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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Watch Supervisor

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

The Watch Supervisor is the frontline operational and safety leader responsible for supervising a multidisciplinary team during assigned shifts (watchkeeping), ensuring safe, compliant, and efficient plant or facility operations. This role maintains situational awareness across process units or site areas, leads emergency response and permit-to-work activities, coordinates handovers and shift reports, enforces HSE and quality standards, mentors operators and technicians, and escalates issues to operations management. Typical settings include oil & gas platforms, petrochemical plants, power stations, manufacturing facilities, and security operations centers.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Process Operator / Plant Operator
  • Control Room Operator / Central Control Room (CCR) Operator
  • Senior Technician or Maintenance Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Shift Manager / Operations Supervisor
  • Operations Superintendent / Duty Manager
  • Plant Manager / Site Operations Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • HSE Supervisor / HSE Advisor
  • Maintenance Supervisor / Reliability Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead and supervise all watchkeeping activities during assigned shifts, ensuring continuous, safe operation of process units, equipment, and systems; make timely operational decisions and escalate unresolved deviations to senior management.
  • Conduct thorough pre-shift briefings and structured handovers (shift-to-shift) using standardized logs and checklists to ensure continuity, identify outstanding actions, and communicate operational risks and priorities.
  • Maintain operational control of distributed control systems (DCS) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems during the watch; execute start-up, shut-down, and abnormal procedure sequences according to approved safe operating procedures.
  • Enforce permit-to-work procedures, authorize, supervise, and close permits for hot work, confined space entry, electrical isolation, and other high-risk activities in coordination with HSE personnel and Permit Issuers.
  • Serve as on-shift Incident Commander (initial response) for emergencies including fires, process upsets, spills, H2S release, gas detections, or security incidents; initiate emergency shutdowns and coordinate response teams until relieved.
  • Monitor and interpret process indicators, alarms, and trends; take corrective actions to restore normal operations and document interventions in electronic/physical logbooks with root cause observations.
  • Ensure compliance with all HSE policies, regulatory permits, internal audits and legal requirements; lead toolbox talks, pre-task risk assessments (JSA/JHA), workplace inspections and hazard identification rounds.
  • Supervise, coach, and develop operators and junior staff on procedural compliance, technical troubleshooting, and continuous improvement; schedule on-the-job training and competency assessments to maintain qualifications.
  • Coordinate with maintenance and reliability teams to prioritize and approve emergent work, ensuring safe access, correct lockout-tagout (LOTO) procedures, and appropriate resource allocation for repairs.
  • Approve and manage temporary operational changes such as bypasses, unit derates, or equipment clearances ensuring risk is mitigated and documented through change control processes.
  • Track and manage critical spares and consumables usage during the watch; advise logistics and stores on urgent requirements to minimize downtime.
  • Maintain accurate, auditable shift reports, performance logs, incident reports, and handover documentation in the organization’s EAM/CMMS or logbook systems.
  • Implement and monitor operational KPIs (availability, production rates, safety observations, permit compliance) for the watch and work with the operations leadership to meet daily targets.
  • Manage contractor interfaces during on-site work, ensuring compliance with site induction, supervision requirements, and contractor permit controls.
  • Participate in incident investigations and root-cause analyses, contribute factual watch-level data, and support the implementation and tracking of corrective actions.
  • Control access to critical areas during the watch, coordinating with security and ensuring only authorized personnel perform assigned tasks, particularly during hazardous or high-risk operations.
  • Maintain situational awareness of concurrent activities across unit boundaries, coordinating inter-unit operations (e.g., feed changes, off-spec handling) to prevent cascading impacts.
  • Execute safety-critical checks and rounds (e.g., firewater pumps, relief valves, isolation points) and immediately address deviations or escalate as necessary.
  • Manage shift scheduling, relief planning and short-term manpower adjustments to ensure full coverage and compliance with fatigue management and working-time policies.
  • Provide clear, timely communication to adjacent shifts, production planning, and maintenance planners regarding constraints, upcoming activities, and risk areas affecting next shifts.
  • Ensure instrumentation and safety device testing and calibration activities are executed during the watch per maintenance plans and coordinate bypass removal promptly after completion.
  • Apply process knowledge to optimize unit performance within safety constraints, recommending operational improvements to reduce emissions, waste and energy consumption.
  • Oversee waste handling, sampling, and quality control interfaces during the watch to ensure product specification compliance and regulatory discharge limits are met.
  • Maintain professional competence in site-specific systems (e.g., emergency shutdown systems, flare system management, fire and gas detection networks) and mentor others in their use.

