Systematization of Competence Assurance

From Formal Training to Real Competence

Ensuring personnel competence is not just about complying with legal requirements, but a key factor in achieving Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) and industrial safety goals. In large manufacturing enterprises, where dozens of different training and certification requirements can be imposed on a single employee, managing this process becomes a serious challenge. Evgeny Kovalev, Head of the HSE Department at Sakhalin Energy, explains how to systematize and automate the employee training process to turn training from a formality into a real tool for improving safety.

The "Golden Employee" Concept as a KPI

To solve the problem of personnel being overloaded with training programs (there are 111 in the company's portfolio), the "Golden Employee" concept was developed. This is a two-component Key Performance Indicator (KPI) that combines:

• Compliance with mandatory legal requirements (formal training).
• Ensuring competence according to internal company standards applicable to the position held.

This indicator is approved for each structural division. Thanks to automation, the "golden employee" status is tracked in real time through dashboards, allowing managers to clearly see the competence picture of their subordinates and promptly manage the process.

Personnel Categorization and Competence Profiles

The presentation details the approach to personnel categorization. All employees are divided into critical and non-critical positions. Critical positions include:

• Workers whose actions can lead to injuries or accidents.
• Managers making decisions that affect safety.
• HSE specialists.
• Contract holders (curators) responsible for contractor activities.

A competence profile is formed for each role, including three areas (leadership, application, and development of risk control measures) and three levels (awareness, knowledge, skill). Upon employment, an employee is assigned the appropriate profile, after which they undergo training and assessment. If gaps are identified, an individual plan is developed to address them.

Digitalization of Training Management

The speaker shows by example how digitalization helps manage a complex system of requirements. A module based on the SAP platform was created, which provides:

• Employee access to their training and qualification status.
• The ability to self-register for courses.
• Display of the department's competence picture in the manager's personal account (in "traffic light" mode).
• Automatic sending of warning notifications about the need for repeated knowledge checks.

This approach eliminates non-compliance in mandatory training, ensures timely information, and motivates personnel, as their performance evaluation depends on it.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to combine mandatory and internal training into a single measurable indicator?
• How to distribute responsibility for forming the training program portfolio between technical experts and curators?
• How to automate the control of certification deadlines and knowledge checks for hundreds of employees?
• How to build a competence assessment system taking into account the specifics of critical positions?