Purpose

The purpose of this assessment item is to help you advance your OHS professional Career. There are two items in this portfolio:

• Item 1: A 5-year strategic plan for professional development
• Item 2: Perspectives on the OHS Body of Knowledge

Item 1: A 5-year strategic plan for professional development (10%)

Learning to advance as an OHS professional does not stop at the end of your bachelor's degree. The world of work is dynamic and continually evolving and the OHS profession needs to meet new challenges as they arise if the profession is to remain relevant into the future. Once you identify with the OHS profession, you join the living body of knowledge for this profession. The advancement of this profession relies on continual growth of its body of knowledge. As part of this advancement, you are to continually shape and grow your own professional practice. Therefore, reflexive practice is important for not only your professional develop, but also for the OHS Profession.

Your task is to conduct a gap analysis of your current OHS skills. The following resources are useful frameworks for this self-reflection. From this list, use one approach that resonates with you.

• Global OHS Professional Capabilities Framework,
• The INSHPO Assessment Tool,
• Chapters from the OHS Body of Knowledge,
• Curriculum of OSH: Key to becoming a profession (American Society of Safety Professional)

Based on this analysis, you are to develop and submit a 5-year strategic plan for developing at two skills that will advance your desired career path. Aim to be detailed, measurable, time bound and realistic to support the achievement of your plan.

Item 2: Perspectives on the OHS Body of Knowledge (20%)

As members of the Living Body of Knowledge of the OHS field, you will not only be learning from others, but contributing to the growth of knowledge in this field. This task helps you comprehend one way in which new knowledge is conceived. This task is broken into two separate but linked parts.

Part 1 Forum posts (1) Critique of the OHS BoK in 150 words and (2) Response post in 100 words)

• In part one you will put forward your 150 word critique an aspect of the OHS Body of Knowledge, highlighting noted gaps related to the suitability of this resource to support early career OHS professional practice.
• In the same forum and in 100 words, you are to respond to another student's critique, explaining where your findings resonate or differ to theirs and why.

Part 2 - Opinion Piece (300 words)

• After reviewing the critique posts and based on the broader perspective you now have, write an opinion piece on the OHS BoK as a support mechanism for early career OHS professionals. Your opinion piece is to be presented in 300 words and supported with appropriate literature. Do not include copied and pasted forum posts.

A detailed assessment rubric is provided on Moodle. Please submit both Assessment Items in a single Portfolio document, for a total grade of 30 marks.

The assessment criteria for each item are summarised below:

Item 1: A 5-year strategic plan for professional development (10%)

For 10 marks which represents 10% of the overall grade for the unit.

• Two skills addressed in the 5-year plan
  • Clear and specific goals for short (one-year), interim (three-year) and long term (five-year) periods (5 marks)
  • Sets measurable and achievable goals , time-bound and logical (5 marks)

Item 2: Perspectives on the OHS Body of Knowledge (20%)

Allocated 20 marks representing 20% of the overall grade for the unit.

• Demonstrates knowledge and skills required of an OHS Professional (5 marks)
• Effectively evaluates and simulates alternative perspectives (5 marks)
• Argument is clear, well written (5 marks)
• Supported with highly reputable sources (5 marks)

During this unit, you will undertake the 120-hour project which you negotiated as part of OCHS13020 Future Paradigms in OHS A. During this project, you are to be supervised/mentored by an approved and tertiary qualified OHS professional. As a result of this project, you will assemble a project portfolio which will include the following:

• Part A - Completed and Signed Mentor Evaluation Form (10%)
• Part B - Professional Reflective Journal (10%)
• Part C - Project Closeout Report (20%)

The submission area in Moodle will permit multiple documents. So you can submit each Part separately, or each within a larger OHS Placement Project Portfolio. Failure to complete each part and the 120 hours of placement will result in failure of this assessment item, and this Unit.

Part A - Mentor Evaluation Form (10%)

At the end of your placement, your mentor/supervisor will evaluate your performance by completing the Mentor Evaluation Form. Before you meet to discuss, complete this form yourself. As confirmation of your participation in industry placement, your mentor is expected to discuss the attributes within the form with you, sign it and provide you a copy for submission. It is your responsibility to organise a time to meet with your mentor and to ensure you obtain a copy of the signed form at the end of your project placement.

