Provision of Competent

Technical Advice

Guidelines

Issue 01
June 2021
 Acknowledgments
In preparing and publishing this document, OGUK gratefully acknowledges the contribution of members
of the work group, namely:
• Andrew Sekulin, Serica Energy (Chair)
• Calum Kermack, DNV
• Conor Crowley, Atkins Ltd
• Duncan Talbert, MMI Thornton Tomasetti
• Jamie Harcus, Harbour Energy
• Nikos Evangelopoulos, Bluewater Energy Services
• Phil Vercueil, Petrofac

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this
publication, neither OGUK, nor any of its members will assume liability for any use made of this
publication or the model agreement to which it relates.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without prior written permission of the publishers.

Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s
Stationery Office.

Copyright © 2021 The UK Oil and Gas Industry Association Limited trading as OGUK

ISBN: 978-1-913078-36-2
PUBLISHED BY OGUK

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Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 2

Provision of Competent Technical
Advice
June 2021

Contents

1 Introduction 5
1.1 Purpose statement 5
1.2 Competent Technical Advice – Terminology and Role Titles 5
1.3 Regulations and good practice 5
2 Types of technical input 7
2.1 Setting standards 7
2.2 Decision making 8
2.3 Monitoring, audit and assurance 11
2.4 Support the team 12
3 Examples of life cycle requirements 13
3.1 Design, projects and management of change 13
3.2 Operations and decommissioning 14
4 Organisational models 16
4.1 Types of organisational model 17
5 Desired attributes of those providing competent technical advice 19

Appendices 20
A Technical authority disciplines 20
B Examples of organisational model types which include the TA role 21

Table of Figures
Figure 1: OGUK Guidelines on Risk Related Decision Making – Issue 2 ..... 9
Figure 2: Competent Technical Input Required........................................ 10
Figure 3: Relationship between risk & complexity and experience ......... 16

Page 3
 List of Abbreviations
Abbreviations Definitions
ACOP Approved Code of Practice
ALARP As Low as Reasonably Practicable
EQ Engineering Query
HAZID Hazard Identification (study)
HAZOP Hazard and Operability (study)
IQ Integrity Query
MAH Major Accident Hazard
MHSWR Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
MOC Management of Change
ORA Operational Risk Assessment
P&ID Piping and Instrumentation Diagram
PS Performance Standard
RCA Root Cause Analysis
SECE Safety and Environmentally Critical Elements
SME Subject Matter Expert
TA Technical Authority
TQ Technical Query

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 4

 1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose
This document provides guidance to duty holders of production installations on the provision of
competent technical advice on management of SECE integrity throughout the asset lifecycle.

While this document is focussed on the requirements of production duty holders, it may be applied
more widely within the offshore or other industries.

1.2 Competent Technical Advice – Terminology and Role Titles

There is a regulatory requirement on duty holders to provide “competent technical advice” throughout
the lifecycle of an asset. Each duty holder must determine the most appropriate way to meet this
requirement, there is no “one size fits all” model.

A range of role titles are frequently used for people involved in providing competent technical advice
with one of the most common being “Technical Authority”. Whilst widely used in the industry, both in
guidance documents and individual organisations, there is no specific requirement to use this
terminology and there is no consistent definition of this term within industry. Where it is used, some
organisations may define an individual as a technical authority for a specific discipline or topic area,
while other organisations may assign the job title technical authority within each discipline to many
people, potentially differentiated by levels of seniority.

While technical authority is one of the most commonly used terms, a wide range of other titles may be
used in relation to people providing competent technical advice, such as discipline engineer, operations
support engineer, lead engineer, principal engineer or subject matter expert.

Irrespective of the terminology and job titles used, the underlying requirement is to provide competent
technical advice throughout the lifecycle of an asset.

1.3 Regulations and good practice

UK regulations do not require that duty holders appoint Technical Authorities “TA”, however the HSE
guidance provides explicit expectations that duty holders will apply specialist technical knowledge to
support decisions on the selection and management of SECE.

The appointment of competent persons is part of the duty holder’s demonstration of compliance with
Regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) which
begins:

“(1) Every employer shall […] appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in undertaking the
measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or
under the relevant statutory provisions”.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 5

 The regulation then clarifies the responsibilities on employers to ensure that an adequate number of
people are appointed, that those appointed are given sufficient time and resources to fulfil the function
and that they are competent.

MHSWR applies to all employers, not only duty holders for offshore installations. The HSE has, however,
published guidance for duty holders for offshore installations on their expectations for compliance.

