ASSESSMENT AND VERIFICATION STRATEGY FOR UPSTREAM OIL AND GAS SVQs
September 2013 (ACG Approved 28 August 2013)
OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
VERSION CONTROL
Approved by SQA - ACG in 28 August 2013 Version 1- released 01 September 2013 AMENDMENT
Version 1 - 1 September 2013 (ACG Approved – 28 August 2013)
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
OPITO Assessment & Verification Strategy for Upstream Oil and Gas SVQs Table of Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 3 2. External Quality Control of Assessment ......................................................... 4 3. Roles within Assessment and Verification Process ....................................... 5 Assessors ............................................................................................................. 5 Internal Verifiers ................................................................................................... 6 Expert Witnesses ................................................................................................. 7 External Verifiers/Auditors .................................................................................... 8 4. Assessment Guidance ...................................................................................... 9 Assessment Approaches ...................................................................................... 9 Simulation............................................................................................................. 9 Level 3 SVQ Measurement Processes (Maintenance) .................................... 10 Level 2 SVQ Offshore Deck Operations .......................................................... 11 Level 1 SVQ Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons ....................................... 12 Level 2 SVQ Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons ....................................... 13 Level 3 SVQ Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons ....................................... 14 Level 3 SVQ Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons (Control Rooms) ............ 15 Level 2 SVQ Well Services: Mechanical Wireline Operations .......................... 16 Level 2 SVQ Well Services: Coiled Tubing ...................................................... 17
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
1. Introduction OPITO is the Standards Setting Body for the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry. This Assessment and Verification Strategy sets out OPITO’s requirements and recommendations for the assessment, verification and external quality control of SVQs for the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry. This Strategy should be used in conjunction with specific guidance issued by Awarding Bodies/Organisations.
This Strategy relates to the following SVQs:
Measurement Processes (Maintenance) – Level 3
Offshore Deck Operations – Level 2
Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons – Level 1
Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons – Level 2
Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons – Level 3
Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons (Control Rooms) – Level 3
Well Services: Mechanical Wireline Operations – Level 2
Well Services: Coiled Tubing – Level 2
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
2. External Quality Control of Assessment External quality control of assessment will be carried out by Awarding Bodies/Organisations. Awarding Bodies/Organisations will be responsible for:
Approval of new Centres to ensure that they are suitably equipped and prepared to assess against the Standards and have sufficient Assessors and Internal Verifiers in place;
External Verification to monitor Approved Centres’ performance to ensure that the requirements of the Standards and the OPITO Upstream Oil and Gas Industry Assessment and Verification Strategy are being met.
Awarding Bodies/Organisations must ensure that: 1. Approved Centres have implemented robust quality assurance systems to ensure that the quality of the assessment and verification processes is maintained and meets the requirements of the Standards. 2. Assessments are subject to a valid verification process - Approved Centres must be able to demonstrate that they have implemented a valid sampling plan which samples evidence across all Assessors and Candidates. 3. Candidates have access to fair and equitable assessment opportunities and have a right to appeal against any decision made by their Assessor. 4. Approved Centres maintain a list of Assessors, Internal Verifiers and Expert Witnesses who are involved in assessment and internal verification activities for each Standard/ Qualification, supported by CVs. The primary method of external quality control of assessment will be through Approval and External Verification visits/audits to Approved Centres. Alternative methods, such as paper approvals, postal verification or online verification (where online portfolios have been generated), may be used following a valid risk assessment of each Approved Centre. External Verification must be carried out on a minimum of an annual basis for active Approved Centres. Standardisation activities across External Verifiers/Auditors must take place on a regular basis to ensure consistency between Approved Centres. Awarding Bodies/Organisations will be responsible for taking relevant sanctions against Approved Centres who have not met the requirements of the Standards and the OPITO Upstream Oil and Gas Industry Assessment and Verification Strategy and for ensuring that corrective actions are implemented.
