Technical competency assessment

Eastman Kodak has identified 10 core competencies and developed a process for their management and utilization within the company (29). Similarly, Eaton Corporation selected seven core technical competencies, ranked them in importance, assessed their importance vs the known state-of-the-art for the industry, and developed action plans to extend the life of each (30). Eaton subsequently found the company could bring to market products designed with proven building blocks, thus minimizing risk and the need for additional capital equipment. In addition, the competencies were found to be reservoirs of proprietary advantage that had not previously been put to work. 

We need tools for the assessment of the technical competence of laboratories to carry out specified tasks... 

The diagram illustrates the successive steps to be taken by a laboratory to establish reliability. The various steps refer to different levels of this procedure. First of all we need to ensure the organizational backgroimd to deal with all management issues. The second step includes issues related to the technical competence while the third step refers to the successful assessment that the target is met. The steps correspond to different levels, e.g. the first step to certification while the third step to accreditation. 

These methods are the ones for which technical competence is assessed... 

True method development calls upon the technical expertise of the analytical department and more specifically the project analytical chemist to assess the nature of the chemical entity under investigation and the matrix in which it is present. Success or failure in method development is directly attributable to the analyst s overall technical competence and breadth of knowledge in various analytical techniques. Technically challenging analysis problems are usually handled by more senior members of the laboratory staff or those possessing advanced education and training. 

In business terms, auditing of software developers will allow you to assess the vendor s technical competence, vendor reaction to your company s user requirements specification (URS), vendor QA system adequacy, supplier experience with GXP systems, and quality level of vendor-prepared validation and qualification protocols. In short, vendor auditing is a regulatory expectation and auditing provides a means of assessing the supplier s ability to deliver a validatable system that will achieve the requirements of your company s URS. 

Communautaire. Accreditation aims at the reliability of measurement results and enables laboratories to demonstrate technical competence to their customers. Metrological concepts in food science have become a widely discussed topic over the last few years. Representing the top of the international measurement infrastructure, the National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) have the mandate to disseminate the best practice and measurement capabilities to the beld laboratories (FLs) in their countries. The European and international measurement infrastructure needs high-quality tools to assess the reliability and comparability of measurements results in view of the implementation of EU and international policies regarding internal market activities as well as health and consumer protection issues. 

Guidelines for Assessing the Technical Competence of Testing Laboratories, ISO/IEC Guide 25-1978, revised 1997, International Organization for Standardisation, Geneva, Switzerland (1997),... 

It is partly for these reasons that since its recent reorpnisation, the Work Environment Authority has attempted to standardise practices in its ten districts. This has included trying to ensure that, while employers continue to be reminded of their obligations to undertake or to commission measurement as part of risk assessment, the Labour Inspectorate in each district is also technically competent and equipped to undertake them. Indeed, because of a perceived need for more rather than fewer measurements, currently labour inspectors are encouraged to carry them out in situations in which it appears unlikely that employers have the capacity to do so. 

ISO/IEC 17025 1999 Accreditation is the formal recognition of the competence of a body or an organization for a well-defined purpose. In contrast with the ISO 9001 processes, accreditation of a laboratory to ISO/IEC 17025 involves assessment of the technical competence and capability of the laboratory and its personnel. In practice, it is the procedure by which a laboratory is assessed to perform a specific range of tests or calibration measurements. Specific areas examined include infrastructure and staff qualifications, in addition to checks that an adequate quality management scheme is in place. The accreditation covers the range of materials tested or analyzed, the tests carried out, the method and equipment used, and the accuracy or precision expected, and is specific to the facility and the test. 

The installer must have trained specialists with expert knowledge and experience in plastics and civil engineering, in plastics quality control and in the installation methods of large-area geosynthetic liner systems. The installer s personnel must be able to compile a technically sound proposal on the basis of tender documents and provide a full service in accordance with the conditions. They must be able to assess the effect of deficiencies detected on the liner system s performance in order to be able to perform a practical and technically competent repair . 

All the projects are evaluated continuously and at the semester end through the assessment rubric developed for the purpose. The projects are not only assessed for technical competency but also for professional competencies required by the outcomes f-k. 

Coordinate work of peers, subordinates and superiors. Perform technical checks on work, watch for roadblocks, may provide advice and feedback, may review technical competence, may assess training needs or provide informal training when appropriate. 

Demonstrated surgical competence greatly decreases errors, increases patient safety, and leads to more favorable patient outcomes. Currently, surgical technical skill assessment measures primarily consist of general global rating scales, procedure- and task-specific checkhsts (first derived from the aviation industry), and the validated and frequently utilized Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS), developed... 

The Code of Practice recognises that an ISA has important responsibilities to their client beyond simply carrying out a technically competent, independent safety assessment. Five of the ten requirements of the Code of Practice address specific responsibilities relating to the client. These are ... 

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