Table of Contents
1. Purpose
1.1 This procedure establishes the administrative management function of the Engineering Department and includes the basic instructions and policies applicable to the nonproject activities of the department, with references to the relevant detailed procedures.
1.2 No changes to, or suspension of, this procedure shall be made without authorization of the Manager of Engineering (ME), and confirmed by new issues of the relevant page(s) of this procedure or by separate instruction memorandum.
1.3 Suggestions for improvement, however will be welcomed and should be submitted to the ME for consideration.
2. General
The successful execution of projects for our Client's and the continual growth and development of our personnel and systems are the primary objectives of the Engineering Department. The procedure outlined herein will provide a structured environment to meet those objectives.
3. Responsibility
3.1 The Engineering Department is responsible for ensuring that sufficient numbers of suitable, qualified employees are available to execute the engineering activities for Company's projects. The requirements will be based on project and overall company planning and reviewed at regular intervals.
3.2 The Group Manager of the engineering disciplines shall ensure that the employees are kept fully acquainted with the latest technological developments in their field, that they are supplied with updated standards of operation, and that they are equipped with the best tools.
4. Procedure
4.1 Recruitment of Permanent Staff (See Procedure, Ref. 6.1)
4.1.1 To ensure the proper evaluation of potential new hires and a prompt follow-up of interviews, the following rules shall be applied.
4.1.2 All applications received from the Human Resources Department shall be reviewed by the ME or his delegate and, if considered necessary, transmitted to the relevant supervisory staff for advice. The secretary of the ME shall register the applications in sequence of arrival and keep track of circulating applications.
Note: If applications are directly received by the functional section, these applications shall be transmitted to the Human Resources Department for the normal handling procedure.
4.1.3 The deputy ME for, project engineers, or Manager Engineering Administration and Procedures (MEA) in cooperation with the Group Manager, for other employees, will decide whether and when candidates will be interviewed and send all application documents to the secretary of the ME who shall register the actions to be taken (not suitable, to be interviewed, pending, interview date).
The secretary of the ME shall send all application documents to the Personnel Department, who will notify the applicants.
4.1.4 Interview Sequence
For Junior Project Engineer/Project Engineer
- Deputy ME
- ME and/or selected Project Manager
- Human Resources Department (HRD)
For Assistant Engineer
- Group Manager
- MEA or Deputy ME
- HRD
For Engineer/Squad Leader
- Group Manager/Section Leader or Senior Squad leader
- MEA
- ME or deputy ME
- HRD
For Design Staff up to Squad Leader
- Section Leader or Senior Squad Leader
- Group Manager
- MEA
- HRD
For Clerical
- Senior Project Clerk
- MEA
- HRD
The Human Resources Department will handle the following subjects:
- Checking the completed application form
- Obligations
- Answer questions on pension fund, sickness assurance and other social benefits
- Confirm references
- Obtain a general, nontechnical impression about the applicant
The interview team members shall agree on a split of interview subjects to avoid duplication.
The discipline representative will in principle handle the technical interview, but also obtain a general impression of the applicant.
4.1.5 Evaluation of Applicants
Every interview team member, including the Human Resources Depart ment interviewers, will report their views as concisely and clearly as possible on the blank sheet attached to the application form to the MEA. The evaluation should not be restricted to technical quality and experience only.An evaluation must also be based on personality characteristics, because these characteristics often define future growth possibilities. The list given in Attachment 2 could help to compose an impression of an applicant's nontechnical characteristics. After final discussion with the interview team members, the MEA or deputy ME shall prepare a recommendation whether to hire or not and salary for approval by the ME. A positive recommendation will normally only be made if all interviewers agree on the suitability of the applicant.
4.1.6 The MEA or deputy ME will inform the relevant parties concerned of the decision of the ME, acceptance or refusal of Company's proposal by the candidate, and the time the candidate may start to work in our office.
4.2 Recruitment of Service Contractors (S/C's) (See Procedure Ref. 6.2)
4.2.1 All requests for S/C's shall be directed to the MEA who is our sole liaison on these matters with the Human Resources Department.
4.2.2 The request shall be accompanied by the following information:
- The type of work
- The assessed assignment time
- The required experience level
- If available, names of S/C's with which Company has had good experience in the past.
4.2.3 The MEA shall obtain the necessary approvals to hire and request the Human Resources Department for action.
4.2.4 Professional resumes received for review will be distributed to the Group Manager/Section Leader to obtain his recommendation whether to hire or to reject.
4.2.5 Interviews of S/C's prior to their starting work are not required. However, during their first 2 weeks at Company the Group Manager shall carefully check their capabilities and initiate immediate termination of the contract if the performance is below our requirements. In extreme cases, if a S/C misrepresents his abilities and is dismissed within two days there is no charge to Company.
