MAINTAINING SAFETY CRITICAL COMPETENCIES

Transcription

1 MAINTAINING SAFETY CRITICAL COMPETENCIES How to verify and enhance safety critical competencies in high-risk operations. Best practice for asset managers, vessel captains, offshore installation managers, chief engineers and safety leaders.

2 CONTENTS This guide to maintaining safety critical competencies has been developed by the Falck team in the Netherlands. Part of the global Falck family, the team has safety woven into the DNA of its business. This guide is a distillation of both the expertise gathered from 30 training centres, in 16 countries across five continents, and years of learning forged in the real world on high-risk operations. It builds on the insights and experiences of Falck s specialist marine Emergency Response Team (ERT). The ERT members and leaders have learnt the real value of safety critical competency over 30 years dealing directly with complex, serious maritime incidents, and in subsequently training crews to ensure there are no repeats. Their hard-won insights now provide a road map, a proven benchmark, on how to maintain safety critical competencies in any high risk operation MAINTAINING SAFETY CRITICAL COMPETENCIES VERIFICATION OF COMPETENCY PLANNING ASSESSING 26 TRANSFORMING BEST PRACTICE INTO ACTION IMPROVING COMPETENCY YEAR TO YEAR WHAT IS COMPETENCY? IMPROVEMENT OF COMPETENCY REPORTING RECTIFYING THE WORLD S EXPERT COMPETENCY PARTNER 32 ARE YOU READY TO ENGAGE?

3 02 03 MAINTAINING SAFETY CRITICAL COMPETENCIES Today, safety critical competencies are a priority for employers across diverse industries from offshore oil and gas and maritime shipping through to wind power, chemicals and aviation. Indeed, given the increasing legal liabilities of employers, many now often require more than a single certificate, qualification or ticket to provide evidence that an individual is technically competent to do the job, perform a specific task, or operate machinery safely. Experienced employers also recognise that competency can diminish over time, and that there is increasing risk of competency failures in the gap between initial basic training and refresher training. This gap represents a real operational risk. In response to this, a robust process for maintaining safety critical competencies is required. Any new model for the verification and improvement of competency must enable employers to confirm that current employees possess both the knowledge and practical skills required to meet safety critical standards: whether these are legal, professional or site-specific standards. It must combine an advanced method of workplace assessment with on-the-job training to be successful and trustworthy. This guide introduces such a model and considers best practice at every stage of the process. It provides a blueprint for maintaining safety critical competencies in high risk industries. TRAINING RISK MANDATORY REFRESHER TIME

4 04 05 WHAT IS COMPETENCY? Competency is informed by knowledge (or learning) and experience. However, it is important that experience is not seen just as a simple measure of time in the job it is the quality and the frequency of experiences that a person has had during this time that brings real value in terms of competency development. And, of course, this is particularly relevant when looking at safety critical competencies. The components of safety critical competencies When assessing safety critical competencies, or indeed competency for emergency preparedness, we must consider a broad combination of technical skills, thinking skills and interpersonal skills. The core elements of these are: 1 TECHNICAL SKILLS these are task related and will require a certain level of underpinning technical knowledge and understanding. Technical skills will develop with experience. 2 THINKING SKILLS these are more generic and will include decision making, problem solving, planning and time management skills as well as the ability to follow instructions or directions and carry out procedures. 3 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS these are behavioural-based and will include team working and communication skills, along with other specifics such as listening, collaboration and conflict management. 3 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS COLLABORATION 1 TECHNICAL SKILLS MAINTAINING SAFETY CRITICAL COMPETENCIES PROBLEM SOLVING KNOWLEDGE & UNDERSTANDING 2 THINKING SKILLS COMPETENCY IS COMMONLY DEFINED AS: THE ABILITY TO UNDERTAKE RESPONSIBILITIES AND PERFORM ACTIVITIES TO A RECOGNISED STANDARD ON A REGULAR BASIS. UK Health & Safety Executive

