Occupational Qualification
Document
Occupational Code
311701004
Qualification Title
NQF Level
Mining Technician: Mine
Ventilation Officer
Name
4
Email
Phone
Development Quality Mine
Partner
Qualifications
Authority
Head Office
7 Anerley Road,
Parktown
Tel: 011 547
2600
Private Bag X
118
Marshalltown
2107
Assessment Quality
Partner
Head Office
7 Anerley Road,
Parktown
Tel: 011 547
2600
Private Bag X
118
Marshalltown
2107
Mine
Qualifications
Authority
Logo
______________________
______________________
DQP Representative Signature
Date
311701004 - Mining Technician: Mine Ventilation Officer
Page 1 of 8
Table of content
1. QUALIFICATION DETAILS ............................................................................................................ 3
2. RATIONALE ...................................................................................................................................... 3
3. PURPOSE ......................................................................................................................................... 4
4. RULES OF COMBINATION ........................................................................................................... 4
5. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS .............................................................................................................. 5
6. EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES AND ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA .......................... 5
7. INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY ........................................................................................... 7
8. INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT....................................................................................................... 7
9. RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING....................................................................................... 7
10. ARTICULATION ............................................................................................................................. 8
11. CRITERIA FOR THE ACCREDITATION OF PROVIDERS .................................................... 8
12. NOTES............................................................................................................................................. 8
311701004 - Mining Technician: Mine Ventilation Officer
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1. QUALIFICATION DETAILS
Qualification Title: Mining Technician: Mine Ventilation Officer
Level: 4
Credits: 214
Occupational Code: 311701
Curriculum Code: 311701004
Originator:
Quality Assurance Body: Mine Qualifications Authority
Qualification Type: Occupational Certificate
Field:
Subfield:
Sub Framework: Qualifications Sub Framework for Trades and Occupations
Assessment Quality Partner: Mine Qualifications Authority
Registered qualifications and or learning programmes to be replaced:

None
Recorded trades to be replaced:

None
2. RATIONALE
Learners credited with this qualification are likely to be working in the occupational safety, hygiene and
environmental disciplines and will typically be appointed as Mining Engineering Ventilation Technicians upon
successful completion of this qualification. Learners are required to integrate practical skills with essential
knowledge, to be able to take proactive and reactive measures in order to maintain a healthy and safe
environment.
There is a critical need in the industry to recognise learner competence regarding essential operations
associated with a healthy, safe and productive working environment. This qualification is the next step in a
career path in one of the areas of specialisation in Mine Ventilation.
This qualification facilitates access for learners who have completed the appropriate level three qualification
to acquire the technical knowledge and skills associated with safe healthy and efficient controlling of mine
occupational environmental conditions in the workplace.
Other than is the case in some industries, it is vital that the Mining Ventilation Engineering technician comes
from within the mining industry, and has intimate knowledge and experience of all the aspects of
Occupational Hygiene and Environmental Engineering.
The qualification is designed to be flexible and accessible so that learners are able to demonstrate the
competencies in Mine Ventilation across the mining and minerals sector.
The specialisations in Coal, Hardrock and Surface Excavations do not require separate qualifications. The
distinction lies in the Work Experience Component. The qualification will be endorsed as Underground
Hardrock, Underground Coal, or Surface Excavations based on the completed work experience. Moving to a
311701004 - Mining Technician: Mine Ventilation Officer
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new mining context will require that the learner completes the relevant work experience in that context and
then apply to the External assessment Quality Partner to have the qualification endorsed accordingly
3. PURPOSE
The purpose of this qualification is to prepare a learner to operate as a Mining Technician: Mine
Ventilation Officer: They develop, coordinate, observe and monitor the implementation of mine specific
ventilation codes of practice and make recommendations regarding corrective action and/or improvement of
ventilation practices to ensure legal compliance for a designated area of a mine.
A qualified learner will be able to:

Develop and implement basic mine Ventilation systems and Occupational hygiene programmes;

Provide input into the enhancement of Mine ventilation and Occupational hygiene functions;

Supervise the ventilation function and resources for a designated area of a mine;