4.2.6 The MEA shall be advised well in advance of the termination of an assignment. The MEA shall inform the Human Resources Department, while the Group Manager shall advise the S/C.
The minimum notice period for S/C's is one (1) week unless specifi cally advised otherwise.
4.2.7 Communications for recruitment of service contractors should be made in principle, by telecon or hand carried to the Human Resources Department.
4.2.8 Monthly, the MEA will issue a list of in-house service contractors giving information on function, discipline, start and finish date and Company staff equivalent.
4.3 Performance Appraisals (See Procedure Ref. 6.3)
4.3.1 The Group Manager or his designee will prepare the evaluations for all permanent staff employees in his discipline in accordance with the procedure.
4.3.2 Ratings
Definition of ratings:
- A rating E (6.0) (below average) indicates that the performance on that particular point is unsatisfactory and unacceptable and requires definite improvement.
- A rating D (6.5) indicates that the performance on that particular point is below satisfactory. This rating is to be expected for an individual who has just started in a new (higher) function for which he/she has the qualifications, but lacks the experience.
- A rating C (7.0) indicates that the performance on that particular point is satisfactory and simply meets the pertinent job description.
- A rating B (7.5) indicates that the performance on that particular point is above satisfactory and usually exceeds the requirements.
- A rating A (8.0) (well above average) indicates that the performance on that particular point is excellent. This rating is normally only reached by employees who are "expert" in the technical aspects of their job, but lack the qualifications to meet the job requirements of the next higher function.
If the rating of all points is approaching B (7.5), promotion should be considered, provided that:
- It is expected that the individual can meet all job requirements of the next higher function. Special attention in this respect shall be paid to the administrative and supervising qualities required for the higher function.
- There is a vacancy.
If certain points cannot be appraised because the supervisor can not judge this item with enough certainty, or the employee did not perform that type of work, the supervisor shall mark such point as "not applicable" and state the reason.
4.3.3 Review of Appraisal with Employee
Prior to reviewing the appraisal with the employee, the evaluator shall review the completed appraisal and have it approved by the Group Manager and the MEA.
During the review with the employee it is important to discuss strong points and weak points in the employee's performance. The interview should conclude with specific agreements on areas of improvement for the employee to implement in order to improve his performance on his weak points.
Note: When the appraisal is specifically made to explore potential promotion it shall not be discussed with the employee until the assignment to an acting position is made.
4.3.4 Appraising Agency Personnel
The secretary of the ME shall maintain a file on the performance of agency personnel working for Company for future reference. The Group Manager shall provide the secretary with the necessary information, preferably using the standard appraisal form upon completion of each assignment.
4.4 Promotions
4.4.1 It is a firm policy that promotions are always preceded by an "acting" period during which the performance of the employee can be tested in the higher function under actual conditions. This means that the "acting" period cannot start until there is a job available on which the employee can be assigned in the higher function. Work on proposals normally cannot be considered for these "acting" periods.
4.4.2 The "acting" periods for the various functions in engineering are normally:
|
For acting Draftsman/Designer |
: |
3 months |
|
For acting Designer or Engineer |
: |
6 months |
|
For acting Senior Designer |
: |
9 months |
|
For acting Squad Leader or Senior Engineer |
: |
9 - 12 months |
|
For all higher functions |
: |
12 months |
4.4.3 Recommendations for "acting" functions, supported by an evaluation, must be submitted by the Group Manager at least one month before the start of the proposed "acting" period.
This appraisal shall not be discussed with the employee unless the Manager of Engineering has approved the employee for the "acting" function.
4.4.4 Approximately half-way through the "acting" period the employee shall be evaluated by his supervisor. This evaluation serves to judge if the promotion indeed can be made.
Note: It is of prime importance that, if there are during the acting period signs that the employee probably will fail to conclude his acting period successfully, this be brought to the attention of the Manager of Engineering, who then will decide on the action to be taken
4.4.5 Promotions may only be effected on the following dates: January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1. Promotions require the authorization of the Director of Operations.
4.5 Group References (See Procedures Ref. 6.4 and 6.5)
4.5.1 The Group Manager of each group shall maintain files of all handbooks, codes and standards available in the group, with up-to-date index(es) which shall be readily accessible to all personnel.
4.6 General Administration
4.6.1 Coding System
The collection and administration of records in the administration system is based on the concepts of cost type, cost source and cost bearer.
The cost source and cost bearer codes are used to sort data to produce reports for departmental and project control respectively.
The cost type code is used to sort and summarize within the cost source or cost bearer codes.
The cost type is used to indicate the type of costs (e.g. hours) which have been incurred in a certain period. The cost type is reflected in the project cost code (PCC).
The cost source defines the affiliate office and the department/ group/cost center where the costs have been incurred.
The cost center coding is a 3-digit numerical code structured to reflect our administrative organization.