5 06 07 The challenge of diminishing competency Maintaining competency can be seen as a battle between learning and forgetting over time. The Ebbinghaus forgetting curve (see figure 01) demonstrates how we will all experience exponential loss of memory (learning) unless information is reinforced. Beyond this simple truth, safety critical competencies can diminish for many reasons. These include: the person has not performed the task for a long time there have been changes to the worksite environment the person is new to the worksite environment equipment has been renewed or controls changed the person has lost confidence following a previous incident deteriorating physical ability has reduced competency FIGURE 01. THE FORGETTING CURVE Memory Retention (%) Immediate Recall 20 mins 1 hr 40 9 hrs Elapsed Time (days)

6 08 09 AN ONGOING CYCLE OF VERIFICATION & IMPROVEMENT Competency and repetition Faced with the challenge of maintaining high levels of competency over time, employers must work to strengthen memory by employing learning techniques that are designed to aid retention and which allow for regular repetition to enhance recall further. This is where regular verification combined with on-the-job training can help to ensure that safety critical competencies are being maintained. PLAN MAINTAINING SAFETY CRITICAL COMPETENCIES: A PROCESS RECTIFY THE MAINTENANCE CYCLE ASSESS VERIFICATION IMPROVEMENT REPORT PLAN REPORT ASSESS RECTIFY A maintenance of competency process that involves planning and assessing followed by both immediate and long-term reporting and rectifying and which is then repeated at regular intervals will provide the foundation for the long term improvement of safety critical competencies.

7 10 11 VERIFICATION OF COMPETENCY Verification can be defined as: the process of ensuring that individuals are fully competent to operate equipment or safely perform the task they are asked to undertake. In high risk roles, the verification of an individual s safety critical competencies is clearly vital regardless of whether they are managers, supervisors, employees or contractors. Meeting your duty of care A robust process for verifying safety critical competencies will help to reduce the risks associated with people, processes, procedures and sites. It will better protect your platform, vessel or local worksite. It will help to maintain legal compliance and deliver enhanced duty of care. Today, employers across all industries are required to demonstrate due diligence in terms of ensuring that their employees have current competency. Business and worksite leaders must be able to provide proof that they have shown due care in assessing individual competencies prior to allowing a worker to undertake certain activities or tasks. The minimum level of verification required to meet an employer s duty of care responsibilities would include: assessing the employee s relevant technical knowledge observing the employee safely operating the plant or equipment or safely performing the task presenting documentation to verify this process has been done and was done by a suitably experienced assessor Furthermore, if it is determined that a worker is NOT competent to safely perform the work, then the employer will need to: be able to provide documentation to this effect be able to advise on areas that require further training The smarter management of risk However, for many high risk operations, the minimum duty of care threshold will not provide a benchmark in terms of maintaining safety critical competencies. In these circumstances a more rigorous process is required. A process that is planned to ensure operational relevance, involves onsite assessment focused on the specific competencies, and is carried out by expert assessors/instructors. This structured process will ensure that employees are not only able to recognise the risks that are associated with their activities, but that they are also trained and capable of applying the right measures to control and manage these risks. Verification of competency is the first step towards the smarter management of risk. It is a simple process but one that is underpinned by a robust, clear plan.

8 12 13 PLANNING IDENTIFYING YOUR PRIORITY COMPETENCIES A verification plan must provide clarity: clarity of need, clarity of focus. It will ensure that all the relevant parameters for the assessment process have been identified and that the priority safety critical competencies are set out in a review matrix. A robust verification plan will ensure that the assessment process is designed to be relevant for the employer, the employees and the operation or task under review. Identifying the parameters Establishing the correct parameters at the outset is an important part of delivering a robust maintenance of competency process. There are three key sources of information that will need to be brought together to identify all the relevant parameters: the assessor, the client and the legislators. An expert assessor will bring the knowledge and experience that is required to identify the desired competencies by type: core technical skills and individual behaviours. Their expertise will highlight critical needs based on previous real life experiences and the shared knowledge that they can bring from professional networks and other industry sectors. The client manager will provide insight to and guidance on the competencies expected by role or job description, as well as the company context in terms of key policies and procedures. Other relevant context to be defined and reviewed will include type and stage of employment for all personnel involved. And, finally, a review of the regulatory regime provide an overview of the mandatory standards. This will help to establish the baseline competencies that are required for any particular operation, industry or country. Identifying the priorities With the broad parameters established, the expert assessor will then identify the priority competencies: What is high risk? Establish the competencies where failure could cause harm, death or legal action for the employees or employer. What is new or different? Determine where new equipment and plant, or new procedures or policies, or even changes to existing ones, might impact on the job or task competencies. What is essential? Review where problems are being found by looking at near misses and incident reports, and listening to client and employee feedback. These priorities will then be translated into a competencies review matrix. In this, each of the safety critical competencies will be linked to the individual behaviours and/or outcomes that the assessor would expect to observe and record during the assessment process. NEED & FOCUS