The HSE first referenced the term “technical authority” in the 2007 KP3 Asset Integrity Programme
which is paraphrased below.

The strategic role of the TA, in this context, is to provide expertise and judgement on key operational
engineering issues. The TA is responsible for evaluating and making engineering and other technical
judgements on the safety and production implications arising from offshore operational issues.

The HSE offshore inspection guide on “SECE Management and Verification (publication dated
01.03.2020)” provides further clarification on their expectations on how duty holders will provide
“competent technical advice” particularly with regards to the management of MAH, the identification
of SECE and establishing their performance standards.
For SECE management to be effective, the duty holder should be able to demonstrate:
• That competent technical advice on the integrity of SECE is available to the duty holder.
• That those responsible for providing advice on SECE to duty holder management are competent
to do so.
• How a duty holder established that those making decisions on SECE understand the work
involved, the principles of risk assessment and prevention, the current legislation and health
and safety standards.
• That any person providing competent technical advice on SECE is familiar with the installation
and the plant on it.
• That personnel involved in providing competent technical advice have suitable levels of
engagement with the people involved in day-to-day management and operations to maintain
awareness of operations status and any problems.

A useful document to refer to is the OGUK Guidance on the Conduct and Management of Operational
Risk Assessment for UKCS Offshore Oil and Gas Operations.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 6

 2 Types of technical input
The ways in which technical advice may be provided can be broadly defined into four main categories:
• Discipline stewardship and setting standards.
• Decision making.
• Audit and assurance.
• Support to the team (added value).

These four identified input criteria are supported by a broad review of duty holders’ practices
undertaken in the course of developing this guidance, refer to the supporting document “Survey of
North Sea Duty Holders 2020”. Key elements of which are summarised in the following sections.

2.1 Setting standards

Each discipline must provide clear ownership of the relevant technical standards. This may include:
• Knowledge and understanding of the industry codes and standards used in the design and
construction of the duty holder’s installations.
• Knowledge of the regulations and associated ACOP, guidance and recognised good practice.
• Monitoring developments in relevant new and existing industry codes and standards, for
example, to reflect new technologies and changes in regulatory guidance.
• Issuing company engineering requirements in the form of standards or philosophy documents
which describe how the duty holder applies the selected industry standards to maintain
installation safety, integrity and operational performance.
– The company standards should address the lifecycle of the equipment to which they apply
including design, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance and assurance,
management of ageing and obsolescence.
– The company standards should address how the duty holder responds to changes in
industry standards.
• Communicating company standards and philosophies to relevant people in the company and
relevant third parties / contractors.
• Setting, maintaining and assuring SECE performance standards.
• Monitoring compliance through periodic inspection of operations, projects and contractors.
• Setting requirements for the competence of people responsible for operations and
maintenance of equipment.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 7

 2.2 Decision making
Competent technical input to a range of decisions is required throughout the installation lifecycle. The
nature of technical input depends on the type of decision being made. The provision of competent
technical advice may contribute to decision making in one of these ways:
• As sole or primary decision maker.
• As part of a wider team agreeing a way forward.
• Supporting another decision maker, including management decisions.
Many of these decisions relate to engineering or technical risks. The OGUK document “Guidelines on
Risk Related Decision Making” provides an accepted framework for assessing the type of decision being
made. The technical input to decision making can be described with reference to this framework.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 8

 Figure 1: OGUK Guidelines on Risk Related Decision Making – Issue 2

Source: OGUK

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 9

 Figure 2: Competent Technical Input Required

Source: OGUK

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 10

 2.3 Monitoring, audit and assurance
During the operational phase, those providing competent technical advice are likely to have
responsibilities for monitoring SECE performance and audit as part of the company’s assurance program.

The responsibilities for ongoing monitoring and assurance of performance of specific SECE may include:
• Suitability of planned testing / maintenance / inspection programs.
• Technical review of findings of inspections and maintenance activities.
• Trending of findings and advising future strategic improvements.
• Developing suitable metrics.
• Monitoring and raising awareness of deviations, degradation, or threats to SECE performance.

These responsibilities are often met through formal SECE performance review processes, periodic
barrier review meetings and other performance reporting processes.

There may also be the requirement to support a formal assurance program, which may include:
• Leading or supporting the assurance programme, which may include the development of terms
of reference, audit implementation, including assurance that risk control barriers are sufficiently
robust, audit and assurance delivery and reporting.
• Providing feedback to the business on any significant or general issues arising out of assurance
activities.
• Providing support and input to the development of assurance activities, including the
identification of common themes.

