Operations readiness advisor
KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions (STS) provides holistic and value-added solutions across the entire asset life cycle. These include world-class licensed process technologies, differentiated advisory services, deep technical domain expertise, energy transition solutions, high-end design capabilities, and smart solutions to optimize planned and operating assets.
The operations readiness advisor (ORA) is a key position in the operational readiness and start-up organization. This role will be required to manage several major and modifications projects readiness and make sure the operational readiness activities are well-identified, managed, and progressed in order to ensure safe and smooth start-up takes place within the target dates as per each project timeline.
This role is responsible for managing various interfaces with multiple teams within projects, operations, and other supporting functions within the organization.
This is a site-based role which will require frequent travel to worksites. Travel from one worksite to another is also part of the role.
The operations readiness advisor provides technical support and operating guidance for equipment and systems prior to and after handover to operations from projects. This includes accountability for operations support contracts, assurance on completion of risk management studies and action closure, and handover of engineering information (data and documents).
The operations readiness coordinator (ORC) reports directly to the ORA position.
The role will work closely with stakeholders to deliver the operational readiness plan (ORP), commissioning, and safe start-up of the facility and timely resolution of any issues which might arise.
Responsibilities
Leadership
- Always demonstrate strong safety leadership and exemplary safety behaviours, ensuring that safety expectations are communicated and reinforced.
- Carry out self-verification activities and participate in incident investigations if required.
- Coach and develop direct reports to support the nationalisation agenda.
- Lead the development of operational readiness plans (ORP) and ensure inputs from stakeholders are incorporated.
- Ensure lessons learned from previous projects are included in the ORP.
- Lead pre-start-up workshops with relevant stakeholders.
Risk / Operating discipline
- Lead interface with stakeholders to ensure support is in place for the new facility in a timely fashion, and stakeholders understand project timeline and requirements.
- Review HAZOP report and ensure the implementation of all HAZOP actions and recommendations.
- Manage handover of engineering information (data and documents) required for operations support in accordance with requirements for information.
- Develop operational risk register for start-up covering different aspects of risks (start-up delay, HSE risks, process safety risks, enduring risks carried over to operational phase, future vulnerabilities, etc.).
- Set up and lead risk review sessions with relevant parties, keep documents updated, and ensure mitigation plans are in place.
- Ensure enduring risks to operational phase and vulnerabilities are well-documented and handed over to the start-up team.
- Lead the development of change of work (COW) strategy based on project execution plan and facilities operating model.
- Ensure changes to plant and equipment are subject to the appropriate level of technical queries (TQ), engineering queries (EQ), and management of change before putting into service.
- Support the commissioning phase including attending walkdowns, reviewing commissioning test procedures, and performance tests.
- Review, develop, and validate all documentation related to the projects (O&M manual, initial start-up procedures, standard operating procedures, P&IDs, etc.).
- Be visible on site to test and verify that critical test points (CTPs) are being maintained, and capture lessons learned.
- Support compliance with government of country (GOC) criteria and handover process.
- Support the preparation of start-up and ensure successful and safe start-up of the new facilities.
- Ensure engineering queries (EQ), technical queries (TQ), and operational risk assessments (ORA) are raised where required with quality and accurate information and raised in a timely manner to meet business objectives.
- Responsible for ensuring pre-start-up safety review (PSSR) is developed, meeting setup, and leading meetings with stakeholders until full closure of items and full sign-off.
- Responsible for developing and maintaining operations readiness and start-up (ORSU) action tracker, working with relevant parties to ensure close out.
- Set up and lead action tracker meetings with relevant parties to ensure progress or escalate if higher support is required from the leadership team.
- Responsible for ensuring that rigorous operating discipline standards are communicated to operations and maintenance (O&M) contractors as part of the O&M scope.
- Review and update the training plan and follow up on vendor training and job training requirements.
- Report all HSE-related incidents through the established reporting tools to ensure accurate records of incidents and further investigations can be carried out where required.
People
- Lead by example and be accountable for their teams being fully compliant with code of conduct and values and behaviours expectations.
- Ensure direct reports have a robust development plan and are actively managed against objectives.
