The Need for Competency

The evaluation of clinical risk requires the careful application of judgement based on a sound knowledge of the system under consideration and the domain in which it is deployed. Similarly, the effective formulation and implementation of an SMS is a complex task which requires skill and expertise. It follows therefore that the accuracy of a CRM analysis is significantly dependent on the competency of the stakeholders involved. Those challenging the claims of a safety case might be quite justified in bringing into question its validity where the capabihties and proficiency of its authors is questionable. It is therefore wise for a rigorous CRM system to be backed up by pro-active evidence of a personnel competency assessment for project stakeholders. 

The notion of competency as a requirement in CRM is well established in other industries such as nuclear power. In engineering the term SQEP (pronounced squep ) is used to refer to those who are Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel. SQEP implies that an individual is a professionally qualified person who has several years as a practitioner, is registered in their area of expertise within the organisation and so whose judgement can be used to resolve a technical problem with some finality [1]. In many cases formally establishing SQEP in these industries is a fundamental pre-requisite to employment or allocation to a project. 

In some cases, demonstrating competency may be a solid contractual or regulatory requirement. A number of standards explicitly demand that one or more key 

In these cases it may be necessary for individuals to source specific training, particularly where an organisation is undertaking an assessment for the first time. More experience practitioners shonld maintain records of their experience and training as a ready source of evidence. 

---

Designers are carrtioned that the code is not a design handbook and does not do away with the need for competent engineering jrrdgment. 

This document is intended as an introduction to reactive material issues for people whose main business is not reactive materials and systems. Further, it does not replace any of the more extensive guides and references that deal with this topic in detail, or eliminate the need for competent expert analysis in dealing with these issues. The last section of this document lists references and sources of information that readers are strongly encouraged to use. 

With this Planning for the Future example set forth, this chapter will focus on describing the three competency-based outcomes categorized from the data presented in Chapter 2. Each competency, systems, sustainability and ethics, is defined based on recent theories, contextualized based on recent research, and finally synthesized based on assessment rubrics. This is done to address the above Statement of the Problem, Paradigms and pedagogy regarding the need for competency mastery in mechanical engineering education need to be created and/or enriched so that the DNA double helix model of content and competency development can be enacted widely. With that Statement of the Problem in mind, the first competency, systems competency, is presented next. 

UK-SPEC does not reflect the need for competence in all aspects of the product or system lifecycle. The implementation and operational phases, in particular, are not addressed by appropriate learning outcomes. 

The need for competence—the need to feel that the individual is capable, and can meet challenging objectives ... 

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. 

The competence of the mentors, as college teachers, is invariably strongest in one or another of the traditional disciplines, and instruction of students has generally been through courses in one discipline without explicit reference to another. Yet the need for global change instruction is for help in understanding a multidisciplinary set of problems. Some appear to lie mainly in the natural sciences while others deal more with humanity, but all should be studied in a broad framework that embraces both science and humanities. How to achieve... 

The scheme to be introduced here simply revolves around the need for mentees to improve their competencies in a certain area. The focus of this type of mentoring scheme is often quite... 

The simplest economic theories assume— somewhat unrealistically—that markets work sufficiendy well to ensure that society s scarce resources are allocated efficiendy. Of course, few markets are as well-behaved as in the elementary textbook, but nevertheless market forces can often be relied upon to allocate goods and services reasonably well between competing demands. If this is the case, then the need for economic evaluation of the costs and outcomes flowing from alternative uses of scarce resources is lessened. Mental health-care services in Britain are purchased and provided within internal markets (quasi-markets) within the state sector (mainly), and these muted market forces have clearly had some influence over allocations. Market forces have a more overt role in countries such as the USA, strongly influencing who obtains what service and at what cost to different parties. However, it is difficult to imagine circumstances in which techniques such as... 

The individual scientist is the key to the production of quality data and must have technical competence and a dedication to quality work. Passive following of good laboratory practices and good measurement practices is not enough. Involvement in their development is required if the quality assurance program is to be credible. Standard operations procedures (SOPs) do not minimize the need for technical competence. Analysts exhibit varying degrees of proficiency when... 

The simplicity of this assay makes it highly attractive for further development. Some of the limitations include the need for the preparation of relatively large amounts of appropriately modified DNA for the initial immunization. This may be reduced with the development of in vitro immunization techniques in which as little as 5ng of antigen can be effective. The antibodies must also be characterized once prepared. For example, a variety of monoclonal antibodies against B[a]PDE-modified DNA have been prepared (42) which show varying specificity. At one extreme, some require the full structure of the adduct bound to DNA, at the other, BtalP tetraol will effectively compete. What is not clear at the moment is how specific such antisera are for a particular PAH. Will these antisera recognize only B[a]P tetraol structures or those of any diol epoxide modified DNA ... 

Normally, only a small stoichiometric excess (2-30 mol%) of silane is necessary to obtain good preparative yields of hydrocarbon products. However, because the capture of carbocation intermediates by silanes is a bimolecular occurrence, in cases where the intermediate may rearrange or undergo other unwanted side reactions such as cationic polymerization, it is sometimes necessary to use a large excess of silane in order to force the reduction to be competitive with alternative reaction pathways. An extreme case that illustrates this is the need for eight equivalents of triethylsilane in the reduction of benzyl alcohol to produce only a 40% yield of toluene the mass of the remainder of the starting alcohol is found to be consumed in the formation of oligomers by bimolecular Friedel-Crafts-type side reactions that compete with the capture of the carbocations by the silane.129... 

---