Key Characteristics of a Successful HSE Manager
Listing of key characteristics of highly successful HSE Managers and practicioners.
After 30+ years working successfully (that means achieving industry best HSE performance) around the globe as HSE Manager/HSE Adviser/Risk Consultant for Fortune 500 oil/gas companies, world renowned engineering companies, as well as my own HSE consulting company, I have listed below the characteristics for:
a) HSE Manager to set up an industry best HSE Program
b) HSE Professional to transform a poorly performing HSE program into a world class program
c) HSE Professional to help develop a "Step Change" in your present HSE program that has hit a wall.
The characteristics listed may or may not be on your "ideal" recruitment check-list. If not, the reason may be that the recruiter has not met that special person yet. If they have successfully employed HSE Managers, then possibly the recruiter has not followed up with that person to discuss their successes and their keys to success. Generally, position requirements will ask for minimum educational, experience, and certification requirements, as well as a summary of their HSE successes. That is good! However, the recruiter may miss some critical characteristics. These would include:
-An auditor's eye for evaluating quickly the key HSE issues, i.e., the areas for improvement which can prevent/stall improvement, or encourage failure. Once these key areas are discovered, the plan for making the industry best HSE can be formulated. In my 30+ years, I have found after an initial audit, usually 2-3 issues are identified that are causing 80-90% of the HSE problems.
-The skill for Team building either from scratch or the ability to look at an organization and fine tune the team so it is most effective in developing the new and successful programs. Team chemistry is extremely important. HSE personnel must be placed in the right key positions which must match the goals and objectives of the master plan. A good chemistry absolutely must exist between the Leader and the HSE team. There must be a unified team spirit to achieve the same goal.
-A proven track record in under promising and over performing. Many HSE Manager candidates will promise HSE performance improvement in a matter of months. That is nor realistic. The first year is spent getting the plan finely tuned. Two years is the average for either implementation or turning around an HSE program.
-Must have a working knowledge of HSE Assessment and tools. This means hands on experience with technical audits, behavioral audits, and process safety management (PSM) hazard identification tools.
-Must have experience working in multi-cultural environments. In today's world, every workforce is diverse in race, ethnic background, gender, and in many cases multi-lingual.
By HSE Solutions, Inc.
Accident Causation, Behavioral Systems, Risk Assessment, Oil/Gas Expert Witness
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ronald G. HallmarkAccident Causation, Behavioral Systems, Risk Assessment, Oil/Gas Expert Witness
Ronald G. Hallmark, CSP, has been an HSE professional on 4 continents servicing as HSE Manager, HSE Technical Adviser, and Risk Management Consultant. The author has also been invited to present at National Safety Emporiums to OSHA, AiChE, and OSHA. Developed informative articles on HSE and culture and made several presentations at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Alabama on subjects of multi-cultural societies and differences with American norms.
Copyright HSE Solutions, Inc.
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer.For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
