OCR NVQs in Policing
UNIT 4A9
Manage activities to meet customer
requirements
From 1 January 2005
QCA Approved
QCA Accreditation Number: U1027775
OCR copyright 2004
OCR NVQs in Policing
1
UNIT 4A9
MANAGE ACTIVITIES TO MEET CUSTOMER
REQUIREMENTS
Summary
This unit is about managing activities and conditions in the workplace to meet your customers’
requirements. This involves agreeing requirements with your customers, planning work activities
and monitoring these activities to ensure that your customers’ requirements have been met. It
also involves maintaining a suitable work environment and continuously looking for ways to
improve working conditions and processes.
This unit is for you if you:
•
•
•
•
•
have operational responsibility for substantial programmes and resources
have a broad span of control
proactively identify and implement change and quality improvements
negotiate budgets and contracts, and
lead high-level meetings.
In order to agree customer requirements, you need to help customers specify what they need
and the standards they expect. You need to describe the features and benefits of your products
and services and draw up agreements with customers which meet legal and organisational
requirements.
In order to plan activities to meet customer requirements, you need to consult with relevant
people and take into account past experience, the current situation and what is likely to happen
in the future. You need to draw up feasible plans, present these to relevant people and confirm
their understanding of, and commitment to achieving, these plans.
To maintain a healthy, safe and productive work environment, you need to make sure that all
members of your team are aware of their legal and organisational responsibilities for health and
safety. You must continually seek ways to improve the working environment and take effective
action in response to breaches in health and safety requirements.
In order to ensure products and services meet customer requirements, you need to monitor the
quality of products and services and make recommendations to improve the processes
involved. You need to check that your customers are satisfied with the products and services
you provide and, if there are any problems, take appropriate action to remedy these.
This unit contains four elements:
4A9.1
4A9.2
4A9.3
4A9.4
Agree customer requirements
Plan activities to meet customer requirements
Maintain a healthy, safe and productive work environment
Ensure products and services meet customer requirements
This unit was developed by the Management Charter Initiative Unit A3.
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OCR NVQs in Policing
UNIT 4A9
MANAGE ACTIVITIES TO MEET CUSTOMER
REQUIREMENTS
Element 4A9.1 Agree customer requirements
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
1
give customers opportunities to specify their requirements
2
give customers clear and accurate information regarding the features and benefits of
products and services
3
make agreements with customers which contain all relevant information to specify the
work activities necessary to meet their requirements
4
ensure that the agreements you make with customers meet legal and organisational
requirements
5
record, store and use information provided by customers in ways which are consistent
with legal and organisational requirements
6
regularly review customer agreements and the process of reaching these agreements in
order to identify improvements which can be made
Range
1
Customer
a
internal
b
external
2
Requirements
a
quality standards
b
organisational policies
c
organisational objectives
OCR NVQs in Policing
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UNIT 4A9
MANAGE ACTIVITIES TO MEET CUSTOMER
REQUIREMENTS
Element 4A9.2 Plan activities to meet customer requirements
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
1
give opportunities to relevant people to help plan activities to meet customer
requirements
2
ensure that your plans take into account your experience of past activities, the current
availability of resources and likely future circumstances which may affect your plans
3
ensure that your plans allow customer requirements to be met within the agreed time
scales
4
ensure that your plans are consistent with your organisation’s objectives and policies, and
with relevant legal requirements
5
present your plans to relevant people in an appropriate and timely manner
6
confirm people’s understanding of, and commitment to, plans at appropriate intervals
Range
1
Relevant people
a
team members
b
colleagues working at your level
c
higher-level managers or sponsors
d
people outside you organisation
2
Plans
a
written
b
other format
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OCR NVQs in Policing
UNIT 4A9