- Coach and support their team on development, actively share experience, and dedicate time each week to coaching and mentoring the local national population both within BOC and local national agency.
- Ensure that direct report work patterns and commitments are fulfilled per HR contractual obligations.
- Motivate the team, celebrate their successes, and ensure their views and problems are listened to and suggestions are considered.
- Identify and intervene if a team member does not meet performance expectations; have a low tolerance for poor behaviours.
- Any non-conformance with this section will be escalated through line management.
Production delivery, optimisation and excellent performance
- Work with project document controller to ensure project document management (DDM) is updated with relevant ORSU team for document review.
- Lead workshops with stakeholders to identify operating model for the new facilities and develop plans accordingly.
- Lead the development, own, and drive progress on ORP (operational readiness plan) with all stakeholders including supporting functions. Ensure actual versus planned progress are aligned.
- Develop O&M contract strategies and work with PSCM until contract award.
- Work with BOC to provide required resources to fill in organization for new facilities.
- Provide operational input to the optimisation and start-up teams for managing well allocation before initial start-up.
- Maintain the operations readiness tools and systems, i.e., updating the lessons learned and best practices database as required.
- Contribute to the development or enhancement of the operational readiness standards, processes, tools, and systems, incorporating any lessons learned and best practices.
- Utilise any of own specialist skills in the implementation of the above (e.g., operability, control and total reliability).
- Ensure the project development plan and project execution plan adequately address operational issues and requirements.
- Drive clear prioritisation of ORP so actions are focused in the right areas.
- Provide input to the production forecasting process based on current operating assumptions and project timelines.
- Work with projects and EPC contractors to ensure operations, maintenance, and reliability of equipment and systems progress in line with project operational efficiency target.
- Ensure lessons learned are timely recorded with details and evidence in preparation for project close-out wider lessons learned session led by ORSU interface team.
- Ensure lessons learned applicable to inflight projects are communicated timely so that corrective action can be taken.
- Provide input into the integrated schedule with regards to plant preparation schedule and site constraints.
- Provide project team support during detailed engineering, construction, and commissioning phases.
- Meet data reporting requirements as outlined by ORTL (e.g., routine ORSU performance reviews, updating team channel with documents).
- Responsible to stop the job if unsafe.
- Recommend priority work in support of operational readiness plan.
- Agree tri-party walkdown and assign resources to participate.
- Sign SH1 for subsystems after reviewing all relevant documents.
- Recommend ORC (operations readiness coordinators) competency progression.
- Recommend operations support contract awards.
- Decide selection of operations readiness support team.
- Recommend operations risks being transferred into operations risk register.
- Recommend impact to operations emerging from management of change (MoC) process.
- Agree projects MoCs that have operational impact.
- Agree technical approval of operations and maintenance procedures.
- Agree technical assurance of quality of handover pack content (preservation records for equipment).
- Agree technical support during start-up and early operations.
- Agree operational discipline engineering input into design of the facility and vendor package selection.
- Agree discipline specific input into maintenance and integrity build.
- Provide inputs into project production forecasting and OPEX forecast.
Experience and qualifications
- Minimum 10 years’ experience in hydrocarbon operations.
- Previous experience with major projects delivery is preferable.
- 5 years’ experience in supervisory roles.
- Strong knowledge of project commissioning, and handover and completion process and procedures.
- Experience in auditing and verification.
- Engineering degree or equivalent experience.
- Relevant HSE knowledge.
- Interpersonal communication skills are critically important to the ORA position and should be demonstrably excellent.
- Strong knowledge of control of work systems.
- Capable of working autonomously and organising time and resources to achieve work deliverables to defined standards.
- Personal behaviours and work ethic that leads by example.
- Evidence of continued professional development (training, course certificates or references).
- Significant experience in the management of risk through task risk assessment, SORA and management of change risk assessment. Able to identify risk and contribute to projects and operations readiness with key inputs to HAZOP and LOPA analyses.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and drive continuous improvement of processes.
Work location/pattern
- Rotation: 28/28.
- Site: Predominantly on different sites.
- Office: As and when required in line with team meetings.
Preferred qualifications
- Certified professional engineer.
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