Secondary Functions

  • Prepare and submit daily operational performance summaries to operations management, including near-miss reports and corrective action status.
  • Support audits (internal, external and regulatory) by providing on-shift documentation, describing operational controls, and implementing immediate corrective actions where required.
  • Participate in continuous improvement initiatives such as reliability improvement projects, condition-based monitoring pilots, and RMS/FMEA reviews.
  • Assist in updating standard operating procedures (SOPs), checklists and emergency response plans based on watch-level observations and incident learnings.
  • Facilitate competency gap assessments and coordinate with training teams to schedule required certifications (e.g., fire-fighting, first aid, H2S awareness).
  • Contribute to budgetary control by identifying cost-saving opportunities related to energy use, waste reduction, and optimized turnarounds.
  • Liaise with planning and production scheduling to deconflict maintenance windows with critical production priorities.
  • Support the development and deployment of digital tools for shift reporting, alarm management, and condition monitoring.
  • Provide mentoring and guidance for career development of operators and ensure succession planning for key watch roles.
  • Conduct and document safety observations and positive interventions to strengthen the site safety culture.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Deep operational knowledge of DCS (Distributed Control Systems) and SCADA platforms, including alarm management and basic trending analysis.
  • Strong competency in permit-to-work systems, lockout-tagout (LOTO), confined space entry procedures, and hot work controls.
  • Proven ability to operate and safely manage process start-up, shutdown, and emergency shutdown sequences following written procedures.
  • Practical troubleshooting skills across mechanical, electrical and process systems; ability to read P&IDs, line lists and instrumentation schematics.
  • Experience with computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS/EAM) such as SAP, Maximo, or Infor for work orders and spares tracking.
  • Proficiency in incident investigation techniques and root cause analysis methodologies (5 Whys, RCA, Fishbone).
  • Working knowledge of regulatory compliance frameworks relevant to the industry (e.g., OSHA, EPA, local permitting regimes) and industry standards (API, IEC, ISO).
  • Familiarity with fire and gas detection systems, emergency shutdown systems (ESD), and relief device operation and testing.
  • Practical competence in gas detection, breathing apparatus, first aid, and basic emergency response equipment use.
  • Ability to use Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) and digital shift reporting tools for clear reporting and KPI tracking.
  • Experience coordinating with contractors and third-party service providers; understanding of contractor management controls.

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and team management skills with ability to motivate and hold team accountable under pressure.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills for concise handovers, incident reports and stakeholder briefings.
  • High situational awareness, decisive decision-making and ability to prioritize multiple concurrent operational demands.
  • Calm under pressure with strong crisis-management capabilities and the confidence to take command during emergencies.
  • Coaching and mentoring aptitude with a focus on developing operator competence and improving team performance.
  • Strong attention to detail, observational skills and commitment to procedural compliance.
  • Collaborative mindset with aptitude for cross-functional coordination (maintenance, HSE, planning, engineering).
  • Problem-solving orientation and continuous improvement mentality; able to identify root causes and implement practical fixes.
  • Cultural sensitivity and inclusive leadership for diverse, multi-national shift teams (particularly offshore environments).
  • Time management and organizational skills to manage handovers, documentation, and concurrent tasks.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma / secondary school certificate plus relevant industry certifications (e.g., Operator certification, Watchkeeping competencies).

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's or Associate degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, Process), Industrial Technology, or equivalent technical discipline.
  • Additional qualifications in safety, emergency response, or site-specific training (e.g., NEBOSH, IOSH, Offshore Survival, GWO for wind, or equivalent).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering / Process Technology
  • Electrical Engineering / Instrumentation
  • Industrial or Manufacturing Technology
  • Safety, Environmental or Occupational Health

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–10 years of relevant operational experience, including at least 2 years in a front-line supervision or senior operator role.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of process plant or facility operations experience with demonstrated shift supervision/watchkeeping history.
  • Prior experience in the specific industry environment (offshore platform, petrochemical, power generation, refinery, or large manufacturing) and familiarity with site-specific safety-critical systems and regulatory requirements.
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