MANAGE ACTIVITIES TO MEET CUSTOMER
REQUIREMENTS
Element 4A9.3 Maintain a healthy, safe and productive work
environment
Performance criteria
You must ensure that:
1
inform relevant people about their legal and organisational responsibilities for maintaining
a healthy, safe and productive work environment
2
make sufficient support available to relevant people to ensure they can work in a healthy,
safe and productive way
3
provide opportunities for relevant people to make recommendations for improving the
work environment
4
ensure that the work environment within your control conforms to organisational and
legal requirements
5
ensure that the work environment is as conducive to productive work activity as possible
within organisational constraints
6
deal with breaches in health and safety requirements promptly and in line with
organisational and legal requirements
7
make recommendations for improving the work environment clearly and promptly to
relevant people
8
ensure that your records concerning health and safety and the work environment are
complete, accurate and comply with organisational and legal requirements
Range
1
Relevant people
a
team members
b
colleagues working at your level
c
higher-level managers or sponsors
d
people outside your organisation
2
Work environment
a
physical environment
b
equipment
c
materials
d
working procedures
OCR NVQs in Policing
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UNIT 4A9
MANAGE ACTIVITIES TO MEET CUSTOMER
REQUIREMENTS
Element 4A9.4 Ensure products and services meet customer
requirements
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
1
give opportunities to relevant people to monitor the quality of products and services and
recommend improvements to the processes involved
2
ensure that your monitoring of the quality of products and services is continuous and
complies with organisational procedures
3
give support to relevant people so they can maintain and improve quality
4
give opportunities to your customers to provide feedback on how effectively their
requirements are being met
5
communicate with customers clearly, accurately and promptly when there are significant
changes to products and services
6
ensure that the products and services within your area of responsibility normally meet
your customers’ and organisation’s requirements
7
take prompt and effective action where products, services and the processes involved do
not meet agreed requirements
8
ensure that your records relating to customer service and quality comply with
organisational procedures
Range
1
Relevant people
a
team members
b
colleagues working at the same level
c
higher-level managers or sponsors
d
specialists
2
Requirements
a
quality standards
b
organisational policies
c
organisational objectives
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OCR NVQs in Policing
UNIT 4A9
MANAGE ACTIVITIES TO MEET CUSTOMER
REQUIREMENTS
Knowledge and understanding
You must know and understand:
Agreements and contracts
1
2
3
different forms of agreements which may be used and their relative advantages and
disadvantages to your area of work
organisational and legal requirements regarding contracts and other forms of agreement
and their implications for your work
how to record agreements and what information these agreements should contain
Communication
4
5
6
7
the principles and processes of effective communication and how to apply them.
how to organise, present and communicate plans effectively according to the needs of
different people within the organisation
how to communicate effectively with team members, colleagues, line managers and
people outside your organisation
the principles and processes of effective communication and how to apply them
Continuous improvement
8
9
the importance of regularly reviewing customer agreements and the processes used and
how to do so
the results of evaluations of previous relevant plans and activities and how to use these
results to improve present practice
Customer relations
10
11
12
13
14
15
the importance of a focus on customer requirements and quality issues, and your role and
responsibilities in relation to this
how to negotiate with and influence potential and actual customers
the difference between internal and external customers
how to reach agreements with customers on their needs and requirements
the importance of customer feedback and how to encourage it
how to communicate effectively with customers
Information handling
16
the principles of confidentiality: types of information which should be regarded as
confidential and how this information should be handled
Organisational
17
18
19
20
product information relevant to your area of responsibility
the standards and organisational policies relevant to your area of responsibility.