Provide information for improving mine refrigeration systems.
4. RULES OF COMBINATION
This qualification is made up of the following compulsory Knowledge and Practical Skill Modules:
Knowledge Modules:

311701004-KM-01, Emergency Preparedness (VENT) (II), L4, Cr6

311701004-KM-02, Mine Ventilation Engineering Practice (VENT) (II), L4, Cr24

311701004-KM-03, Mines and Minerals Legislative Requirements, L4, Cr12

311701004-KM-04, Occupational Hygiene Practice (VENT) (II), L4, Cr6

311701004-KM-05, Operations Management and Supervision (VENT) (II), L4, Cr13
Total number of credits for Knowledge Modules: 61
Practical Skill Modules:

311701004-PM-01, Develop basic ventilation layouts and assist with the design of complex
ventilation layouts., L4, Cr14

311701004-PM-02, Measure and test the effectiveness of the ventilation system., L4, Cr8

311701004-PM-03, Make recommendations regarding Mine Ventilation and Occupational Hygiene
issues, L4, Cr6

311701004-PM-04, Implement and review mine ventilation and occupational hygiene standards , L4,
Cr6

311701004-PM-05, Execute performance management for a team of Ventilation Observers , L4, Cr6

311701004-PM-06, Oversee the compilation and submission of mine ventilation reports for a
designated area of the mine, L4, Cr6
311701004 - Mining Technician: Mine Ventilation Officer
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
311701004-PM-07, Measure, record and report the effectiveness of the refrigeration plant and
accessories (bulk air cooler, cooling cars and heat exchangers). , L4, Cr6
Total number of credits for Practical Skill Modules: 52
This qualification also requires the following Work Experience Modules:

311701004-WM-01, Exposure to the processes for designing and implementing mine ventilation
systems, L4, Cr18

311701004-WM-02, Exposure to occupational hygiene sampling strategies and schedules, L4, Cr21

311701004-WM-03, Exposure to the processes of conducting air balances of shafts, L4, Cr6

311701004-WM-04, Exposure to mine ventilation and occupational hygiene projects, L4, Cr26

311701004-WM-05, Exposure to the processes for reviewing mine ventilation and occupational
hygiene standards, L4, Cr6

311701004-WM-06, Exposure to the emergency preparedness and response processes, L4, Cr6

311701004-WM-07, Exposure to the internal and external Mine Ventilation and Occupational
Hygiene audit processes, L4, Cr6

311701004-WM-08, Exposure to the processes of evaluating the effectiveness and accuracy of
environmental monitoring systems, L4, Cr6

311701004-WM-09, Exposure to the conducting of surveys on secondary cooling installations, L4,
Cr6
Total number of credits for Work Experience Modules: 101
TOTAL QUALIFICATION CREDITS: 202
Knowledge Percentage: 29%
Practical Skills Percentage: 26%
Workplace Percentage: 45%
5. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS