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
3. Roles within Assessment and Verification Process Assessors Assessors must be competent and qualified to carry out the assessment process. Assessors must meet the following minimum requirements: be technically competent in the discipline being assessed – this could be demonstrated in a number of ways, for example: they are an experienced practitioner or supervisor in the same discipline; they have been assessed as competent for the relevant Standard(s) and/or have achieved an equivalent qualification; they have previously performed or supervised the activities defined in the Standard(s) and can demonstrate that they have maintained their technical expertise and knowledge of current processes and practices; hold (or be working towards) a recognised Assessor’s qualification (e.g. L&D9DI, L&D9D, A1, A2, D32, D33). Assessors will be required to: fully understand the requirements defined in the Standard(s) for which they are carrying out the assessment process; comply with the required assessment and internal verification processes and quality procedures as defined by the Approved Centre and the Awarding Body/Organisation; comply with the requirements for recording assessment decisions and maintaining these records as defined by the Approved Centre and the Awarding Body/Organisation; participate in standardisation activities with other Assessors and Internal Verifier(s) to ensure a consistent approach to assessment. Assessors should maintain the currency of their skills and meet the following requirements: Assessor should participate in updates / training / Continuous Professional Development (CPD) activities – on a minimum of an annual basis; Assessors who have not carried out any assessments for a period of 2 year or more should undertake refresher training before carrying out any assessment activities. This refresher training should ensure that they are fully conversant with the Standard(s) they will be assessing and the associated assessment and quality assurance systems defined by the Standard(s), the Approved Centre and the Awarding Body/Organisation. Additional notes on the requirements Assessors: the following are defined as the individual disciplines for which Assessors must demonstrate technical competence: offshore deck operations; processing operations: hydrocarbons; well services (coiled tubing); well services (mechanical wireline); well services (providing fluids); well services (providing nitrogen); should an Assessor also act as an Internal Verifier, the Assessor cannot take any part in the verification of the Candidates that they have assessed – this must be done by a different Internal Verifier; Assessors who are in training can undertake assessments but all assessments against Standards would need to be reviewed by a qualified Assessor and/or an Internal Verifier. Assessors in training would normally be expected to complete their own Assessor qualification within a year of their involvement in the assessment process.
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
Internal Verifiers Internal Verifiers must be competent and qualified to carry out the verification process. Internal Verifiers must meet the following minimum requirements: have sufficient occupational expertise in the broad discipline area covered by the relevant Standard(s) to permit valid judgements about assessments and appeal decisions – typically this would be demonstrated by the Internal Verifier having worked at either operational or supervisory level in the broad discipline area; hold (or be working towards) a recognised Internal Verifier’s qualification (e.g. L&D11, V1, D34). Internal Verifiers will be required to: fully understand the content of, and the assessment requirements for, the Standard(s) for which they have responsibility for verifying; sample evidence across all Assessors and Candidates; provide feedback, advice and support to Assessors; comply with the internal verification processes and quality procedures required by the Approved Centre and the Awarding Body/Organisation; comply with the procedures for maintaining records of internal verification activities required by the Approved Centre and the Awarding Body/Organisation; participate in standardisation activities with Assessors and other Internal Verifiers to ensure a consistent approach to assessment and verification; participate in appeals procedure to settle any disputes between Candidates and Assessors; participate in and support internal quality systems and ensure any required corrective actions and recommendations following internal audits are carried out in a timely manner; participate in and support external quality control arrangements and ensure any required corrective actions and recommendations following External Verification visits/audits are carried out in a timely manner. Internal Verifiers should maintain the currency of their skills and meet the following requirements: Internal Verifiers should participate in regular updates / training / Continuous Professional Development (CPD) activities – on a minimum of an annual basis; Internal Verifiers who have not carried out any assessments for a period of 2 year or more should undertake refresher training before carrying out any internal verification activities. This refresher training should ensure that they are fully conversant with the Standard(s) they will be internally verifying and the associated assessment, verification and external quality control arrangements defined by the Standard(s), the Approved Centre and the Awarding Body/Organisation. Additional notes on the requirements for Internal Verifiers: the following are defined as the broad discipline areas for which Internal Verifier must demonstrate occupational expertise: processing operations: hydrocarbons; process engineering maintenance; well services; measurement processes; offshore deck operations. An Internal Verifier would not normally be expected to carry out internal verification of more than one broad discipline area, unless they have the relevant occupational competence. They could, however, carry out internal verification for all SVQs within the broad discipline area, for example, all of the Well Services SVQs; Version 1 - 1 September 2013 (ACG Approved – 28 August 2013)
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
should an Internal Verifier with sufficient occupational expertise in the broad discipline area not be available, internal verification could be carried out by an experienced Internal Verifier from a related discipline, in conjunction with a technical expert from the relevant technical discipline for the Standard - the comments of the technical discipline expert should be recorded in a signed statement along with details of the role of the individual. Alternatively, specific approval could be sought from an Awarding Body/Organisation and/or External Verifiers/Auditors for the use of an experienced Internal Verifier from a related discipline, should their CV indicate sufficient expertise and experience; Internal Verifiers would normally be expected to complete an Assessor qualification and have been actively carrying out assessments for 6 to 12 months before becoming an Internal Verifier; should an Internal Verifier also act as an Assessor, the Internal Verifier cannot take any part in the verification of the Candidates that they have assessed – this must be done by a different Internal Verifier; should Internal Verifiers undertake Candidate assessments, they must meet all the requirements outlined above for an Assessor; Internal Verifiers who are in training can undertake internal verification activities but they would normally be expected to complete their own Internal Verifier qualification within a year of their involvement in the internal verification process.
