Practical / Workshop Skills Assessment
What this domain tests
Practical / Workshop Skills Assessment tests safe bench and site work: measuring, cutting, threading, jointing, bending, fixing, testing and recording. You are judged on sequence, dimensional accuracy, joint quality, tool care and housekeeping.
Core skills
- Measure twice, mark clearly and cut square; deburr and chamfer before jointing.
- Thread steel pipe with the correct die head and lubricant; check with a fitting, not by eye.
- Bend copper with a spring or bender to the required radius; avoid flattening the bore.
- Assemble solvent-weld, compression or push-fit joints to the manufacturer's insertion depth.
- Support pipe at the specified spacing; align before final tightening.
- Pressure-test, inspect for leaks, flush and complete a test record.
Worked example
A 20 mm copper supply line is to be tested. Cap the open ends, fill slowly and purge air, then pressurise to the test pressure specified for the system (often 1.5 times working pressure, but never above the pipe or fitting rating). Hold, inspect joints, and record the result. The reasoning is that trapped air expands and gives false pressure readings; purging makes the test meaningful.
Traps
Skipping deburring, over-tightening compression nuts, testing without purging air, mixing fitting systems, and leaving swarf in the pipe are common mark-losers.