KRAs by discipline
Keep goals specific to the discipline and the project phase. One company-wide KRA sheet treats a draughtsman and a commissioning engineer alike and helps neither of them. The examples below show the kind of measures each discipline can own and be judged on fairly.
- Design engineer: deliverables issued on schedule, client comments per drawing, rework after issue
- Procurement and expediting: orders placed against the procurement plan, vendor deliveries on time
- Site construction engineer: progress against the S-curve, rework, installation quality
- QA/QC inspector: inspections completed, non-conformance reports closed, test packs signed off
- HSE officer: permits audited, inspections and drills held, incidents reported and investigated
- Commissioning engineer: systems handed over against plan, punch points cleared
Safety as a goal, handled carefully
Every EPC firm wants safety in its KRAs, but a personal goal of zero reported incidents quietly rewards not reporting. Measure leading indicators for individuals instead: safety observations raised and closed, toolbox talks held, permits audited, near misses reported. Keep lagging measures, such as lost time injuries, at the site or project level rather than in anyone's weighted goals, so no engineer is ever better off hiding an injury.
Reviews at milestones, not only at year end
EPC projects move through distinct phases, and people often change sites in between. Run an annual cycle for the company and add ad hoc cycles at milestones such as design freeze, mechanical completion and handover, when the project manager's view is sharpest. For graduate engineer trainees, a quarterly cycle during the training year helps decide their first posting. Give each engineer goals whose weights total 100, and collect milestone evidence as it comes in, so the review rests on facts rather than memory.
Separating individual work from project delays
A site engineer whose erection slipped because the client's equipment arrived four months late has not performed badly. When reviewing that goal, record the cause of delay and move the target date rather than marking the engineer down. Discuss goals face to face at site, and use praise badges such as Problem solver or Team player for engineers who cracked problems during commissioning, where the work is intense and credit is easily lost.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Create an annual review cycle with your rating scale, plus ad hoc cycles for design freeze, mechanical completion and handover.
- Give each engineer three to five KRA or KPI goals and weight them to a total of 100 for their discipline and phase.
- Use competency goals for graduate engineer trainees and run a quarterly cycle for them during the training year.
- Hold a goal discussion at each milestone, and go through the cycle summary with project managers before ratings are settled.
- When an engineer transfers, keep the existing goals and add new ones for the next project instead of restarting the cycle.
Read more about performance in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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What KRAs should an EPC site engineer have?
Progress against the schedule or S-curve for their scope, rework and installation quality, safety observations closed, and timely site records. Keep three to five goals weighted by importance, and adjust target dates when a delay comes from the client or a vendor rather than from the engineer.
How do EPC companies include safety in performance reviews?
Use leading indicators for individuals: observations raised and closed, toolbox talks held, permits audited and near misses reported. Keep injury counts at the project level. A personal goal of zero incidents can discourage reporting, which is the opposite of what a safety culture needs.
How often should EPC engineers be reviewed?
An annual review plus extra reviews at major milestones works well: design freeze, mechanical completion and handover. People often transfer after these points, so reviewing then captures the project manager's view before the team disperses. Trainees benefit from quarterly reviews in their first year.
How do you review a design engineer in an EPC company?
On deliverables issued against the document schedule, client comments per drawing, rework after issue and coordination with other disciplines. Review at design freeze as well as at year end, because that is when the quality of the design work is clearest and the project team is still together.