There may also be involvement in technical audits, which look at the processes and procedures which
form part of the arrangements for SECE management, such as inspection, maintenance and testing
procedures. The purpose of such audits is to confirm these arrangements are suitable, are being
correctly applied, and give appropriate outcomes.

Involvement in assurance activities of other operational processes and procedures, such as control of
work, isolations, overrides and inhibits, lifting, etc. may be required.

Individuals may also be involved in the assessment and audit of third parties, including suppliers, service
providers and consultants. This may include:
• Assessment of technical ability of a third party.
• Review of competence of personnel provided by a third party.
• Evaluation of technical proposals and bids.

There may also be involvement in specific assessments or workflows, such as:

• Input to project stage gate reviews – assurance.
• Input to the MOC process – monitoring.
• Review of TQ/EQ – dispensation – assurance.
• Input to anomaly management IQ – assurance.
The OGUK Assurance Toolkit is a useful resource when planning or reviewing assurance activities.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 11

 2.4 Support the team
Additional to the core role of providing technical input, those providing competent technical advice can
add further value by supporting the wider team. This may include:
• Organisational leadership roles – acting as a team leader, discipline head or manager.
• A formal role in competence management and development of others.
• Informal mentoring and coaching.
• Providing technical advice and explanation on their technical discipline to members of the team
who work in different disciplines.
• Identifying requirements for external support.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 12

 3 Examples of life cycle requirements
This section provides some examples of the type of technical input typically required at key stages in
the life cycle of an operating installation.

3.1 Design, projects and management of change

Audit and
Setting Standards Decision Making Support the Team
Assurance
Identify and define Apply appropriate
applicable codes standards,
and standards. recognising latest
guidance / industry
Maintain internal
expectations.
codes and Develop, or support
Compliance specifications so Approve any Provide adequate the development of,
with codes they are kept up to deviations from audit / assurance of technical training
and date with legislative codes and projects / MOC. and competency
standards requirements. standards. training matrices.
Provide advice on Endorse technical
technical integrity of queries relating to
operational and the application of
future assets. codes and standards

Review and approve

Highlight risk design decisions / Review project
Support MAH
reduction hierarchy option selection optioneering
Design option awareness and
and assure robust confirming all records and assure
decisions provide discipline
optioneering relevant statutory robustness of
leadership.
completed. provisions can be decision making.
met.

Define appropriate
Review controlled Support MAH
Approving quality / content Review and approve
documents as awareness and
controlled requirements for controlled
deemed provide discipline
documents controlled documents.
appropriate. leadership.
documents.

Identify
requirements for
adequate resource /
Provide adequate
Implement competence to
technical Ensure adequate
appropriate level of successfully
Assurance representation at audit / assurance of
assurance required implement
hazard identification projects / MOC.
on projects / MOC. assurance activities,
studies.
including the need
for external support
as required.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 13

 3.2 Operations and decommissioning

Setting Standards Decision Making Audit and Assurance Support the Team
SECE Performance Set and maintain Support MAH
performance Complete SECE
awareness and
standards for SECE. performance
Define performance provide discipline
standard reviews.
Propose alterations standard pass/fail leadership.
to performance metrics. Periodic review of
Identify the need
standards. SECE barrier health /
for external support
PS relevance.
Set metrics. as required.

Maintenance Provide input to

Management changes to
maintenance Review the
Approve Feed back findings
intervals of SECE. assurance activities /
maintenance and assure
documents
strategies and Provide technical consistency across
associated with
assure optimisation. advice on deferment assets.
SECE.
of safety critical
maintenance.

Inspection / Asset Provide input to

Integrity changes in inspection
Management intervals for relevant Review quality and
Approve the SECEs. adherence to Support MAH
inspection strategy
Provide technical company inspection awareness and
and risk-based
strategies and their provide discipline
inspection scheme. advice on deferment
of safety critical alignment with good leadership.
inspections and industry practice.
repair orders.

ORAs / Deferrals Define Review and provide

requirements for advice on deviations Review quality and Support MAH
personnel involved from company PS. adherence to awareness and
and information company standards provide discipline
needed to support Assure MAH risks are / industry guidance. leadership.
ORA and deferrals. reduced to ALARP.

