Briefing the Trainee - hdbk12060031

DOE-HDBK-1206-98

The instructor should ensure that required facilities, equipment, personnel, materials, etc., will

be available at the scheduled time, and that facility operations will support and allow the level

of accomplishment specified for the performance test.

5.1.2

Briefing the Trainee

Prior to conducting a performance test, the instructor should provide the trainee with an

overview of the performance testing process and explicit instructions regarding the task to be

tested. That is, the instructor should provide clear and complete instructions as to what the

trainee is/is not allowed to do and explain under what circumstances he/she will stop the

trainee (such as danger to personnel or equipment).

The instructor should review the evaluation standard with the trainee and explain the standards

of acceptable performance. The instructor should tell the trainee that any answer or action

that would place personnel, the facility, or system in danger is an immediate failure of the

performance test regardless of the acceptability of other responses.

5.1.3

Conducting the Performance Test

A performance test is not an instructional process. Its purpose is to evaluate the trainee's skills

and knowledge. The instructor should not coach or prompt the trainee by giving hints, by

asking leading questions, or by his/her actions. If a task requires the trainee to go to a

location, the instructor should not lead the way. If the evaluation standard references a

procedure, that procedure should be available to the trainee during the test but should not be

handed to the trainee by the instructor. Part of the performance test is to assess the trainee's

use of procedures and understanding of their importance.

With most tasks, the instructor should be able to determine if the trainee is performing the task

correctly by observing and comparing the trainee's actions to the evaluation standard and the

procedure. The instructor should evaluate the trainee's ability to:

Obtain the needed reference material and tools without difficulty

Use the references and tools correctly and in the proper sequence

Observe applicable facility safety rules when performing the task

Manipulate the equipment in a deliberate and timely manner

Recognize equipment status (such as, does he/she recognize when a valve is

open or a pump is running).

Usually it is not enough for employees to only possess the skills to operate a tool, a

component, or a system. Knowledge of the underlying theory/principles of operation,

interactions with other systems, and actions if the equipment or system doesn't operate

properly should also be required. To assess a trainee's knowledge, the instructor must ask

questions to verify understanding of the task; however, the instructor should not ask questions