H S E&T CO RN ER • D E PA R TM E NT S
Donovan Randolph (from left), Nabors; Dirk Kolnsberg, Patterson-UTI Drilling Company; and Jorge Leuro, Workforce Impact, all
spoke on “The Great Crew Change 2.0” panel at the IADC HSE&T Conference in Houston on 19 April.
him to execute everything, but have we
actually invested into him?”
Among the behavior-based safety tools
Nabors uses to help improve HSE in a
market with a high percentage of SSEs
is the Safety Observation Conversation
(SOC) system, which digitally tracks safety
observations submitted by crew members.
When an incident happens, one of the
first things Mr Randolph said he checks is
the level of SOC participation on that rig.
If participation among the rig’s manag-
ers are low, he said, that “tells a lot about
leaders.” Audit of CAP best practices
Leadership skills should be included in
a company’s CAP , said Jorge Leuro, Talent
Management Executive at Workforce
Impact. That was one of several CAP
best practices that emerged from a study
undertaken by Mr Leuro and David Demski
of Competent & Engaged in 2021 and 2022.
The two companies audited the CAPs of
17 drilling companies to identify industry
best practices and trends. Some of the gen-
eral best practices included using CAPs to
test knowledge, not just verify that knowl-
edge has been delivered as part of train-
ing; ensuring that competencies address
incidents; and involving management in
an annual review of the CAP.
CAPs were also found to have a strong
connection with SSE programs, Mr Leuro
said, although a number of the companies
audited also apply their CAPs to other
employee populations. The audits found
that CAPs were frequently used to ensure
an employee’s competence for promotion
decisions, and that companies tended
to take a risk-based approach to reas-
sessing an employee with long service in
their position to ensure continued compe-
tence. A risk-based approach is also a best
practice for verifications to ensure that
employees have been assessed correctly
for competencies with the greatest impact
on human errors, Mr Leuro said.
The research found that many compa-
nies are using existing corporate process-
es to manage CAPs, such as management
of change, internal audit, verification and
data management processes. Looking at
the technology that companies rely on to
handle employee competencies, the study
found that 41% use a manual system, 35%
use a learning management system and
24% use a competency management sys-
tem. On average, the companies studied
dedicate one assessor per six employees
and one verifier per 16 assessors.
CAP participation varied depending on
company size, with large companies (more
than 1,000 employees) averaging 68% of
their workforce participating in compe-
tency programs. The figure dropped to 47%
for medium companies (less than 1,000
employees) and 37% for small companies
(less than 300 employees).
For companies that do not already have
a CAP, Mr Leuro noted that IADC provides
guidelines on how to build one and offers
a Competence Assurance Accreditation
program. He further recommended as a
best practice that companies make use of
IADC’s role-specific competencies (KSAs) .
“We need to have a very well-designed,
implemented and sustained competen-
cy assurance program to really have an
impact on the safety culture of the orga-
nization and on the performance of the
employees,” he said. DC
D R I L L I N G C O N T R AC T O R • J U LY/AU G U ST 2023
Scan me for IADC’s
guidelines for
building a competence
assurance program.
bit.ly/3qBmTzQ Scan me to access
IADC’s Knowledge,
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