EPST Member, Production Engineer at Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is the pioneer and leader of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. We invest heavily in our employees, which is reflected in our industry-leading development programme and our commitment to see our employees’ ideas travel and come to fruition.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: EPST Member, Production Engineer

Job Requisition ID: R161207
Location: Port Harcourt, Rivers
Employment Type: Full-time
Job Family Group: Maintenance, Reliability and Turnarounds
Worker Type: Regular
Business unit: Upstream (inactive)
Experience Level: Experienced Professionals

Where You Fit In?

• SPDC Enhanced Problem Solving Team (EPST) helps to deliver and sustain high performance by focusing on solving complex and high-level problems that mitigate long-term and/or high-impact threats.
• The EPST approach is based on applying the principles of Causal Learning – a performance improvement Unit with intent to enable people to create the future performance they want by developing a deep understanding of the technical and systemic causes of the current performance and then taking action to correct these causes.

What is the Role?

• The Enhanced Problem Solving Team Member (EPST Member) reports directly to the EPST Lead and is part of a dedicated, full-time, multidisciplinary team tasked with solving complex operational and technical problems across SPDC.
• The team is responsible for discovering deeper causal factors that contribute to underperformance and consequently create learning environment where people can learn across all levels in the organization.
• This work assignment will offer individuals the opportunity to develop in-depth problem-solving skills that can be applied in any Business or Engineering context in their future roles.
• The position has high exposure to the Leadership Team and provides opportunity to acquire advanced skills on how to engage and influence across functional boundaries and at all levels.

At a high level, improved performance will be driven by:

• Improved overall asset Availability through Causal Learning in SPDC to Top Quartile performance and in line with agreed business plans
• Improved Reliability – Reduce the frequency and severity of significant big hits resulting in unplanned equipment shutdowns.
• Improved Reliability processes in SPDC using the Causal Learning Methodology and outcome of Causal Learning Investigations as input into the threat and opportunities management tool (FiT4), Reliability Analysis, Manage Equipment Care (MEC) process and other aspects of the Safety, Environment and Asset Management (SEAM) standards.
• Improved recovery – Reduce the amount of time to recover from plant trips and mitigate the impact of Facility or individual unit trips
• Capacity to utilize Causal Learning Methodology across SPDC patterns that shape behaviours.

Accountabilities

• The selected individual is responsible for providing inputs bothering on their primary disciplines where required and contributing to the overall success of the EPST in addressing identified threats to within and outside Operations as may be required.

The EPST Member would deliver on the following objectives:

• Demonstrate personal commitment to support a culture across the Organization where no one gets hurt and process safety management is paramount (Goal Zero = No Harm, No Leaks).
• Apply Causal Learning to understand technical and non-technical issues that constitute threats to SPDC’s performance.
• Create the right Learning environment using effective Learning materials and effective communication strategy in other to showcase what is being discovered to the Organization.
• Provide the necessary groundwork to enable generation of effective Solutions Ideas, working with other key stakeholders across the Organization with the approval of the Sponsor to effectively develop corrective actions and to mitigate threats as required.
• Actively work to support the development of Causal Learning Capability across the Business, including Coaching, Quality Assurance and formal Trainings / Workshops.
• Actively participate in the global Learn and Improve network, including the global Causal Learning Practitioners network to leverage learning continually being cascaded across the group.
• Provide the necessary information to support leaders at all levels in the organization to drive learning and behavioural change in their part of the system through coaching and focused engagements.

Key Challenges:

• Demonstrating technical agility in navigating complex, heterogeneous system environment
• Investigate and analyze multiple systems simultaneously, adapting to varying operational requirements and tight deadlines
• Timely delivery of Investigations to address active threats across the business
• Seeking out mitigations (interim measures) while Investigations are ongoing, to prevent further escalations or repeat failures
• Occasional short notice travels to understand emergent issues due to nature of any aging Asset
• Understanding and articulating best approach to address System Patterns leading to shift in Culture.

What We Need From You?
The ideal candidate is expected to have the following attributes:

• A Bachelor’s Degree in any Engineering or Science discipline
• Must have at least 5 yrs relevant experience in an Oil and Gas industry
• Awareness level proficiency in Causal Learning or similar Root cause analysis Methodology (e.g. 5 whys, Tripod Beta, Apollo Reality chart).
• Reflective system thinker who can process complexity, with the ability to draw quick insights from observations timely.
• Evidence of strong communication, collaboration & stakeholder management skills
• Flair for data mining and analysis, including complicated details from different Repositories (experience with integrated SAP will be a plus)
• Excellent presentation skills along with good PowerPoint knowledge and sufficient knowledge in technical writing (investigation reports, recording decisions)
• Willing and able to travel to site locations as required, even at short notice in response to organizational needs.

Application Closing Date
4th January, 2025.