Competency Standard: FPIC2003A
Dock Timber manually for length & defects (794kb pdf file)


Competency Standard: FPIC1002A
Stack & Bind Material (504kb pdf file)


WorkCover Assist Suitable Duties Partnership Feasibility Study

This material was developed by the CFMEU FFPD Division NSW Branch as part of a project funded under the WorkCover NSW WorkCover Assist Program.

We would like to thank the following people and organisations for their assistance:
Marie Lucas, Forward Health and Rehabilitation
David Jones, TABMA
Lee Maxwell, TEMS
Sharmily Mukherjee, FAFPESC
Ian Wykes, Hunter Institute of TAFE
Hudson Frame & Truss, Warnervale
TruForm Frame & Truss, Mulgrave
Blacktown Building Supplies


Our project entailed a feasibility study with two main aims:
* To examine the viability of defining the physical requirements of a range of task competencies under the Forest and Forest Products Industry Training Package.
* To develop materials that could be utilised by treating doctors, rehabilitation providers, etc. as an aid in determining the suitability of duties for injured workers.

The materials were prepared by Forward Health and Rehabilitation with assistance from TEMS, TABMA, FAFPESC and TAFE who provided industry expertise. Hudson Frame and Truss, TruForm Frame and Truss, and Blacktown Building Supplies assisted by allowing us into their workplaces to conduct the assessments. The assessment reports are augmented with video because we believe this is the way things will be done in occupational rehabilitation in the future – a picture speaks a thousand words. Note that these are our first two attempts at videoing tasks and our methodology would certainly become more refined with practise.

For the purposes of this exercise we have been very thorough in preparing the assessment reports, ensuring that every element of competency in each unit is covered. In reality such assessments do not always need to be this thorough for the purposes of occupational rehabilitation.

We believe that we have achieved the modest aims of our study. We feel sure that resources like these would save time and money and result in better outcomes in occupational rehabilitation. And we believe that we have demonstrated that it is viable to define the physical requirements of competencies. Of course to do so for every unit in the training package would be a huge undertaking, but it would be possible, just as it has been possible to detail the skill components of competencies in the first place. We are very aware that there are some limitations in defining physical requirements of competencies for the simple reasons that work methods, tools and machinery differ from site to site, and different timbers have different weights, however we can at least define the range of parameters to be taken into account.

Our main consideration in developing these materials has been their use in workplace occupational rehabilitation, i.e. preparing return to work plans. However, we can also see some other uses for such resources, e.g. as a training tool.