the organisational objectives, policies and legal requirements which are relevant to your
responsibilities for planning and the implications for your work
the procedures to follow in order to recommend improvements in the work environment
OCR NVQs in Policing
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UNIT 4A9
MANAGE ACTIVITIES TO MEET CUSTOMER
REQUIREMENTS
Knowledge and understanding (continued)
21
22
23
24
the records which you need to keep and the organisational and legislative requirements
for doing so
the standards, customer and organisational requirements which apply to the activities for
which you are responsible
how to interpret organisational values and policies and determine the implications for
quality assurance
the records which need to be completed and how this should be done
Workplace organisation
25
the types of work environments which are most conducive to productive work
Involvement and motivation
26
the importance of encouraging people to contribute to the planning process; what
contributions these people may make to the planning process, and how to encourage their
collaboration
Planning
27
28
29
30
the importance of effective planning in the management of activities to meet customer
requirements and 28 your role and responsibility in relation to this
your role and responsibility in relation to this
the principles of planning activities so that customer requirements can be met
the principles of effective time and resource management
Analytical techniques
31
32
the principles of risk assessment and how to ensure that the work environment is
effectively monitored
methods of assessing current working conditions and identifying possible areas for
improvement
Health and safety
33
34
35
36
37
the importance of health and safety at work and your role and responsibility in relation to
this
the organisational and legal requirements for maintaining a healthy, safe and productive
work environment
industry or profession specific codes of practice relevant to healthy, safe and productive
work environments
the types of support it may be necessary to provide on health and safety issues and how
to provide such support
how to respond to contradictions between health and safety requirements and
organisational constraints
Monitoring and evaluation
38
8
how to monitor the quality of work taking place in your area of responsibility
OCR NVQs in Policing
UNIT 4A9
MANAGE ACTIVITIES TO MEET CUSTOMER
REQUIREMENTS
Knowledge and understanding (continued)
Quality management
39
40
41
42
the meaning and importance of quality in the management of activities and your role and
responsibilities in relation to this
the principles and methods of quality assurance
the importance of encouraging team members and others to monitor quality processes
and recommend improvements to practice
deficiencies in quality that are likely to occur and the appropriate corrective actions to
take, whilst minimising the impact on customers
OCR NVQs in Policing
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UNIT 4A9
MANAGE ACTIVITIES TO MEET CUSTOMER
REQUIREMENTS
Evidence requirements
1
You must prove that you manage activities to meet customer requirements to the National
Standard of competence.
2
To do this, you must provide evidence to convince your assessor that you consistently
meet all the performance criteria.
3
Element 4A9.1 Agree customer requirements
Your evidence must be the result of real work activities undertaken by yourself. Evidence
from simulated activities is not acceptable for this element.
You must show evidence that you agree requirements with one of the following types of
customer:
• internal
• external
You must also show evidence that your agreements meet all the following types of
organisational requirements:
• quality standards
• organisational policies
• organisational objectives
You must, however, convince your assessor that you have the necessary knowledge,
understanding and skills to be able to perform competently in respect of all types of
customers, listed above.
4
Element 4A9.2 Plan activities to meet customer requirements
Your evidence must be the result of real work activities undertaken by yourself. Evidence
from simulated activities is not acceptable for this element.
You must show that you provide opportunities for making recommendations and present
plans to two of the following types of relevant people:
•
•
•
•
team members
colleagues working at your level
higher-level managers or sponsors
people outside you organisation
You must also show evidence of producing two plans, one of which must be in written
form (or in another suitable permanent format, if you have a visual impairment).
You must, however, convince your assessor that you have the necessary knowledge,
understanding and skills to be able to perform competently in respect of all types of
relevant people, listed above
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OCR NVQs in Policing
UNIT 4A9
MANAGE ACTIVITIES TO MEET CUSTOMER
REQUIREMENTS
Evidence requirements (continued)
5
Element 4A9.3 Maintain a healthy, safe and productive work environment
Your evidence must be the result of real work activities undertaken by yourself. Evidence
from simulated activities is acceptable only for performance criterion f in this element.
You must show evidence that you provide information, support and recommendations to
two of the following types of relevant people:
•
•
•
•
team members
colleagues working at your level
higher-level managers or sponsors
people outside your organisation
Your evidence must cover all the following features of the work environment:
•
•
•
•
physical environment
equipment
materials
working procedures
You must, however, convince your assessor that you have the necessary knowledge,
understanding and skills to be able to perform competently in respect of all types of
relevant people, listed above.
6
Element 4A9.4 Ensure products and services meet customer requirements
Your evidence must be the result of real work activities undertaken by yourself. Evidence
from simulated activities is not acceptable for this element.
You must show evidence that you provide opportunities for suggestions and make
recommendations to two of the following types of relevant people:
•
•
•
•
team members
colleagues working at the same level
higher-level managers or sponsors
specialists
You must also show evidence that you meet all the following types of organisational
requirements:
• quality standards
• organisational policies
• organisational objectives
You must, however, convince your assessor that you have the necessary knowledge,
understanding and skills to be able to perform competently in respect of all types of
relevant people, listed above.
OCR NVQs in Policing
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