The cost bearer defines the "product" or product groups to which the costs are allocated. The cost bearer is reflected in the job, proposal or overhead project number.
This is a 6- or 8-digit code of the following structure:
|
Job Number |
Block/Unit |
|
|
e.g. |
a a n n n n |
n n |
|
B N - 6 9 6 0 |
1 0 |
|
|
N - 9 0 0 0 |
1 1 |
In addition, provisions have been made to use a 6-digit "document number" as a cost bearer code. Its use is currently limited to the identification of drawing numbers as defined in procedure ref. 6.6.
4.6.2 Further Instructions on Project Cost Code (PCC) and Cost Center (CC)
In this system the employee is "coupled" to their base cost center. This means that when they are assigned to another department they may only fill in the appropriate PCC code.
Each employee has a base CC code.
This base CC code will only change in the case of transfers to other departments/groups covered with a Personnel Actions Notice (PAN) (ref. 6.7).
The use of the base PCC code shall be limited to overhead charges for which no job, proposal or overhead project number has been assigned and for which the base department has the responsibility.
This concerns overhead charges to BN-0001 thru BN-0150 (which include training, standards, miscellaneous, doctor's visit, illness, or, vacation etc)
.If work is executed on a project (e.g. BN-3220), proposal (e.g. N-1028) or overhead project number (e.g. N-8001) then the project cost center code pertaining to the department/group responsible for that type of work shall be used.
Note:This responsible department/group advise inform the employee on the exact PCC to be used
Examples:
a. A Piping Designer is assigned for 3 months to the Procurement
Department for vendor print control work.
For their job work, they will use as PCC: UP-610.
For their vacation etc., they will use as PCC: UD-100.
b. A Piping Designer is assigned for 3 months to the control systems group.
For their job work they will use as PCC: UD-600.
Assume that this individual has to be trained for this different type of work then, since the control systems group is responsible for this training, for the training they will use as PCC: UD-600 (job number BN-0010).
For vacation the PCC is UD-100.
c. A Piping Designer is assigned for 3 months to the pipe support and stress group.
For their job work, they will use as PCC: UD-200.
Assume that because of a short interruption of information this individual becomes "idle" for a couple of hours then, since the piping support and stress group is responsible for the adequate flow of information, this idle time (BN-0060) will be booked against PCC: UD-200.
4.7 Overhead Labor and Material Costs
4.7.1 At the beginning of June, the Group Manager of each group shall draft a plan for overhead activities in the coming year.
This plan shall cover the following areas:
Training
Overall in-house training programs, individual training by means of seminars, courses, exhibitions, etc. Courses to be followed by individuals.
Standards
Which standard specifications, guides, standards or procedures require to be developed or updated.
Specific Office Supplies
Requirements for specific material e.g. plotter material, tapes etc.Proposed handbooks and standards to be purchased. Proposed new journals to which we should subscribe.
Equipment
Proposals to acquire design tools (in the widest sense of the word, e.g. computer programs, outside bureau services, etc.).
Note: All CAE; CAD - hardware and software shall be submitted to the Manager CAE; CAD for consolidation.
This plan, together with a budget request, shall be submitted to the MEA. For the budget request shall follow the format Attachment 1 to this procedure.
4.7.2 The MEA shall prepare the plan for the overhead budget for the coming year based on the above information and expenditures of the previous year.
After approval by the ME it will be sent to the management for approval.
4.8 Vacation Administration (See Procedure Ref. 5.8)
4.8.1 General
It is the firm policy of the company that all employees shall take their entitled vacation each year. Vacation carry-over to the next calendar year shall be limited to exceptional cases with prior written approval.
The maximum duration of one vacation period is 16 successive working days. For longer vacation periods the approval of the ME must be obtained at least 3 months before the vacation.
Usually the ME will approve such longer vacation periods only if it concerns excessively long travelling time and travelling costs.
4.8.2 Computerized Request for Vacation
Every employee will get a vacation form (Attachment 7, sheet 1) giving the status of his entitled vacation days at the beginning of each year.
Actions
The employee shall fill in the desired vacation (periods) and sent it to the Staff Administrator Engineering (SAE).
The SAE will make vacation barcharts per discipline for review by the Group Manager.
Copies of vacation barcharts shall be sent to the ME for approval.
The vacation braggart will be kept up to date by the Group Manager, who will inform all changes to the SAE.
4.9 Time Out Paid (BN-0090) for Employees Studying at Night Schools or Following Approved Evening Courses
In order to prepare themselves for intermediate and final examina tions the following time-out paid may be given.
- Maximum 3 days per year to prepare for final examination for studies at MTS, HTS or HTI schools.
- Maximum 1½ days per year to prepare for intermediate examinations ("overgangs-examens") for studies at MTS, HTS or HTI schools.
