JANUARY 2015

EOR Performance and ModelingMature Fields and Well

RevitalizationWell Integrity

Decommmissioning and Abandonment

SPE Technical Directors OutlookUpfront Reservoir Monitoring

New Competency Management Tool

FEATURES

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY • www.spe.org/jpt

A FRESH LOOK AT FOAMED CEMENT

TALENT & TECHNOLOGY

68 JPT • JANUARY 2015

To meet one of SPE’s strategic priori-ties, capability development, the Soci-ety has partnered with International Human Resource Development Corpo-ration (IHRDC) to offer the SPE Com-petency Management Tool (CMT) free to its members. The tool can be used to assess the competencies needed to per-form specified key technical jobs in the oil and gas industry.

Based on assessment results, the tool will identify competency gaps and help members develop individual learn-ing plans to close these gaps. Learning plans will refer users to SPE training resources, along with resources offered by sister organizations, such as the Soci-ety of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) and the American Association of Petro-

leum Geologists (AAPG), and also to generic course titles reflecting those offered by third-party course providers.

In developing a learning plan, the user will be able to choose priorities for closing competency gaps, select the most appropriate learning resources, and determine the pace at which learn-ing should take place. The SPE CMT will give the user flexibility and a chance to take ownership of his or her profes-sional development. Employers, mean-while, will benefit from the consistency in skills and improved productivity that their employees are able to achieve.

The “pilot” status of the SPE CMT is designed to gauge the level of inter-est for a service of this nature. Upscal-ing the tool to its full scope of service will

require significant investment in time and resources, which can be justified only if the results of the pilot validate the need for such a level of service.

Published global trends show an ever-increasing demand for profession-al development of the workforce to meet future energy needs. That, along with the recognition that the onus of personal development in the oil and gas industry today rests largely with the individual, should be sufficient justification for such a service. However, one cannot ignore the fact that major oil and gas compa-nies, including many national oil com-panies, have been preparing for the “big crew change” for some time and have developed in-house capabilities for com-petency assessment and development.

Competency development, certifica-tion, and training activities are not new to SPE, which was a forerunner in recog-nizing the need for competency guide-lines to define minimum aptitude levels for petroleum engineers and establish future industry standards. These compe-tency guidelines are in place today on the SPE website. What is new is the ability to offer an intuitive, user-friendly platform where members can take control of their personal development by

◗◗ Completing self-assessments◗◗ Using the assessment results to

identify skill gaps◗◗ Designing learning plans to close

these gaps◗◗ Tracking progress as they

complete the learning plans

Development of the ToolGiven the industry’s urgent need to accel-erate competency development, offer-ing a competency management tool with

A Competency Management Tool for SPE MembersAlok Jain, Asset Management Solutions, and Ken Ogle, IHRDC

TABLE 1—THE PILOT COVERS 11 TECHNICAL JOBS AT TWO DIFFERENT CAREER STAGES

Number Independent Contributor First Supervisory Level

1 Geologist Senior Geologist

2 Geophysicist Senior Geophysicist

3 Petrophysicist Senior Petrophysicist

4 Reservoir Engineer Senior Reservior Engineer

5 Drilling Engineer Senior Drilling Engineer

6Completion and Well

Intervention EngineerSenior Completion and Well

Intervention Engineer

7 Facilities Engineer Senior Facilities Engineer

8 Project Engineer Project Manager

9 Production Engineer Senior Production Engineer

10 HSE Specialist HSE Manager

11 Field Operations Engineer Operations Superintendent

Copyright 2015, Society of Petroleum Engineers. Reprinted from the Journal of Petroleum Technology with permission.

69JPT • JANUARY 2015

specific jobs serves two purposes: It pro-vides immediate help to the industry, although for a limited number of jobs, and it establishes the need for such a tool on a sustained basis. The pilot SPE CMT covers 11 key technical jobs at two differ-ent career stages (Table 1).

Once the SPE CMT has been avail-able to the membership for a year or so, information about its use will be ana-lyzed to determine if it is worthwhile to expand the scope of the pilot. Based on the above observations, it was decid-ed that the most cost-effective way of offering the tool to the membership was to partner with an existing training com pany. The contract was awarded to IHRDC based on the criteria specified in a request for quotation.

Modifying Competency ModelsAs part of the scope of work, IHRDC pro-vided a job description for each of the selected jobs along with a correspond-ing job competency model. Once this was done, discipline experts reviewed the job descriptions and the competency mod-els, seeking external input where possi-ble. The idea was to look at each job not only on a standalone basis, but also in how it would interface with the others in the types of multidisciplinary teams that are often formed to manage assets, and to minimize gaps and overlaps as much as possible. The resulting job descriptions and the competency models are part of the SPE CMT.