MOCs See 3.1. Design, projects and management of change

Breakdowns / Support identification

failures Consider need for of impairments to Seek to share
RCA and review SECE caused by See “investigations” lessons and thus
versus industry / breakdowns and below. minimise such
company learnings. requirements for occurrences.
ORA.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 14

 Setting Standards Decision Making Audit and Assurance Support the Team
Support failure
investigations.
Support decisions-
making around repair
and mitigation
options.

Investigations Review investigation

output to relevant
Investigation and
Agree team members ensure root causes Accountable for
remediation of
/ support are understood and identifying need for
issues raised / RCA
investigations as company standards external support
at appropriate
required. and procedures are when required.
instances.
updated to prevent
re-occurrence.

Approving Owner of in-house

controlled technical Supports MAH
documents documents. Approves key Reviews critical awareness and
documents. documentation provide discipline
Ensure all
leadership.
engineering / Define / agree critical onshore and
operational support documentation for offshore and assure Feed back findings
activities complies safe operation of validity / and assure
with good practice, plant. consistency. consistency across
procedures and assets.
specifications.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 15

 4 Organisational models
This document identifies that there is a wide range of types of technical input and circumstances under
which such technical input is likely to be required.

Given the varying scale of operations within the UKCS sector, there is no “one size fits all” model which
can be applied to meet these requirements.

A key concern for many duty holders is that people providing technical advice can do so without being
unduly pressurised by production or operational factors. This may lead to a need to maintain
independence of those providing technical advice from operations. This should be balanced with the
requirement to have a suitable degree of involvement in day-to-day operations and familiarity with the
operation, the installation and management arrangements, to allow them to provide relevant, timely
input.

The relative importance of “independence” versus “involvement” varies dependent on the type of input
required and the risk or complexity of the situation or decision being made. The decisions requiring
higher independence are frequently also those which may require more experienced or specialist
technical advice. This relationship is shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3: Relationship between risk & complexity of a decision and the independence,
involvement & experience of the people providing competent advice

Source: OGUK

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 16

 It is considered good engineering practice that individuals cannot check their own work. The
requirement for formal independent checking becomes more important for safety critical, higher risk
or higher complexity work. Examples of activities which require such checking may include:

• Updates to documents such as P&ID, single line diagrams, cause and effect drawings.
• Safety critical calculations, such as relief valve sizing, hazardous area zoning or riser ESDV leak
rate calculations.

These requirements may be met within an organisation by providing technical support through a multi-
level or multi-department arrangement, with different people taking on different responsibilities within
a framework for providing technical input at the various points where it is required.

Some organisations provide direct or “dotted line” reporting lines for a technical team which are
independent from the operational management of the asset.

Irrespective of the organisational models, duty holder’s management systems should clearly describe
the organisational structure and the roles, responsibilities and decision-making authority of each part
of the organisation. Key requirements of the management system are likely to include:

• Clear processes for ensuring suitable technical input is included in the key activities described
in section 3.
• Clear definitions of the decision-making authority each role has.
• Processes to escalate decisions based on clear criteria, these may include, for example,
technical complexity or risk.
• Arrangements to align levels of responsibility with seniority.
• Arrangements to provide a suitable balance between independence from and involvement with
the day-to-day operations.
• Arrangements to provide independent assurance, review or checking of technical input as
appropriate.

4.1 Types of organisational model

Different organisational models may be described as asset-focussed, or function-focussed.
• For an asset-focussed model a team including all relevant disciplines is provided for each asset,
or group of assets, with all people in that team reporting to an asset or operational manager.
• For a function-focussed model a much smaller dedicated asset operations team is supported by
technical or functional organisations which contains the technical specialists, who are often
providing technical support to a wide range of assets.

Each of these models has strengths and weaknesses. The asset-focussed model will provide strong
involvement, but with potential for independence to be challenged. Conversely the function focussed
model will provide strong technical independence but may be less involved with day-to-day operations.
In many cases the organisation is likely to adopt characteristics of each of these models to try to strike
a sensible balance between involvement and independence. There is no correct answer, and many
different models have been employed within the industry, for example:

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 17

 • A team of asset-focussed engineers supporting the most commonly required disciplines, with a
functional organisation providing more specialist technical support.
• A matrix organisation where technical personnel are “seconded” from the functional
organisation to support a specific asset but retain a separate reporting line into the function.
• A team of asset focussed engineers from all main disciplines covering all day-to-day operations,
with a technical assurance organisation which provides periodic review of the asset’s technical
performance.