- Time out paid will be given for actual examination during regular working time.
- Laboratory tests to be performed during work day - times at school shall be compensated by flexitime to a maximum of 3 days/year.
All requests for this time-out paid are to be approved by the Group Manager and authorized by the MEA.
For every other studying employee, the amount of time-out paid will be decided by the ME separately from case to case.
Any extra required time shall be taken as normal vacation days.
4.10 Manpower Forecast (MPF)
4.10.1 The manpower forecast primarily serves to give the functional sections of the engineering department and the Project Managers monthly updated information on manpower requirements/shortages/surpluses based on the best information available at that time, including trends with respect to the actual achieved production efficiency. In order to enable the department to adequately fulfill the manpower requirements of all projects it is vital that the assessed manpower planning is as realistic as possible.
4.10.2 The MEA will determine which projects are administered separately. Proposals are normally not planned on the MPF. If required it will only be done when instructed by the MEA.
4.10.3 The staff administration (SAE) will send the MPF computer input forms (Attachment 5) to the Group Managers one week before cut off date of the reporting period (either 4 or 5 weeks).
4.10.4 The Group Manager shall in discussion with the lead engineers prepare the manning schedule indicating the assignments of his employees to the different projects. These manpower forecasts must be consistent with the project manpower plans.
4.10.5 The MPF computer input form shall be returned to the SAE on the first Tuesday after the cut-off date and show the required manpower per project per month and the required manhours to complete.
4.10.6 The SAE shall make the manpower forecast and job man-hour reports (Attachment 5) which will be distributed as per Attachment 4.
4.11 Overtime(Reference Green Book Chapter 9)
It is Company's policy to avoid overtime whenever possible.
If overtime is required, an overtime permit (Attachment 6) shall be filled out and submitted to the MEA or his designee in advance.The following approvals shall be obtained:
- The Group Manager or Section Leader as applicable
- The Project Manager
- The Manager of Engineering or his delegate.
Overtime can only be started after the overtime permit has been authorized i.e. all 3 approvals specified above are given.
Overtime on more than 3 successive days should be avoided.
The secretary of the ME shall file the originals and distribute the overtime permits to the following:
- Lead Engineer or Lead Designer as applicable
- Group Manager or Section Leader as applicable
- Project Manager
- Engineering Administration file.
4.12 Approvals
4.12.1 Expense Reports
Expense reports shall be reviewed and approved by the Group Manager or conformance with relevant procedures and submitted to the MEA for approval.
After approval by the MEA, they shall be submitted to the Project Manager.
4.12.2 Assignment Conditions
Prior to issuing assignment letters to employees, the Human Resources department shall review the assignment conditions and letters with the MEA.
4.12.3 Personnel Purchases
Prior to purchasing any personnel materials or supplies, to be charged to the company the requisitions shall be approved by the MEA.
4.12.4 Internal Relocations
The MEA shall approve all internal moves, and furniture moves and phone requests and coordinate with office services.
4.13 Familiarization of Staff with Manuals
It is the responsibility of the Group Manager that all staff within their scope of responsibility is at all times aware of all in formation in the Company departmental and general manuals which could affect their work. A handout is provided from the Human Resources Department to each employee explaining the manual system. The Group Manager shall review the applicable procedures with each new employ ee either permanent of subcontract.
4.14 Authorized Signatures (nonproject) (See Reference 5.9)
For nonproject documents the authorized signatures for engineering are as per the latest revision of Attachment 3 to this procedure.
5. Flowchart
Not applicable.
6. References
|
Document Number |
Title |
Level |
|
|
6.1 |
Later | Procedure for the Recruitment of Permanent Staff | |
|
6.2 |
Procedure for the In-house Utilization of Subcontract or Temporary Staff Agencies |
2 |
|
|
6.3 |
Procedure for Personnel Performance Evaluation | 2 | |
|
6.4 |
Procedure for Establishing/Coding and Control of "Loans" of Department and Group References |
2 |
|
|
6.5 |
Procedure for Maintaining Department Group References |
2 |
|
|
6.6 |
CM-MA-101 |
Procedure for Numbering Documents |
2 |
|
6.7 |
Personnel Action Notice |
2 |
|
|
6.8 |
Later |
ative Procedure for Vacation Administration |
2 |
|
6.9 |
CM-MA-005 |
Procedure for Signing Authority for Non- Project Procurement |
2 |
7. Attachments
- Budget Request Format - document available in pdf
- Evaluation Points for Personality Characteristics - document available in pdf
- Authorized Signatures - not available - not available
- Distribution Schedule Manpower Forecast - document available in pdf
- Examples Manpower Forecast and Manhour Reports - not available
- Overtime Permit Form - document available in pdf
- Vacation Request Form and Proposed Vacation Planning - not available - document available in pdf