9 14 15 RECAP ASSESSING REALISING THE BENEFITS OF ONSITE ASSESSMENT SO, TO RECAP, THE VERIFICATION PLAN WILL BE BUILT ON A REVIEW THAT IDENTIFIES: COMPETENCIES BY DOMAIN OF SKILL: TECHNICAL, NON-TECHNICAL, INTERPERSONAL COMPETENCIES BY INDIVIDUAL TASK: ROLE, JOB DESCRIPTION, POLICIES, PROCEDURES COMPETENCIES BY REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS: NATIONAL, LOCAL, HEALTH, SAFETY Onsite assessment is not only an opportunity to observe, it is an opportunity to intervene and improve competencies in real-time but this demands expert assessors who are also experienced trainers. To provide the right platform for the long term maintenance of competency, the first requirement is to ensure the assessment process is relevant to the need. Relevance is important The operational priorities identified in the verification plan are the key to building a robust and relevant assessment process and this in turn is the key to success. To ensure the assessment is relevant, an expert assessor will: clarify all accountabilities: manager s, assessor s, employee s agree the scope of the assessment: people, processes, procedures, sites select the right assessment method for each priority competency develop scenarios that focus on these safety critical competencies This will ensure that the competency assessment process is aligned with the company s policies and procedures, and that it meets your operational goals. AND THEN TRANSLATES THIS INFORMATION INTO A VERIFICATION PLAN WITH A CLEAR FOCUS ON: PEOPLE COMPETENCIES BY OPERATIONAL PRIORITY: HIGH RISK, NEW, DIFFERENT, PROBLEMATIC SAFETY SITE PROCESSES PROCEDURES SAFETY INFLUENCE CYCLE

10 16 17 RECAP Selecting assessment methods Assessment of competencies can be carried out by reviewing evidence collected in many ways: direct observation at work, expert witness testimony, documentary evidence, formal tests, e-learning or scenariobased assessment. When selecting the most appropriate assessment method, and in particular when designing scenariobased assessments, it is vital to consider the specific task under review and the cost effectiveness. The assessor does not need to be an expert in the specific task, but he or she must have the ability to collect all the relevant evidence, report any critical shortcomings immediately, and the experience and skills to intervene directly if safety is being compromised. Furthermore, in their final report, they must also be able to advise both employees and employers on any additional training and development needs that are required long term. Designing scenariobased assessments In many safety critical operations, the most relevant and safest assessment method will be a controlled simulation designed onsite to replicate the normal tasks in their familiar working environment. Designing simple scenarios for these simulations will ensure the assessment is risk-based and task-specific. Built around the identified priority competencies, onsite simulations can be designed to focus on people and equipment, attitudes and behaviours, or policies and procedures. The assessment can combine all of these or focus on just one. This offers real flexibility combined with operational relevance. Significantly, when someone who is participating in an onsite simulation exercise is deemed to NOT be competent, then it is important that the process allows for remedial or support training to be provided immediately. Realtime intervention in this way, tailored to correct identified safety critical failings, and delivered by the qualified experts, is arguably the major advantage of onsite assessment and verification. It builds both short-term and long-term reporting and improvement into the maintenance of competency process. SO, TO RECAP, THE BENEFITS OF AN ONSITE SCENARIO-BASED ASSESSMENT ARE AS FOLLOWS: DESIGNED TO DELIVER WORKSITE RELEVANCE: ROLE-, TASK- AND RISK-SPECIFIC LOW IMPACT ON OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY: KEY PERSONNEL NOT TAKEN OFFSITE ENABLES REAL-TIME INTERVENTION: IMMEDIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION IS TAKEN DRIVES LONG-TERM IMPROVEMENT THROUGH FURTHER ASSESSMENT AND TRAINING

