components and how they interact
- methods of removing and replacing components and units without damaging the system and infrastructure
- how to check that tools and equipment are free from damage or defects, are in a safe and usable condition, and are configured correctly for their intended purpose
- the generation of maintenance documentation and/or reports following the maintenance activity
- the equipment operating and control procedures to be applied during the maintenance activity
- how to use lifting and handling equipment correctly and safely in the maintenance activity
- the problems associated with the maintenance activity, and how they can be overcome
the organisational procedure to be adopted for the safe disposal of waste of all types of materials
the extent of your own authority and to whom you should report if you have problems that you cannot resolve
Scope/range
Carry out all of the following during the maintenance activity:
- plan and communicate the maintenance activities to cause minimal disruption to normal working
- obtain and use the correct issue of organisational and/or manufacturers' drawings and maintenance documentation
- adhere to procedures or systems in place for risk assessment, COSHH, personal protective equipment and other relevant safety regulations and procedures to realise a safe system of work
- ensure the safe isolation of equipment (such as mechanical, electricity, gas, air or fluids)
- provide and maintain safe access and working arrangements for the maintenance area
- carry out the maintenance activities using appropriate techniques and procedures
- re-connect and return the system to service on completion of the maintenance activities
- record the results of the maintenance activity and report any defects found
- dispose of waste materials in accordance with safe working practices and approved procedures and leave the work area in a safe condition
Carry out maintenance activities on three of the following types of equipment associated with workplace environmental control systems:
- heating and ventilation
- lighting
- lift control
- building/room access
- air conditioning and ventilation
- CCTV
- fire systems
- intruder/alarm systems
- chillers
- other specific system
Carry out all of the following maintenance techniques, as appropriate to the equipment being maintained:
- dismantling equipment to unit/sub-assembly level
- marking/labelling of components
- dismantling units to component level
- tightening fasteners to the required torque
- setting, aligning and adjusting replaced components
- making `off-line' checks before starting up
- checking components for serviceability
- replacing all `lifed' items (such as batteries, lamps)
- replacing damaged/defective components
- testing system for leaks
- functionally testing the completed system
Maintain and/or replace a range of environmental control equipment components, to include twelve of the following:
- relays
- motor starters
- fixed resistors
- building management system (BMS) terminal (PC, server)
- inverters
- vents/diffusers
- thermistors
- uninterrupted power supplies (UPS)
- actuators
- electrical cables
- integrated circuits
- timers
- valves
- network cables
- thermocouples
- interlocks
- sensors
- contactors
- batteries
- modems
- switches
- printers
- transformers
- overload protection devices
- thermostats
- solenoids
- BMS controller units
- PC peripheral devices
- dampers
- circuit boards
- BMS remote PC
- monitoring/targeting software
- meter
- safety systems
Maintain workplace environmental control equipment/systems in compliance with one of the following:
- organisational guidelines and codes of practice
- equipment manufacturer's operation range
- BS, ISO and/or BSEN standards
Complete and store all relevant maintenance documentation in accordance with organisational requirements, using one of the following:
- job cards
- permits to work/formal risk assessment and/or sign-on/off procedures
- maintenance log or report
- organisational-specific documentation
- electronic reports