Submit the signed evaluation form from your mentor/supervisor(s) as part of your portfolio. A separate scanned PDF of the form is appropriate. Alternatively, it can be appended to the collated OHS Placement Project Portfolio document.

Part B - Professional Reflective Journal (10%)

During placement, you are required to keep a daily log of your activities which your mentor/supervisor is to review and initial each day of placement. This serves as a touch point between you and your mentor, a time to resolve issues, request clarification, etc. The daily log is a simple record of the dates, times and activities of your placement that has been reviewed by your mentor/supervisor and signed off each day. Based on work done each day, you are to reflect on your performance, and keep a professional reflective journal.

A useful approach is to reflect on the effectiveness of your professional performance for each day’s activities. Spend about 5-10 minutes each day considering and noting down what worked well, what could be improved, what could have been done differently and what you learned. Your responses to yourself should be thoughtful, self-evaluating and constructive. Additionally, reflect on your mentor's evaluation of your performance. Together, use these reflections to develop a Professional Reflective Journal, with entries categorised under topics, rather than each day's experiences.

When developing your Professional Reflective Journal respond to these questions:

• What did you learn from the placement (e.g., technical OHS knowledge, skills, leadership, influencing, other)?
• Did the project fulfil your expectations? Explain your answer with examples.
• If you were to do the project again, what would you do differently and why?
• What areas of development have you identified because of your project placement and how do you intend to address them?
• What aspects of OHS professional practice would you like to explore further because of what you learned in your project?

The expected format for the Professional Reflective Journal is as follows:

• Title page
• Professional Reflective Journal (1000 words)
• References (Not mandatory. Though if you do use literature to support your points, please use the CQUni Harvard Referencing Style Guide located in our Unit Profile.
• Append the signed daily logs (and Mentor Evaluation Form if not already submitted) to your Professional Reflective Journal (Scanned copies of handwritten files are acceptable if legible)

Please use the same format if submitting within the larger OHS Placement Portfolio. The final document is to be submitted in either Word or PDF format.

Part C - Project Closeout Report (20%)

At the end of every project or job you do, it is good professional practice to complete a closeout report and provide it to your client or employer. Such reports should always be timely, that is, within 2 weeks of the end of the project.

At the end of your project placement, write a detailed project closeout report addressed to your project sponsor. This will be a factual, objective report of the activities you carried out, the outcomes of the activities and a list of any deliverables provided.

Within the report, address the following key points:

• A summary of your project, including purpose and scope
• Outline the project methodology, and whether it was followed or needed to be changed. Explain the reasons for these changes.
• State whether the outcomes of the project meet the intended project aim and objectives
• Include additional activities that may have been added to your project
• Describe how well the project was managed and what lessons you learned
• Outline any loose ends, or next steps your sponsor may need to take bring your project to a close
• Provide a list of the deliverables that you supplied to your project sponsor during the project

Your report should use follow a standard closeout report format, including the following:

• Cover page
• Letter of transmittal addressed to your client
• Project title page
• Table of Contents
• General Project Information
• Scope changes
• Method alterations
• Management effectiveness
• Lessons learned
• Resource review
• Administrative closure (to tie off loose ends or identify next steps)
• Information distribution & archive
• Appendices (Project closeout approval; References
• Professional Formatting

Note: All reports will be treated in the strictest confidence. However, if specific information cannot be included for client confidentiality reasons, use XYZ Company (or similar), or water mark the document as 'Confidential'.

A Closeout Report template is available on Moodle. The report should be submitted in Word or PDF format.

A detailed assessment rubric is provided on Moodle. All components of the Portfolio are compulsory. Omission of any element of the Portfolio will result in a Fail grade for this assessment. Failure to complete 120 hours of placement will result in failure of the Portfolio 2 assessment.