11 18 19 IMPROVEMENT OF COMPETENCY The verification process introduced on the preceding pages establishes the platform for moving ahead and improving individual safety critical competencies where required. This improvement process will be driven by both the immediate observations and interventions of the assessors in the short-term and by the full assessment report in the long-term. Indeed, the full assessment report will set out the further steps required to rectify any short comings and how best to address the competency of key personnel with responsibility for safety critical tasks. In this section, we look at the essential elements of competency reporting both during the assessment and beyond and what employers subsequently expect from their report in terms of a training plan that is designed to develop, practice and test the safety critical competencies either onsite or offsite. Training is fundamental in developing and maintaining competency. And if it is delivered in tandem with the verification process, then the training can be focused specifically on the skills required to comply with safety regulations. Indeed, when both the timing and the type of training method and delivery are informed by an analysis of the competency needs, it has proven to be more effective, more relevant to the job/task, and ultimately easier to evaluate. Taken together, as outlined on the following pages, the full assessment report and the training plan will provide commitment to continuous improvement in safety critical competencies. A commitment that will enable improvement to be integrated into the normal management cycle of any high risk operation creating the routine checks that lie at the heart of maintaining and developing standards for safety critical competencies and thereby reducing risk in the short, medium and long term. ASSESSOR S REPORT TRAINING PLAN CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

12 20 21 REPORTING THE REAL VALUE OF OBJECTIVE REPORTING As with the verification plan, a competency reporting process should give clarity in two ways: clarity in analysis and clarity in presentation. A good reporting process will make the safety critical risks explicit for individuals and teams. It will provide immediate direction on how to fix any safety shortcomings and detailed analysis on how to improve safety critical competencies in the long-term. Onsite reporting The real advantage of using expert trainers to deliver onsite assessment has already been highlighted: real-time reporting will enable any safety critical short-comings to be rectified immediately. Experienced assessors can talk directly to senior management and deliver the required training or advice without delay. Key personnel will learn directly on the job how they can improve their safety critical competencies and, of course, this learning can then be reenforced long-term through the full report. Your full assessment report Any serious effort to maintain safety critical competencies long-term depends on the quality of the analysis in the final assessment report. This report should provide a baseline for safety critical competencies. It should give you a snapshot of where you are, and a roadmap for improvement. The analysis must always be: open and honest; the assessor should not leave the site with any secrets reliable and valid; it should measure/report on what it sets out to measure comprehensive; address all issues with procedures, equipment, training solution orientated; because just identifying the problems is never enough focused on the individual; because ultimately it is individual behaviours, attitudes and competencies that make the difference in safety performance By mapping performance against the priority competencies in a clear and visually dynamic way (see figure 02), the full report will highlight where safety critical competencies fall below required standards (whether those are site, company or legislative standards). Detail will also be provided on overall group performance (team, site, vessel or business) and also privately on individual performance. In both instances, the detail will identify the strengths and weaknesses in terms of the priority safety critical competencies. When reporting on individual performance, assessments can be made on key skills, behaviours and overall suitability for the specific task or job. Once a baseline is established, individuals can be monitored over time to ensure that improvements are made to the core safety critical competencies as required. Putting your report to work A clear, well-structured final report should serve as working document, a check list for improving safety critical competencies. It will be a de facto improvement plan and, where appropriate, can feed directly into an individual s personal development plan or a site/vessel maintenance plan. Recommendations will be made on both equipment and training, and specific outputs could include relevant documentation such as new training support materials or revised system operating manuals. FIGURE 02. COMPETENCY SPIDER CIRCLE

