Competence Assessment for Safety Critical Roles
Authors: Henson D.G. 
Published: December 2007

Competence is that blend of skill, knowledge, instruction, experience, attitude and behaviour which assures the match of an individual to the job or task in routine, non-routine and emergency conditions. It is a measure of ability.

Measures and tests exist for the individual assessment of skills, knowledge or training but these only form part of the evidence for 'competence' assessment.

The author's company has been in the forefront of competence assessment of operations and maintenance personnel in the North Sea. This paper describes the approach taken and the developments they are taking in practical assessment of people in safety critical management and supervisory roles.

Introduction

Competence is that blend of skill, knowledge instruction, experience, attitude and behaviour which assures the match of an individual to the job or task in routine, non-routine and emergency conditions. It is a measure of ability.

Operators and Technicians have a direct input to the safe and economic operation of a facility. The jobs are largely task orientated and can be broken down to individual units of competence' based on these tasks. These are observed in practice by a trained assessor who will record the 'evidence' of competence and check the underpinning knowledge. Frequently the assessor will be the employee's direct supervisor who not only assesses the individual units but also provides an overview.

Overall competence can thus be built up progressively and can be assessed as each new unit of competence is acquired. The employee gains confidence as he progresses and is restrained from attempting unfamiliar tasks when unsupervised. Examples of assessment documents for Technicians are given in Appendix A.

The company appoints internal personnel to verity the assessment process. An external 'verifier' in the form of an independent 'training association' assesses the competence of the assessor and internal verifier, advises on the administration of the scheme and nominates candidates on the company's behalf for the award of vocational qualifications and certificate.

It is becoming increasingly necessary to 'demonstrate' the competence of employees to the authorities, insurers and courts. This is particularly true of safety related roles. Employees also recognise the value of gaining a certificate to an industry or national standard. The value of competence assessment can therefore be seen, in order of priority 1. safe and economic operation, 2. demonstrated employee competence 3. employee satisfaction, achievement and motivation.

The assessment of Operators and Technicians is largely business driven, and is well established in the company both onshore and offshore. The current task is to extend competence assessment to safety critical management and supervisory roles. These are key positions in the management of crises or emergencies and the company approach to assessment and selection is the subject of this paper.

Management and supervisory jobs are broader in scope and whilst it is practical to define generic management competencies it is less easy to break these down in to well defined competence units. Skills, knowledge, etc may be gained by progression through a number of jobs and locations, and hence several assessors will be required to complete the picture. Overall verification will also require extra attention. Where safety critical roles are considered the assessment is required prior to appointment.

Safety Critical Management and Supervisory Roles A safety critical management or supervisory role is one which has a direct, immediate and major impact on safety.

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