While acknowledging the impor-tance of soft skills in technical jobs, determining how many and which ones should be included for this pilot proj-ect was a challenge. In the end, the focus was primarily on the key technical and petrotechnical skills required for each job. As a result, it was possible to build competency models consisting of 25 to 37 competency units. Table 2 summarizes a SPE CMT competency model for a pro-duction engineer.

A Brief Description of the ToolDuring the pilot phase, the tool will be used to assess competencies exclusively for the 22 jobs listed in Table 1. Depend-

TABLE 2—COMPETENCY MODEL FOR A PRODUCTION ENGINEER

Competencies/Job TitleJob Level

Requirement

Operations Management

Asset Integrity ManagementWell Integrity ManagementProject Management Orientation

221

Business and Operations Support

Contractor Management and Supervision

Engineering, Productivity, and Operations

Production Planning, Scheduling, and Forecasting

2

2

2

Drilling and Completion Engineering

Acidizing and Other Chemical Treatments

Coiled Tubing OperationsHydraulic FracturingPerforatingSand ControlWell Completion Design and

EquipmentWireline Operations

2

22211

2

Production Engineering

Formation Fluid SamplingProduction LoggingProduction Performance EvaluationProduction System Design and

AnalysisWater ControlFlow Control Equipment and

Flow LinesIntelligent WellsOilfield ChemicalsPump-Assisted Artificial LiftWell SurveillanceGas LiftGas Well Deliquification

2222

22

222222

Commercial Asset Development Process 1

Functional Core Competencies—Petrotechnical

Drilling, Completion, and WorkoverFacilities EngineeringProduction EngineeringReservoir EngineeringOperational SafetyEnvironmental Regulations and

Procedures

1 1212

2

Pipeline Engineering

Multiphase Flow Systems and Flow Assurance

2

TOTAL COMPETENCY UNITS 33

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70 JPT • JANUARY 2015

ing on the pilot program results, other job titles may be added. The CMT pilot incorporates three phases: self-assess-ment, view assessment results, and build learning plan.

◗◗ Self-Assessment. In this initial phase, an SPE member selects a competency model that best reflects his or her job tasks and responsibilities. The member then evaluates his or her current levels of competency against the levels that the job requires.

◗◗ View Assessment Results. Based on the self-assessment results, the CMT identifies “gaps” between the member’s current and required competency levels.

◗◗ Build a Learning Plan. The member can work individually or with a supervisor to determine the priority in which gaps should be addressed and select from among a list of learning resources that have been mapped to each competency.

The resources for building the learning plan are contained within the CMT and include offerings available through SPE, SEG, and AAPG. Where those associations do not provide such resources, selected third-party courses are listed. Once a user has completed the prescribed training resources and/or other learning events, he or she can put this learning into practice in the work-place. Users can reassess themselves after either partial or total completion of the learning plan to ensure continual development and improvement.

Fig. 1—IHRDC’s Competency Management System.

TABLE 3—TYPICAL GUIDELINES FOR PROFICIENCY LEVELS

Level 1 Awareness Level 2 Basic Application Level 3 Skillful Application Level 4 Mastery

Understands basic principlesHas broad knowledge of principles and applications

Has detailed knowledge of principles and applications

Has full understanding of principles and practices

Has general awareness of the knowledge, skill, or procedures and its applications

Participates in routine applications

Stays current with new developments

Has detailed knowledge of industry trends, standards, and experiences

Participates in designing field applications

Understands and applies industry codes, standards, and regulations

Develops and transfers knowledge throughout the company

Participates in industry initiatives in subject area

Directs and supervises work

Shares information, best practices, and lessons learned

Develops company guidelines and strategies

Leads networks, mentors, and coaches

ON THE JOB

TRAINING

71JPT • JANUARY 2015

Fig. 1 pictorially depicts IHRDC’s competency management system. In the pilot phase, the SPE CMT does not include the functionality to verify com-petency assessment results. This func-tionality can be added in the next phase if sufficient interest is expressed by members.

For each competency unit in a given competency model, four levels of profi-ciency have been defined based on inter-national standards. Typical guidelines for the SPE CMT proficiency levels are described in Table 3.

In the job competency model, each competency unit is given a job-level requirement. This is the proficiency level expected from the SPE member in the job being evaluated. The competency unit for reservoir characterization (Fig. 2) is taken from a senior geologist for whom

the job-level requirement is set at Level 3 (skillful application).