13 22 23 RECAP RECTIFYING TRAINING IS TAILORED TO YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS SO, TO RECAP, YOUR COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT REPORTING SHOULD PROVIDE YOU WITH: IMMEDIATE SOLUTIONS TO SHORT-COMINGS IN PROCEDURES OR EQUIPMENT HONEST FEEDBACK FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS A DOCUMENT STRUCTURED TO SERVE AS A WORKING IMPROVEMENT PLAN A BENCHMARK FOR IMPROVING SAFETY CRITICAL COMPETENCIES IN THE FUTURE Ultimately the maintenance of competency process is focused upon rectifying any failures or short comings. It serves to identify where reduced competency could potentially impact on the safety of your people or your operation. It is a structured and comprehensive process that is designed to help ensure the smarter management of risk and by doing so help to improve business performance. Dedicated safety critical training Verification of competency delivered by experienced safety training experts has many advantages. Having a dedicated assessor onsite, or on-board your vessel, can provide access to a broad reach of advice and benefit beyond the core task. Most importantly, expert assessors can provide real time solutions to real issues ensuring that any problems encountered can be rectified immediately during the assessment process with training delivered to meet the identified needs. This is not only cost effective but also minimises operational impact. When corrective training can not be completed immediately, the assessor will then recommend in the full report what action is required. This could involve: Basic training offsite; where an individual or a team needs to go offsite for basic safety training Advanced training onsite; where the assessor returns to the site or vessel to deliver tailored training for specific issues All training should be linked to the specific activities and tasks addressed in the assessments a seamless process from verification to improvement and should aim to establish and maintain competency for all those involved in safety critical tasks including management. However, while training is an important component in terms of establishing and maintaining competencies, it will not be sufficient on its own.

14 24 25 RECAP Consolidation of knowledge and technical skills through on the job practice will be key, which is why regular and ongoing assessment is important to help with the development of individual safety critical competencies. Establishing interval-led assessment Delivering continuous improvement in competency demands that the verification and improvement process is repeated at regular intervals. This ensures that training can be targeted to any new issues that evolve with changing personnel or procedures. With a regular planned verification process, training can address infrequent and/ or complex activities, and be tailored appropriately to the changing hazard profile of the tasks being undertaken. Regular interval-led assessment also ensures that the training can be evaluated you can check that it delivered the desired competencies and if required refresher training can be recommended to achieve the desired level of competency. SO, TO SUMMARISE, THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS REQUIRED FOR MAINTAINING SAFETY CRITICAL COMPETENCIES IN HIGH RISK OPERATIONS ARE: A CLEAR VERIFICATION PLAN FOCUSED ON THE PRIORITY SAFETY CRITICAL COMPETENCIES REGULAR ONSITE SCENARIO-BASED ASSESSMENTS THAT ENABLE REAL-TIME INTERVENTION A FULL REPORT THAT DIRECTLY SUPPORTS PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT OR MAINTENANCE PLANS TAILORED SAFETY TRAINING TO ADDRESS KEY ISSUES DELIVERED BY EXPERT INSTRUCTORS COMBINING ALL FOUR IN YOUR COMPETENCY MANAGEMENT MODEL WILL ENSURE YOU PUT IN PLACE A PROCESS FOR THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF SAFETY CRITICAL COMPETENCIES.

15 26 27 TRANSFORMING BEST PRACTICE INTO ACTION Falck s unique approach to the verification of competency has been proven over the past five years. Feedback has been excellent. Personnel, including emergency response crews, have been found to be far more confident in their abilities with their skills remaining permanently at the highest levels. Our approach provides a unique opportunity to align competency more closely with company policies, procedures and equipment. By assessing the strengths and weaknesses of individuals and teams, and working directly to rectify any short comings, we can help you to develop individual ability, and ultimately build highly skilled and safe teams. Our model for maintaining safety critical competencies will help you to reduce incidents in the workplace and to improve performance throughout the business. It will ensure your team has the skills and knowledge required to respond with confidence in the event of any emergency. To find out more, and to learn how we will help you to maintain and improve safety critical competencies in your business, please get in touch with us today: Falck Safety Services Beerweg LM Maasvlakte-Rotterdam the Netherlands THE WORLD S EXPERT COMPETENCY PARTNER booking@falck.nl In this section, we introduce Falck in the Netherlands and set out the business benefits of engaging with Falck as your partner in maintaining safety critical competencies.