The assessment criteria for each Part is as follows:

• Part A - Completed and Signed Mentor Evaluation Form (10%)
• Part B - Professional Reflective Journal (10%)
• Part C - Closeout Report (20%)

Part A - Completed and Signed Mentor Evaluation Form (10 marks)

• Initiative
• Project execution
• Ability to learn
• Dependability
• Responsiveness to supervisor/mentor
• Professional communication
• Safety attitude
• Quality of work
• Overall performance
• General Behaviour

Part B - Professional Reflective Journal (10 marks)

• Clearly explains lessons learned from the placement (e.g., technical OHS knowledge, skills, leadership, influencing, other) 
• Critically evaluates whether the project met expectations with examples 
• Devises useful ways to improve the project for future events
• Skilfully identifies areas for development and how these areas will be addressed
• Identifies aspects of OHS professional practice to explore further because of your project
• Daily logs are signed and appended

Part C - Project Closeout Report (20 marks)

You will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Outlines general project information including all deliverables (2 marks)
• Clearly explains any scope changes or methodology alterations and implications on the project (5 marks)
• Critically evaluates the success of the project (management effectiveness) and provides insightful lessons learned (5 marks)
• Closure details are clearly set out (resources, administrative, information distribution and archive, and signatures) (5 marks)
• Structure, expression, grammar, and formatting are professionally presented (3 marks)

During Weeks 11 and 12, you will attend one online student symposium where you will present for 8 minutes on a topic from your placement project. This assessment consists of three parts.

• Part 1 - Project Abstract (150 words) (10%)
• Part 2 - Project Slide Deck (10 or less slides) (10%)
• Part 3 - Online (live) Project Presentation (10%)

Item 1 - Project Abstract (10%)

Your task is to write a 150-word Project Abstract on your chosen topic that you will present during one Student Symposium:

• Choose a topic from your placement that would be of interest to OHS professionals
• Write a written Project Abstract (often referred to as a Scientific Abstract) suitable for inclusion within the proceedings of a symposium
• Develop a set of supporting slides which will enable you to present the key points of your symposium topic

Within the Project Abstract (often also the structure for the presentation), you should include:

• Title and your name
• Keywords (about 3)
• Abstract (summarise the following in 150 words or less)
• Introduction, aim of the project, and contextual detail
• Background to the problem, or purpose for the project
• Methods employed
• Findings, outcomes and/or lessons learned
• Implications of these findings or outcomes OR offer future directions

Submit in word or PDF format.

Item 2 - Project Slide Deck (10%)

Your task is to develop a set of presentation slides that mirror the information in the abstract and designed in line with human factors design principles. Aim to limit your slide deck to ten or less slides. Submit the slide deck in Power Point, or PDF format.

Item 3 - Online Project Presentation (10%)

Your task is to deliver your presentation at one of the two symposiums. On Moodle you will be able to register (self-select) to present at a Symposium in the final weeks of term. Ten minutes is allocated to each presentation, so allow 2-minutes for questions. During the symposium, you will also be asked to introduce and field questions for another student. You will be provided with the opportunity to practice your presentation delivery during the term. Constructive feedback will be provided during these sessions to assist you in practicing for your Final Presentation.

Please note, as part of the assessment process, CQU may record your presentation.

A detailed assessment rubric is provided on Moodle.

The total marks allocated for this assessment is 30. This represents 30% of the overall grade for the unit.

Part 1 - Project Abstract (10 marks)

• Introduction, aim of the project, and contextual detail 
• Background to the problem, or purpose for the project 
• Methods employed 
• Findings, outcomes and/or lessons learned
• Implications of these findings or outcomes, future directions
• Written expression, grammar, formatting and word count

Part 2 - Project Slide Deck (10 marks)

• Well-designed slides from a human factors perspective
• Limited text to a few dot points per slide
• Utilised graphics, tables, and images to illustrate points
• Appropriate font size and colour usages
• Structure of the presentation is logical and reflects the content in the abstract

Part 3 - Online Project Presentation (10 marks)

• Professional delivery
• Vocal variety and enthusiasm
• Effective use of 'pace' and 'pause'
•  Avoids reading, and nervous distractions (e.g. pen clicking)
•  Professionally responds to questions
• Professionally introduces another presenter