Specialist technical support may be provided from within the duty holder’s organisation or may be
sourced from specialist third party organisations. Larger duty holder organisations may have technical
specialists at a corporate centre providing support to multiple assets in the UK or internationally. Given
the wide variance in potential concerns over the life of an operating oil and gas plant, it is rare that any
organisation will have a ‘full’ subject matter competency in-house or locally and all but the largest
companies are likely to need to source specialist support externally.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 18

 5 Desired attributes of those providing competent technical advice
Formal This may include educational qualifications, specific training, formal recognition such
qualifications as Chartered status and continuing professional development.

Relevant The individual should have discipline as well as sector-specific experience which is
experience relevant to the area for which they are asked to provide technical advice. For example,
someone whose experience is all in projects may not have relevant experience to
support operations.

Regulatory and There should be the ability to demonstrate a clear understanding of the regulatory
technical framework in which they are operating along with relevant technical codes, standards,
knowledge and good practice and maintain that knowledge up to date

Professional The individual should have the strength and self-belief to stick to a well-argued case, to
Integrity resist pressure to change views because the outcome may be inconvenient or may not
be what the business desires, with the open-ness to listen to balanced arguments and
respect the professional integrity of others.

Wider MAH While individuals have responsibilities within specific technical areas, it is important
awareness that they have a clear understanding of how these fit into the wider management of
MAH. This is likely to require them to have a high-level understanding of other
disciplines and how they all work together in the management of MAH.

Communications The primary role is to provide competent technical advice. It is important that they can
communicate technical aspects to a wide range of people, including other disciplines,
management, and site and operational personnel, including Safety Representatives.

Collaboration There will be a frequent requirement to provide support on matters which do not fall
completely in their area of technical expertise. There is the requirement to work as
part of the wider team. It is important that individuals recognise the boundaries of
their expertise and will seek out the support and guidance of others.

Supporting risk Where there is a requirement to provide advice on a more complex or uncertain
assessment and situation, this is likely to be addressed through risk assessment processes. Where there
dealing with is no clear simple solution, applicable code or standard, there will be a requirement to
uncertainty help the team understand the risks and the effects of the uncertainties.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 19

 Appendices

A Technical authority disciplines

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 20

 B Examples of organisational models which include the TA role
The organisational model selected by each duty holder to provide competent technical advice depends
on the number and variety of installations operated by the duty holder, size and scale of the wider
company as well as the subjective preference of the duty holder. Nevertheless, several characteristics
are prevalent, and some of these are reflected in the examples in this appendix. Section 4.1 of this
guidance discusses some of the trade-offs that each duty holder will consider in developing their own
model.

As a minimum, the duty holder must consider how it is going to meet the regulatory requirements of
MHSWR regulation 7, and the guidance in the HSE offshore inspection guide on “SECE Management and
Verification (publication dated 01.03.2020)” which are mentioned in Section 1.3.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 21

 B.1 Example of internal TA model (1)
This organisation chart shows an organisation where the technical authority positions all report to a
technical assurance manager who is functionally independent of the asset management and production
line structure. There is a separate function reporting to the asset managers, which provides day to day
engineering support.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 22

 B.2 Example of internal TA model (2)
This model shows tiered TA provision with roles and responsibilities split based on risk. TA2 level support
is provided by asset discipline engineers who report to the asset management. The more senior TA1
technical authorities are independent of the asset management to ensure the appropriate level of
independence from the line for medium and high-risk decisions. This model may be appropriate for duty
holders with several assets and where the volume of work is too great for TA1 technical authorities on
their own.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 23

 B.3 Example of internal TA model (3)
This operator splits the TA provision between functions and assurance. The TA functions with the heaviest demand report through the independent
technical assurance function, and technical authorities in other disciplines have a dual role which includes discipline support through the maintenance of
discipline functions or as part of the project organisation.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 24

 B.4 Example of external technical support (1)
Suitable technical support can be provided by an organisation which includes external technical
specialists providing support to the duty holder. In this model the duty holder has competent engineers
managing the day-to-day support to the operation. Independent technical authorities provide expert
technical advice and assurance to the operating organisation.

This model may be particularly appropriate for a smaller duty holder, which does not have the size or
scale to support a full range of technical authorities. Similar arrangements can be adopted across all
disciplines, or for a selection of specialist disciplines.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 25

 B.5 Example of external technical support (2)
This model shows a hybrid approach which includes outsourced TA1 provision combined with in-house
TA2 support.

Provision of Competent Technical Advice Page 26

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