Expert Witnesses Where it is not possible or practical to have a qualified Assessor in the same location as a Candidate, an Expert Witness can be used to support the assessment process by carrying out on-the-job observations. The use of an Expert Witness must comply with the following requirements. Expert Witnesses must meet the following minimum requirements: be discipline experts with typically a minimum of 2 years relevant experience in the discipline area - Expert Witness CVs should be available for review by External Verifiers/Auditors at External Verification visits/audits; participate in a briefing session to ensure that they are familiar with the Standard(s) being assessed and that they understand their role to observe the Candidate and record observations and comments – details of briefing sessions must be available for review by External Verifiers/Auditors at External Verification visits/audits. An Expert Witness would be required to: agree a time with the Candidate for the observation to take place and advise the Assessor, where possible; observe the Candidate carrying out normal work tasks/activities; record details of each task/activity observed and confirm its completion according to the required Standard(s); authenticate any supporting documentation/job paperwork (for example, a Candidate’s name may not always appear on the job paperwork so his/her involvement should be confirmed); comment on the Candidate’s technical ability, knowledge of equipment, team work, safe working practices, etc; make a recommendation to the Assessor on the Candidate’s ability to carry out the task/activity. Version 1 - 1 September 2013 (ACG Approved – 28 August 2013)
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
Where on-the-job observations are carried out by an Expert Witness, a qualified Assessor would continue to be responsible for assessment planning, providing feedback and for all other assessment activities, for example, review of product evidence and questioning. The Assessor will review all the evidence provided by the Candidate, including the observation by the Expert Witness, and make a judgement on the competence of the Candidate. It will be the responsibility of the Assessor to make sure that any testimony from an Expert Witness is reliable and technically valid.
External Verifiers/Auditors External Verifiers/Auditors must meet the following minimum requirements: hold (or be working towards it) a recognised External Verifier qualification (e.g. L&D12, D35 or V2) be competent in internal verification; have relevant occupational competence; have experience of working within the upstream oil and gas industry. External Verifiers/Auditors will be required to: participate in the approval of Approved Centres; monitor Approved Centres’ performance and review Candidate evidence across a representative sample of Assessors and Internal Verifiers; provide feedback, advice and support to Approved Centres; review Approved Centres’ lists of Assessors, Internal Verifiers and External Witnesses who are involved in assessment and internal verification activities for each Standard/ Qualification on an annual basis. External Verifier/Auditors should maintain the currency of their skills and should participate in updates / training / Continuous Professional Development (CPD) activities – on a minimum of an annual basis.
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
4. Assessment Guidance Assessment Approaches Evidence of competence must be assessed against the relevant Standard(s). The principal means of assessing competence should be observation by qualified Assessors of Candidates performing tasks in the workplace. It is recognised that this may not always be possible, but Approved Centres would be expected to provide valid reasons for not using observation and would be expected to select alternative approaches which would ensure that the majority of the assessment process is based on direct naturally occurring evidence. Observation must be supported by questioning of Candidates to ensure that they have, and can apply, relevant knowledge and understanding for the specified Standard(s). Relevant workplace documents and job records can be used to support the assessment process. Additional supporting evidence could also include witness testimony from individuals who are in a position to provide informed feedback on the performance of Candidates. It is recommended that performance assessment is integrated across Standards to reflect normal work activities. It would not generally be expected to provide separate pieces of evidence for each performance criteria. Assessment of knowledge and understanding can also be assessed in an integrated way across Standard(s) where appropriate.
Simulation Simulation can only be used when expressly indicated by individual Standard(s), as listed on the following pages. It is recognised that it can be difficult or dangerous to obtain direct evidence of Candidates’ performance for the Standards for emergency and critical situations. For these Standards, evidence can be gathered using questioning by scenarios and case studies. For all other Standards, simulation should only take place in a realistic working environment. The environment and conditions for the assessment should reflect normal working situations; equipment should be the same or similar to that currently used in industry; and normal working procedures should be observed. The following information should be recorded and must be available for review by External Verifiers/Auditors at External Verification visits/audits: reasons for carrying out the simulation in place of collecting direct evidence; how the simulation addressed the Standard(s) against which the Candidates are being assessed; how the simulation was conducted – including details of the equipment, facilities and physical environment used.
