Grow your own

In Texas this September process software firm Invensys launched the latest version of its Foxboro distributed control system (DCS). Among the many features of the new software platform - Foxboro Evo – that Invensys was keen to promote, its ability to tackle the issue of an ageing workforce was one that kept cropping up.

Much was made of Foxboro Evo’s refined human interface, with on-screen displays that are much more simple and user-friendly.

If you go round control rooms there’s a bunch of old guys, and they’re not going to be around much longer

Invensys senior vice president Chris Lyden

This development was, according to executives, driven by two interlinked market issues: firstly, sensors and devices around process plants are generating more data than ever before, and if not managed carefully this data can lead to “information overload” for those working in control rooms; secondly, because operators and technicians are getting older, as they leave they take their in-depth knowledge of how process plants work – and therefore which information generated by a DCS is important to filter-out and focus on.

“If you go round control rooms there’s a bunch of old guys, and they’re not going to be around much longer,” said Invensys senior vice president Chris Lyden.

“They know how the plants operate intuitively. They’re retiring and a lot of that knowledge goes out of the door, so the more you can do to improve workflows and give the next generation operational insight the better.”

Lyden may have been speaking at a conference in Texas, but his comments are as equally applicable for process facilities in the UK as they are in the US.

Skills shortage

Cogent, the UK sector skills council for Chemicals, Nuclear, Oil and Gas, Petroleum and Polymers, has identified process plant operators and technicians as the two role areas facing critical skills shortages.

Cogent strategy director John Holton says recruiting to replace retiring operators and technicians is insufficient, as there are too few to go around.

Instead Cogent has been working with firms to identify the areas where they have skills gaps or may have potential skills gaps in the future. In particular Cogent seeks to work with firms to develop training plans based on the four competency areas identified by its Gold Standard scheme.

The Gold Standard is a training framework that looks at a business’ skills needs based on the four competencies of technical competence, business improvement, compliance, and functional and behavioural competence.

For technicians and operators training plans will tend to largely focus on the technical competencies.

This may be done either at a company level - what are the skills needed to improve your workforce, or at the level of the individual hoping to progress through the company.

“You can input the skills you have and our tools will tell you where your skills gaps are,” says Holton.

“For example, if I’m an operator I can find out what skills I need to be a technician.”

This, he says, can help bring about an internal succession plan as ageing employees retire.

“You can begin training individuals to move into more senior roles as you are losing experience,” he says.

“In the past, firms may have gone outside to look for those levels of people, but many firms are now much more confident in bringing their own people through. We have seen this particularly to be the case in the polymer sector where there is a real technician shortage. What this is doing is giving people that roadmap to come through.”

In addition to helping companies secure their future by upskilling existing employees, these training plans can ensure the workforce is up to speed with the latest technologies.

“Obviously technology is moving at a pace,” says Holton. “The technicians of five years ago, the skills they had then are very different to today. Robotics is a good example. It is being used in many areas covering many processes, so a whole different set of skills are required.”

To that end, Cogent has been working with the government-backed Catapult centres, in particular the High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centre, which brings together UK universities and other research bodies to develop cutting-edge technologies.

Cogent does this to ensure that training schemes are teaching people not only about the latest technologies, but also those that are likely to be introduced into the work place in the coming years.

Cogent does not deliver the training itself, but instead approves courses provided by higher and further education providers across the country.

To further aid firms looking for training solutions, it recently launched skillsstore.com, a searchable online directory of training courses for the process industries.

Some of the courses will be for pre-existing qualifications such as NVQs that have been approved under the Gold Standard scheme; there are also some courses that Cogent has developed itself and delivered by external consultants.

Not only can these training schemes future-proof businesses from technological and staffing challenges, but according to research commissioned by Cogent, there are also clear financial benefits.

As the table “Cogent Gold Standard and Return on Investment” shows, this case study of an unnamed process firm shows the improvements in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) equate to a cash benefit that is nearly ten times the amount of money spent on training.

By investing in our workforce we get both the skills and loyalty from those we have trained

Cogent strategy director John Holton

Sembcorp Utilities UK provides energy and related services to chemical, petrochemical and biofuels firms in the North East of England.

The site at Wilton International on Teesside was taken over by Singaporean firm Sembcorp in 2003 and since then the foreign owner has invested over £150 million in new facilities, including a new biomass power plant.

The firm’s training and development manager Graham Taylor says investing in training through the Gold Standard framework is vital not only for ensuring the technical competency – making sure staff understand new kit such as the remotely controlled valves on the biomass boiler versus the manual valves on the old coal-fired boiler – but also for ensuring the parent company maintains confidence in the site and its workforce.

“We have got to have the ability to deliver performance for our shareholders, and that depends to a large degree on the expertise and competency of our people,” says Taylor.

All of Sembcorp Utilities UK’s operators have been through some basic level of Gold Standard training, and most have gone through NVQ level 3 training.

Taylor says the training his firm is providing through Gold Standard not only ensures competency but also breeds loyalty and ensures the next generation of operators and technicians.

“We have a couple of young lads who came in as apprentices who very quickly rose to shift managers,” says Taylor.

“We have others that are doing degrees and a few that are chartered. We have funded them from apprenticeship to chartered engineer status. Okay, there is a massive cost in that, but at the end of the day we have ‘grown our own’ and they are very competent. At the moment it is very difficult to recruit, so by investing in our workforce we get both the skills and loyalty from those we have trained.”