(65a) Beyond Technical Competency – the Soft Skills Needed By a PHA Leader

Selection of PHA Leaders can be based on a wide variety of criteria. PHA Leadership may be a part of a job position (e.g., Safety and Health Leader, Process Engineer). It may be based on technical and/or process knowledge. Sometimes, they are simply nominated because someone has to do it. In most cases, the leader-to-be is provided with formal training, either by the employer or an outside provider. This training teaches the various PHA techniques, satisfying OSHA’s requirement that one member of the team must be knowledgeable in the specific process hazard analysis methodology being used. The training, typically, offers at least some information on effectively leading a team.

Being technically competent and experienced in the PHA methodology is, at best, only half of what it takes to be a good PHA leader. The study quality can be significantly degraded due to poor team management. The leader is responsible for organizing and guiding the team’s discussions. The team must be kept focused, proceeding step by step through the PHA. Team members that stray outside the topic under discussion or try to engineer new safeguards can distract from the purpose at hand. Often, Project Managers are tempted to make design changes, while other team members sit idly by. Outspoken team members who dominate the discussions must be tactfully controlled in order to allow input from others. Conversely, the viewpoint of a team member who sits quietly at the table must be included in the conversation, drawing out the unique knowledge and perspective he or she may have. Without these soft skills, PHA quality can suffer significantly, regardless of the leader’s knowledge and experience in PHAs.

This paper will discuss the importance of considering soft skills when selecting PHA leaders. The personality traits, leadership, and people skills of a good PHA leader will be reviewed, along with the potential impacts on the study if they are missing.