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
Level 3 SVQ Measurement Processes (Maintenance)
Simulation of this unit/ Standard is permitted
Simulation of this unit/ standard is not permitted
The table below provides a summary of those Units/Standards which can be simulated under the circumstances set out above.
Perform Pre-Measurement Processes Operations
Contribute to the Health and Safety of the Working Environment
Establish and Maintain Effective Working Relationships in the Measurement Processes Environment
Perform Post-Measurement Processes Operations
Inspect and Verify Gas Measurement Systems
Inspect and Verify Liquid Measurement Systems
Inspect and Verify Bulk Storage Measurement Systems
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
Level 2 SVQ Offshore Deck Operations
Simulation of this unit/ Standard is permitted
Simulation of this unit/ standard is not permitted
The table below provides a summary of those Units/Standards which can be simulated under the circumstances set out above.
Establish and Maintain Effective Relationships with Others
Contribute to the Health and Safety of the Working Environment
Carry Out Slinging and Lifting for the Movement of Loads
Contribute to Safety, Health and Environmental Protection
Contribute to Helicopter Handling Operations
Contribute to Helicopter Refuelling Operations
Carry Out General Cleaning Operations
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
Level 1 SVQ Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons
Simulation of this unit/ Standard is permitted
Simulation of this unit/ standard is not permitted
The table below provides a summary of those Units/Standards which can be simulated under the circumstances set out above.
Contribute to the Health and Safety of the Working Environment
Assist with the Control of Emergencies and Critical Situations
Establish and Maintain Effective Working Relationships with Others
Start Up and Shut Down a Process System
Monitor a Process System
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
Level 2 SVQ Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons
Contribute to the Health and Safety of the Working Environment
Simulation of this unit/ Standard is permitted
Simulation of this unit/ standard is not permitted
The table below provides a summary of those Units/Standards which can be simulated under the circumstances set out above.
Contribute to the Control of Emergencies and Critical Situations Establish and Maintain Effective Working Relationships with Others
Prepare and Start Up Process Systems
Operate and Monitor Process Systems
Prepare and Shut Down Process Systems
Isolate and Re-isolate Process Plant and Equipment
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
Level 3 SVQ Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons
Monitor and Maintain Health, Environment and Safety Systems
Simulation of this unit/ Standard is permitted
Simulation of this unit/ standard is not permitted
The table below provides a summary of those Units/Standards which can be simulated under the circumstances set out above.
Control of Emergencies and Critical Situations Create, Maintain and Enhance Productive Working Relationships with Others
Prepare and Start Up Integrated Process Systems
Operate and Monitor Integrated Process Systems
Prepare and Shut Down Integrated Process Systems
Isolate and Reinstate Process Plant and Equipment
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
Level 3 SVQ Processing Operations: Hydrocarbons (Control Rooms)
Monitor and Maintain Health, Environment and Safety Systems
Simulation of this unit/ Standard is permitted
Simulation of this unit/ standard is not permitted
The table below provides a summary of those Units/Standards which can be simulated under the circumstances set out above.
Control of Emergencies and Critical Situations Create, Maintain and Enhance Productive Working Relationships with Others
Prepare Integrated Process Systems for Remote Control Operations
Remotely Control Integrated Process Systems
Prepare and Shut Down Remote Integrated Process Systems
Facilitate the Maintenance of Process Plant and Equipment
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
Level 2 SVQ Well Services: Mechanical Wireline Operations
Contribute to the Health and Safety of the Working Environment
Simulation of this unit/ Standard is permitted
Simulation of this unit/ standard is not permitted
The table below provides a summary of those Units/Standards which can be simulated under the circumstances set out above.
Contribute to the Control of Emergencies and Critical Situations Establish and Maintain Effective Working Relationships
Perform Pre-Job (Mechanical Wireline) Operations
Perform Post-Job (Mechanical Wireline) Operations
Run the Operation
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OPITO Oil and Gas SVQ Assessment and Verification Strategy
Level 2 SVQ Well Services: Coiled Tubing
Contribute to the Health and Safety of the Working Environment
Simulation of this unit/ Standard is permitted
Simulation of this unit/ standard is not permitted
The table below provides a summary of those Units/Standards which can be simulated under the circumstances set out above.
Contribute to the Control of Emergencies and Critical Situations Establish and Maintain Effective Working Relationships
Perform Pre-Job (Tubing) Operations
Perform Post-Job (Tubing) Operations
Run the Coiled Tubing Operation
Provide Fluids for the Operation
Provide Nitrogen for the Operation
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