PetrochemWorks, a collaborative effort between East Harris County Manufacturers Association (EHCMA) and Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Houston (ABC), has developed a set of industry best practices designed to align the contractor and owner communities, remove barriers to entry and promote the industry as an excellent career choice. While safety is always at the forefront of every industrial and petrochemical initiative generated by EHCMA and ABC, it was determined that some practices could better serve the industry if they were studied and streamlined, resulting in the PetrochemWorks “Best Practices.”
The PetrochemWorks steering team and its subcommittees recently released its first series of best practices regarding on-boarding, training and workforce development funding for crafts.
“Taking into consideration the unprecedented growth and anticipated impact of retirements in the petrochemical industry, the mission of PetrochemWorks is to facilitate a sustainable, skilled and diverse workforce in the Greater Houston Manufacturing region,” said PetrochemWorks Steering Team Chairman Dave King of INEOS. “With the help of stakeholders in the region, the steering team seeks to evaluate existing systems, improve the accessibility of training and education, and develop and implement best practices.”
“One of the biggest barriers we face in our industry is on-boarding,” said PetrochemWorks Steering Team Vice Chair John Golashesky of Turner Industries Group. “The on-boarding process can delay a contractor’s entry into a plant for days. This leads to a great deal of frustration for all parties involved: the contractor, the owner, but most of all the craft worker, whose livelihood depends on access to a site.”
The surveys, studies and findings produced by the PetrochemWorks Onboarding subcommittee have resulted in three recommendations related to site-specific training, background screening and Basic Plus refresher training. These recommended best practices will result in expedited site access for craft workers and improved efficiency, all while keeping safety at the forefront of the process.
“It is extremely important for both owners and contractors to understand the challenges of the hiring timeline to gain access to industrial sites. Our onboarding subcommittee worked quickly to evaluate the current processes and recommend to the industry best practices that will be more efficient with individuals’ time while maintaining the heightened awareness of safety, which is the primary goal of on-boarding,” remarked Matt Villere, a member of the steering team with Performance Contractors Inc.
PetrochemWorks has also released 12 recommendations and best practices related to the training process, including recommendations to use the NCCER accredited training system, performance testing to verify a worker’s competency, integrating evolving technology into craft training and leveraging on-the-job training for helpers. The Training subcommittee also introduced “Craft Training Metrics” to demonstrate the suggested progression and pathway for a craft worker to become a true craft professional.
“When owners start demanding that the skill levels of craft professionals performing work in their facilities be performance-verified and not just written-certified, the onus will be on the contractor to not only verify that their craft professionals meet performance expectations, but to provide up skill training to those that don’t,” stated J.D. Slaughter of S & B Engineers and Constructors.
Lastly, the PetrochemWorks group acknowledges no great training program is possible without financial support. PetrochemWorks recommends actively supporting and participating in the Training Contributor Agreement, administered by Construction & Maintenance Education Foundation (CMEF).
“We must support the men and women who are actively enrolled in craft training programs to better their skill set and grow their careers in our industry. The CMEF Training Contributor Agreement helps do just that by providing low-cost training opportunities for these men and women,” said Rusty Barnhill of Force Corp.
For more information, visit www.petrochemworks.com.
