Competence

Developing and implementing industry-wide training and competence standards

Competence is fundamental to the protection of people, assets and the environment and should be given the same recognition as safety. Training alone does not equal competence: it forms an important part of it.

The Competence Workgroup has representation from Step Change in Safety member companies and external bodies such as ECITB and OPITO.

The most recent success was the revision of the Competence Management Framework Guidance document and its associated appendices. The guidance document is a fantastic baseline for any organisation to utilise when creating their own Competency Framework for their organisation, or to ensure their existing framework covers the steps within the guidance document. HSE, OPITO and IADC guidance used as reference to ensure the framework related to the audience it was created for

The workgroup has committed to setting up a subgroup for the new generation of young people working in our industry. This will ensure that we capture the thoughts and views of those who are the future of our industry and also to get them involved in delivering solutions.

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Contact Workgroup

To contact the Competence work group, e-mail info@stepchangeinsafety.net

Our Next-Gen Competence Sub-Group

To learn more about our Next Generation of competence sub-group members click here

Quarterly Competence Forum

The Competence Forum meets on a quarterly basis to discuss good practice, share experiences, identify current and future problem areas and hear from those in the industry on the importance of competency. The sessions also explore how competence is assessed and maintained. The forums often have guest speakers from external organisations out-with the energy sector, for example, the NHS, Armed Forces and Health and Safety Executive.

Visit our events page for a list of dates for future Competence Forums.

Digital Solutions for Competence Management

To learn more about digital competence management solutions click here

What is competence?

Competence Management Framework Guidance

The Competence Management Framework offers some guiding principles and standard definitions to establish and continually improve a competence management system. It

  • outlines the competence assurance process,
  • lists the five key components of an effective competence management system, and
  • details guidance on identifying safety critical tasks and aggregation of these into positions and jobs.

Competence management systems should be an integral part of any business management system and align organisational needs with the development needs of individuals within the organisation. They should link closely to audit and assurance, HSE, business performance, human resources and daily operations, and the framework document illustrates this.

Competence Management Framework Guidance

Click below to download the Competence Management Framework Guidance Document

WORKGROUP LEADERSHIP

  1. Mike Meen
    Mike Meen
    Consultant
    Add Energy

    Mike is a skilled and knowledgeable professional with a proven track record of establishing the root causes of an organisations issues and delivering solutions. He has implemented value adding programmes across cultures and in a variety of different industries on behalf of his customers.

    Over the past 10years:

    • co-Chair of the competence workgroup Step Change for Safety delivering industry wide guidance on competence management systems

    • Mentoring and Support for MBA, MSc and DBA postgraduates at Robert Gordon University.

    • Creation of Operational Assurance Capability in a Tier 1 contractor. Delivering innovative risk based solutions, benchmarking and creating improvement opportunities.

    • Designed and delivered an integration and start-up capability to improve delivery performance. (2015 CMI Business Excellence award)

    • Delivered client facing learning content for a global mid-level management blended learning curriculum supporting a drive for operational excellence (Shell Learning)

    • Delivered customer programme management capability in Inspection, Maintenance and Repair. Driving improvements in asset availability (Shell Upstream International Total Reliability, >100 asset portfolio)

    • Delivered a global Inspection Management Solution - Ivara CIMS. To optimise cross asset data utilisation.

    • Authored a customer Late Life and Decommissioning strategy. Facilitated Delivery of a multifunctional plan to reduce life of field expenditure.

    • Developed and delivered a company Competence Assurance Standard, improving safety and reducing costs. (2017 ECITB collaboration award)

    View Linkedin Profile

FEATURES, ARTICLES & BLOGS

Developing new safety initiatives for the industry: Exclusive insights from Mike Meen, co-Chair of the Competence Workgroup. April 2021.

READ HERE: Mike Meen blog, April 2021

Mike Meen

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