Role-based Talent Planning For Operational Readiness

By Harry Benson, Director Human Performance Services, CAI

As capital projects and technology transfers wrap up and facilities grow nearer to startup, an experienced team is needed first to translate the process to operations at the plant and system level, to map the production process to a set of job roles, and develop procedures and qualifications to control the variability risks of those roles and achieve sustained targeted output and release before the real hiring and training can begin. It is essential that site leadership builds a talent plan and begins the staffing process, including appropriate budgeting, early enough to hit the vertical startup objectives.

Given the flurry of activity being conducted during capital projects and transitions to operations, developing a talent plan may appear to be somewhat administrative or insufficiently urgent. This often leads site leaders to forego a focused and thoughtful talent planning process, treating the “people” workstream of Operational Readiness as a purely tactical staffing effort assigned to recruiting and HR and possibly with insufficient ownership from operational workstream leaders.

Just as thoroughly constructed and well-executed tech transfers and master validation plans are effective in controlling risks to process/procedure and plant variability, a well-designed and executed talent plan provides the best risk control for the variability the “people” aspect of sustained full-scale operations.