Successful completion of the National Foundational Learning Competence
Successful completion of the National Occupational qualification for Ventilation Observers (NQF 3) or an
equivalent qualification recognised by the MQA.
6. EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES AND ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Exit Level Outcome 1
The ability to develop and ensure implementation of basic Mine Ventilation systems and
Occupational Hygiene programmes
Associated Assessment Criteria
o
Given details related to various mine ventilation and occupational hygiene systems correctly
identify all instances where the systems to not comply with legislative best practices and
indicate the most appropriate ways of correcting the defects in the system;
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
o
Draft a ventilation layout for the work area and determine the impact/risks of the layout on
the existing ventilation infrastructure. The layout will comply with the code of practice
requirements and will be feasible in terms of airflow dynamics and ventilation principles;
o
Identify and describe the ventilation resources required to deliver the specified requirements.
All recourses will be identified and the description will indicate the related implementation
implications;
o
Interpret the mine plans and determine the specific ventilation and fire and explosion
prevention requirements in accordance with the risk assessment. All hazards identified in the
risk assessment will be dealt with and the requirements will meet all the specifications of the
code of practice;
o
Develop a construction and installation schedule and plan the resources to implement the
layout. All requirement in terms of Material, labour, supervision, time, transport will be
accurately specified;
o
Conduct trouble shooting to identify the possible causes of poor performing ventilation
systems and recommend improvements. All performance deviations will be identified and
the root causes of the poor performance will be specified and verified.
Exit Level Outcome 2
The ability to observe and monitor the implementation of mine specific ventilation codes of practice
Associated Assessment Criteria
o
Given emergency preparedness and response plans for various types of mines correctly
indicate where these plans deviate from the mandatory codes of practice. All deviations will
be specified and the appropriate corrective actions identified;
o
Correctly describe all the operating and maintenance principles for all the emergency and
rescue equipment used for the full range of mine emergencies.
o
Correctly; interpret the data from a telemetry system, and analyse the effectiveness of
various blasting schedules for various mining conditions.
o
In a given area of a mine identify potential deviations from regulatory requirements and
correctly explain what must be done to ensure that the various situations are corrected.
o
Correctly identify all the essential components that must be inspected from a Ventilation and
Occupational hygiene perspective.
o
Identify the potential risks associated with the inspection findings and correctly describe
what must be done to mitigate these risks.
o
Interpret the survey results and compare it with the standards to identify discrepancies and
group them in terms of severity.
o
Identify the possible causes of the discrepancies.
o
Draft a relevant technical report with recommendations to deal with the identified
discrepancies.
o
Develop and present an implementation plan with a process to monitor the success of the
implementation.
o
Identify potential future discrepancies and plan to prevent them from occurring.
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
Exit Level Outcome 3
The ability to initiate corrective action to improve the mine ventilation and occupational hygiene
systems and functions
Associated Assessment Criteria

o
List all the legally required reports that must be submitted regarding mine ventilation and
occupational hygiene, correctly explain the purpose and use of each report and list the key
information that must be contained in each of these reports. (Weight: 100%)
o
Given various occupational hygiene situations on different types of mines correctly identify
the legally allowed exposure limits for each of the situations and indicate what the short,
medium and long term consequences are for non compliance to these limits.
o
Given various occupational hygiene monitoring programmes for different mining scenarios
correctly identify all the deficiencies in the programmes, indicate the short, medium and long
term consequences of these deficiencies and indicate what must be done to correct the
deficiencies.
Exit Level Outcome 4
The ability to oversee the effective functioning of a mine ventilation function for a designated area of
a mine
Associated Assessment Criteria
o
Given various technical reports correctly analyse the reports, indicate areas where the
structure of the reports can be improved, suggest ways of making the language simpler and
correctly identify obvious technical errors in the report.
o
Given a hand drafted report accurately capture the report on a commonly used word
processing device, add graphs and present the report in an acceptable format.
o
Review the performance of a team of Ventilation observers and identify all the performance
problems indicating how the problems must be resolved and what the implications of the
unresolved problems could be.
7. INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY
8. INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT
The external assessment will take place once the candidate has successfully completed all the theory and
practical skills modules and gained the experience as set out in the curriculum. The assessment will be
conducted by a panel of registered assessors at an approved assessment site.
9. RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING
RPL for access to the external integrated summative assessment: Accredited providers and approved
workplaces must apply the internal assessment criteria specified in the related curriculum document to
establish and confirm prior learning. Accredited providers and workplaces must confirm prior learning by
issuing a statement of result or certifying a work experience record.
RPL for access to the qualification: Accredited providers and approved workplaces may recognise prior
learning against the relevant access requirements.
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10. ARTICULATION
11. CRITERIA FOR THE ACCREDITATION OF PROVIDERS
Accreditation of providers will be done against the criteria as reflected in the relevant curriculum on the
QCTO website.
The curriculum title and code is: Occupational Certificate: Mining Technician: Mine Ventilation Officer:
311701004
12. NOTES
Qualifying for external assessment:
In order to qualify for the external summative assessment learners must have a copy of a completed and
signed Statement of Work Experience as well as proof of successful completion of the following subjects and
modules or alternative programmes where applicable.
Foundational learning:
Proof of successful completion of the Foundational Learning Competence assessment must be provided
before candidates will be allowed access to the final assessment.
Additional legal or physical entry requirements:
None
Part Qualifications:
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