The Brief
Having completed an audit on Competence Management for Yara UK, I was asked to help with the development of a plan for the remediation work.
- I advised them on the need to generate an overall strategy to address the issues around competence on the site.
- I spent some time educating them on the HSE guidance on Competence Management Systems and we developed an outline plan based on the guidance.
- I subsequently worked with them on the first phase ‘Establish Requirements for the CMS’ to generate example procedures, checklists, training documents and competence assessments based on the HRAs which I had been completed for their safety critical tasks.
- I supported the client at a site inspection with the HSE on Competence Management.
- Throughout this activity I provided coaching and mentoring around the subject, at both senior and junior levels.
Outcome
At the end of this piece of work, Yara UK had a defined plan with timescales for designing and implementing a CMS. They also had templates in place for the various documentation types required to support the CMS. The HSE were satisfied with the approach presented to them.
“Throughout the whole process, we at Yara found Lorraine to be very professional, helpful, always made time for us and very cleverly changed her style and approach for the respective individuals’ levels of understanding. Because of Lorraine we are all much more aware of the requirements and have made some real improvements to our training and competence management systems; her input made a real difference. Additionally, we received feedback from the HSE that they too found Lorraine to be very knowledgeable and easy to work with.”
Martin Jones, Health, Safety, Quality & Environment Manager. Yara UK
“Lorraine’s guidance on HRA, HEA and CMS was invaluable. Her approachable nature made her coaching and mentoring, at all levels, effective and easy to follow. This has made implementation of our CMS easy with everyone pulling in the same direction.
We have recently had a follow up inspection from the HSE on Competence where we were scored as ‘Fully Compliant (Good)’, which is a huge improvement from where we were initially. During feedback from our HSE Human Factors Inspector, when we mentioned we had received coaching and guidance from Lorraine, she was extremely positive that we had worked with her to develop such a strong foundation.
Thanks to Lorraine our staff are aware of how Human Factors affect the workplace and striving to constantly improve, which makes our future very bright indeed”
Chris Marron, Competence Development Coordinator. Yara UK