Identifying Gaps: Member AssessmentsThe traditional method of assessment is based on the National Vocational Quali-fication (NVQ) or the Scottish Qualifi-cation Authority (SQA) methodology. It requires a qualified assessor to assess each candidate on each skill required for the job through a combination of meth-ods, including question and answer, demonstration, observation, and sim-ulation. This process in the field typi-cally takes a full day for each asses-sor and employee. The downsides to this approach include the length of time needed and associated disruption to the workplace, the high cost, and limited exposure to the employee (the asses-

sor only sees a day in the work life of the employee).

SPE’s approach is designed to mini-mize the cost and time for each assess-ment by including the member’s super-visor in the process (if needed to vali-date the SPE member’s answers). The downside of having the supervisor as the employee competency validator could potentially be biased. The simple vali-dation could be a set of multiple choice question/answer data banks that can be used to establish a self-validation.

As mentioned, the verification piece is not included in this version of the CMT, but it can be easily added if there is sufficient interest. A mod-ified manual version of this verifica-tion process can be adopted, if desired, by the member. This process will con-sist of the member exporting his or her

Fig. 2—Competency unit for reservoir characterization.

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72 JPT • JANUARY 2015

assessment results to Microsoft Word, pdf, or Excel, and discussing any dif-ferences of opinion with the supervisor. The employee may then modify his or her answers in the self-assessment tool based on this discussion.

Two-Stage Assessment ProcessSPE Member Self-Assessment

◗◗ Completed for each competency unit

◗◗ Assessment guided by description on screen

◗◗ Judge own performance based on Levels 1 to 4 (SPE member does not know job-level requirement)

Supervisor Assessment◗◗ Based on long-term observation

of SPE member assessed◗◗ Assessment based on

performance criteria and description, not on job-level requirement

◗◗ Judge SPE member performance based on Levels 1 to 4

Once an SPE member completes the self-assessment and has discussed the results with his or her supervisor (if nec-essary) and the competency gaps have been identified, a learning plan is pro-duced to prioritize and assist in closing these gaps.

Learning Plan Development Learning plans are composed of indi-vidual training events that have been matched to the competency units in each job competency model. The cur-

rent resource-matching matrix in the CMT includes

◗◗ SPE resources (instructor-led courses, conferences and workshops, SPE textbooks, monographs, and reprints)

◗◗ Technical papers offered through the OnePetro electronic library

◗◗ SEG and AAPG resources (instructor-led courses, AAPG e-learning symposia, conferences, or workshops)

◗◗ Third-party generic instructor-led classroom courses (where the name of the course provider has been deliberately withheld to avoid the perception of favoritism)

◗◗ SPE-approved IHRDC e-learning courses

◗◗ Focused work assignment or on-the-job training provided by respective employers

The information in this resource-matching matrix is current as of July 2014. The matrix can be easily updated when there is sufficient new information available to warrant a change.

The learning plan is a very important component of the competency manage-ment process. The results of the assess-ments, which are available the day after the self-assessment has been completed and submitted, show the gaps between the competency level at which the SPE member is assessed and the level required for his or her job. The CMT will show a one-page summary of the gaps. To devel-op the learning plan, the user will priori-

tize the competency units that show gaps with the top priority going to those that are most critical to the daily job perfor-mance and the safety of the individuals and others around the work site.

Thus, each SPE member’s learning plan will

◗◗ Address specific gaps based on the member’s current assessment results relative to the job requirements

◗◗ Be customized to individual needs by providing a learning road map to close any gaps

◗◗ Be prioritized based on safety and operational needs

Once a learning plan has been cre-ated, the learning period begins, dur-ing which the user takes the courses and attends the training events in his or her learning plan (Fig. 3). The schedule for this plan can be specified, including recurring requirements, and is an itera-tive process. At the end of the learning plan cycle, skill gaps that have not been closed are available for inclusion in the next plan.

AcknowledgmentsThe authors gratefully acknowledge the opportunity to work on this project and express their sincere appreciation to

◗◗ Ken Leonard and Tom Whipple, SPE, and Brad Donohue, IHRDC

◗◗ SPE’s Global Training Committee Members, especially Alan Johnson, Shell Europe; Jim Gouveia, Rose Associates; and Abul Jamaluddin, Schlumberger; Mark Stone, Department of Natural Resources, Queensland, Australia; and Sachin Mahajan, ADCO.

◗◗ SPE’s technical directors for their helpful comments

◗◗ Mike Britton, ConocoPhillips, for providing input on project management and facilities engineering; Terry Thoem, private consultant in safety, health, and the environment; and Amos Smith, Dubai Supply Company. JPT

Fig. 3—Timeline for learning plan.