Carrying out fault location on service systems and equipment
Overview
This standard identifies the competences you need to locate faults on services, and service equipment and systems, in accordance with approved procedures. You will be required to locate faults on service equipment and systems, such as fresh or foul water, environmental control, emergency power generation, heating and ventilation, gas distribution, process control, instrumentation control, and refrigeration, at sub-assembly and/or component level. You will be expected to use a variety of fault location methods and procedures, such as gathering information from the person who reported the fault, using recognised fault finding techniques and diagnostic aids, measuring, inspecting and operating the equipment.
Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for the fault location activities undertaken, and to report any problems with these activities, or with the tools and equipment used, that you cannot personally resolve, or are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You will be expected to work to instructions, alone or in conjunction with others, taking personal responsibility for your own actions, and for the quality and accuracy of the work that you carry out.
Your underpinning knowledge will be sufficient to provide a sound basis for your work, and will provide an informed approach to applying fault location procedures to service equipment and systems. You will have an understanding of the basic fault location methods and techniques used, and their application. You will also know how to interpret the information obtained from fault finding aids and equipment, in adequate depth to provide a sound basis for carrying out the activities.
You will understand the safety precautions required when carrying out the fault location 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:
P1 work safely at all times, complying with health and safety and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
P2 review and use all relevant information on the symptoms and issues associated with the products or assets
P3 investigate and establish the most likely causes of the faults
P4 select, use and apply diagnostic techniques, tools, instruments and aids to locate faults
P5 deal with problems within your control and report those that cannot be solved
P6 determine the implications of the fault for other work and for safety considerations
P7 use the evidence gained to draw valid conclusions about the nature and probable cause of the fault
P8 complete and store all relevant documentation in accordance with organisational requirements
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
K1 how to work safely at all times, complying with health and safety and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
K2 the importance of wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), and of keeping the work area clean and tidy
K3 the procedure to be adopted to establish the background of the fault
K4 how to use the various diagnostic aids to help identify the location of the fault
K5 the various fault location techniques that can be used, and how they are applied
K6 how to evaluate sensory information
K7 how to assess evidence and evaluate the possible causes of faults/issues
K8 how to use a range of fault diagnostic equipment to investigate the problem
K9 the care, handling and application of measuring/test equipment
K10 how to check that measuring/test equipment is within calibration and that it is free from damage and defects
K11 how to obtain and interpret information from job instructions and other documents needed in the fault location process
K12 the basic principles of how the service equipment functions, its operating sequence, the purpose of individual units/components and how they interact
K13 the issues that can occur during the fault location activity, and how they can be minimised
K14 how to evaluate the likely risk to yourself and others, and the effects the fault could have on the overall process or system
K15 the importance of completing the correct documentation, following the maintenance activity
K16 the extent of your own responsibility and to whom you should report if you have problems that you cannot resolve
Scope/range
Scope Performance
1. Carry out all of the following during the fault location activities:
1.1. plan fault location methods and procedures in conjunction with others, prior to beginning the work
1.2. use the correct issue of maintenance documentation (such as drawings, manuals, maintenance records)
1.3. adhere to procedures or systems in place for risk assessment, personal protective equipment and other relevant safety regulations and procedures to realise a safe system of work
1.4. ensure the safe isolation of equipment (such as mechanical, electricity, gas, air or fluids)
1.5. provide safe access and working arrangements for the maintenance area
1.6. carry out the fault location activities, using approved procedures
1.7. disconnect or isolate components or parts of the system, when appropriate, to confirm the diagnosis
1.8. identify the fault, and consider appropriate corrective action
1.9. in conjunction with others, take actions to resolve the problem
1.10. dispose of waste items in a safe and environmentally acceptable manner
1.11. leave the work area in a safe and tidy condition
2. Carry out fault location on one of the following types of services equipment, to sub-assembly or component level:
2.1. fresh water
2.2. emergency power generation
2.3. process control
2.4. foul water
2.5. gas distribution
2.6. medical gas pipelines
2.7. compressed air
2.8. instrumentation and control
2.9. decontamination equipment (such as medical)
2.10. refrigeration
2.11. heating and ventilating
2.12. environmental control
2.13. air conditioning and ventilating
3. Use four of the following diagnostic techniques, tools and aids to assist in locating the fault:
3.1. information gathered from the person who reported the fault
3.2. fault finding techniques (such as six point, half-split, input/output, unit substitution, emergent sequence)
3.3. diagnostic aids (such as manuals, flow charts, troubleshooting guides, maintenance records)
3.4. inspecting (such as checking for breakages, wear/deterioration, overheating, missing parts, loose fittings)
3.5. operating (such as manually switching off and on, running equipment, condition of end product)
4. Use two of the following types of instruments to assist in locating faults:
4.1. mechanical measuring equipment (such as measuring instruments, dial test indicators, torque instruments)
4.2. electrical/electronic measuring instruments (such as multimeter, logic probes, temperature meters, analysers)
4.3. fluid test equipment (such as flow testing devices/meters, pressure testers, contamination testers)
5. Locate faults that have resulted in two of the following breakdown categories:
5.1. intermittent problem
5.2. partial failure or reduced performance/out-of-specification product
5.3. complete breakdown
6. Complete one of the following maintenance records, and pass it to the appropriate person:
6.1. step-by-step analytical report
6.2. preventative maintenance log/report
6.3. corrective action report
6.4. organisational-specific reporting procedure
6.5. electronic reports