16 THE FALCK VALUES We have has cooperated closely with major operators in the offshore, maritime and wind industries for over 35 years. Our extensive real world experience has been channelled into the development of specific emergency response, competency management and training programmes. Our products adhere to national and international standards and, of course, are tailored to each customer s needs. By always employing assessors and instructors with relevant and proven experience, we are now the trusted provider of safety critical training and consultancy on a strategic, tactical and operational level. Global reach, local benefits. Operating across five continents, we offer global access to tailored maintenance of competency at all levels from basic to advanced. Our large training portfolio, including many locally and globally accredited courses, and our experience and on-going investment ensures we can deliver realistic and customised assessment scenarios and corrective training to address local needs. Building on the real life experience of our dedicated maritime Emergency Response Teams, our training provides key personnel with the skills to limit the consequences of incidents, but more importantly, we also teach prevention. Safety is all we do. Trust us. We provide a single access point to help you maintain safety critical competencies across all your operations onshore and offshore. As the global leader in safety and emergency training you can trust us to deliver the skills, knowledge and the competencies that you need. ACCESSIBLE: We are open and attentive. Easy to communicate with. RELIABLE: We keep our promises. People can always trust us. FAST: We do tasks now; always the right way, the first time. EFFICIENT: We take responsibility. We are proactive and committed. HELPFUL: We offer assistance when it s needed. We help each other. COMPETENT: We strive to maintain our skills and to remain well-qualified.

17 30 31 IMPROVING COMPETENCY YEAR TO YEAR Falck s annual verification and improvement programme offers a new perspective on how best to maintain safety critical competencies and emergency preparedness. Our products adhere to national and international standards and, of course, are tailored to each customer s needs. By always employing assessors and instructors with relevant and proven experience, we are now the trusted provider of safety critical training and consultancy on a strategic, tactical and operational level. To help you maintain safety critical competencies in your operation, our four-year subscription model combines reassurance in the short term with a long term commitment to help you improve safety critical skill and knowledge at all levels. On a year-to-year basis, risks are made transparent and immediately addressed reducing your financial and reputational exposure. It will help you to address any fall-off in safety critical competencies that may occur between original training and refresher training. It gives you the safety improvement partner that you can trust. THE BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH AN EXPERT COMPETENCY IMPROVEMENT PARTNER: MULTI-DISCIPLINED, EXPERIENCED COMPETENCY ASSESSORS WORKING ONSITE SPECIALISTS DELIVERING CLEAR, TAILORED TRAINING ONSITE FOR YOU GLOBALLY FULLY MANAGED SOLUTIONS FOR ALL YOUR TRAINING NEEDS AND PROGRAMMES MORE THAN 40 DIFFERENT SUPPORT COURSES AVAILABLE: ANYWHERE, ANYTIME DETAILED ADMINISTRATION, EVALUATION AND TRAINING RECORDS MAINTAINED ASSURANCE THAT ALL EMPLOYEES ARE RECEIVING THE BEST TRAINING AVAILABLE

18 32 33 ARE YOU READY TO ENGAGE? Introducing a programme to maintain and improve your safety critical competencies requires a strong commitment from operational leadership at all levels. It is a long term commitment that will help to make risk transparent and will demand action to rectify any short comings. So is your business ready to move to the next level of competency management? Is this a service that you need now? If you are still not sure, ask yourself these simple questions Do you have clear visibility of the current competency of all personnel in safety critical roles? Does your refresher training occur frequently enough to address fall off in safety critical competencies? Does your current competency assessor focus on safety critical risks and address identified training needs. Are you actively improving safety critical competencies in your business and if not, why not? If you answered no to one or more of these questions, then it is time to look again at how you manage and maintain safety critical competencies in your organisation. It s time to talk to Falck. Please Harry Klootwijk: H.Klootwijk@Falck.nl or Gert-Jan Langerak: G.Langerak@Falck.nl

19 Falck Beerweg LM Maasvlakte-Rotterdam the Netherlands