XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 833
behavior. It is understood as a force that explains
why people initiate, continue or terminate a certain
behavior at a particular time. It is a complex phenom-
enon and its precise definition is disputed. Intrinsic
motivation comes from internal factors like enjoy-
ment and curiosity. In contrast, extrinsic motivation
is driven by external factors like obtaining rewards
and avoiding punishment.
Competency development must include knowledge
transfer and skills development and reflection about moti-
vation (Table 3). A primary determinant of competency
development seems to be motivation. Engineers exhibit a
high variability of motivation in their behavior regarding
professional formation and development.
Ranade (2008) outlined competency expectations for
refinery process engineers. He started by asking, “What
does a plant process engineer do?” One of his conclusions
was that process engineers are problem solvers, and the
Knowledge and Skills for solving problems of increasing
complexity was a starting point for competency definition.
Closely related to the concept of competency are
the Bodies of Knowledge (BoK) that some Engineering
Disciplines have developed to guide professionals in under-
standing their discipline, the level of knowledge and skill
required for different roles (operations, EPCM/OEM,
academia) at different stages of their career (for example, in
progression from Novice to Expert) (AIChE, 2015).
The BoK “encompasses the range of skills, knowl-
edge, and abilities required of a chemical engineering
professional … abilities at various career stages and
roles. …useful for personal skills development, career
planning, … cross-demographic view when looking
for guidance. … KSA based on Bloom’s taxonomy …
From novice (recent grad), journeyman (mature com-
petency, expert (mastery) …” —(AIChE, 2015)
A BoK is not currently available for Mineral Process
Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy (MP/EM).
Texts such as the SME Mineral Processing &Extractive
Metallurgy Handbook, Editors: R.C. Dunne, S.K.
Kawatra, C.A. Courtney, 2019 provide a good taxonomy
of the knowledge but lack clarification of competency and
skill expectations by role (work focus or experience). Some
companies have developed BoKs for internal use (for exam-
ple, Seitz, 2014).
Process Engineers and Career Progression
Figure 5 is an illustration of a process engineer career path
as they develop increasing competency with know-how
(skill) to solve increasingly difficult problems and manage
Table 3. Elements of knowledge transfer and skills development
Explicit Tacit
Knowledge
transfer
Primarily: Learning with
documentation/materials
Learning by Observation, Person-to-Person,
Dialogue, Doing
Skills
development
Learning with documentation /
materials.
Primarily: Learning by Observation,
Person-to-Person, Dialogue, Doing
Figure 5. The journey from early career to master for process engineers
behavior. It is understood as a force that explains
why people initiate, continue or terminate a certain
behavior at a particular time. It is a complex phenom-
enon and its precise definition is disputed. Intrinsic
motivation comes from internal factors like enjoy-
ment and curiosity. In contrast, extrinsic motivation
is driven by external factors like obtaining rewards
and avoiding punishment.
Competency development must include knowledge
transfer and skills development and reflection about moti-
vation (Table 3). A primary determinant of competency
development seems to be motivation. Engineers exhibit a
high variability of motivation in their behavior regarding
professional formation and development.
Ranade (2008) outlined competency expectations for
refinery process engineers. He started by asking, “What
does a plant process engineer do?” One of his conclusions
was that process engineers are problem solvers, and the
Knowledge and Skills for solving problems of increasing
complexity was a starting point for competency definition.
Closely related to the concept of competency are
the Bodies of Knowledge (BoK) that some Engineering
Disciplines have developed to guide professionals in under-
standing their discipline, the level of knowledge and skill
required for different roles (operations, EPCM/OEM,
academia) at different stages of their career (for example, in
progression from Novice to Expert) (AIChE, 2015).
The BoK “encompasses the range of skills, knowl-
edge, and abilities required of a chemical engineering
professional … abilities at various career stages and
roles. …useful for personal skills development, career
planning, … cross-demographic view when looking
for guidance. … KSA based on Bloom’s taxonomy …
From novice (recent grad), journeyman (mature com-
petency, expert (mastery) …” —(AIChE, 2015)
A BoK is not currently available for Mineral Process
Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy (MP/EM).
Texts such as the SME Mineral Processing &Extractive
Metallurgy Handbook, Editors: R.C. Dunne, S.K.
Kawatra, C.A. Courtney, 2019 provide a good taxonomy
of the knowledge but lack clarification of competency and
skill expectations by role (work focus or experience). Some
companies have developed BoKs for internal use (for exam-
ple, Seitz, 2014).
Process Engineers and Career Progression
Figure 5 is an illustration of a process engineer career path
as they develop increasing competency with know-how
(skill) to solve increasingly difficult problems and manage
Table 3. Elements of knowledge transfer and skills development
Explicit Tacit
Knowledge
transfer
Primarily: Learning with
documentation/materials
Learning by Observation, Person-to-Person,
Dialogue, Doing
Skills
development
Learning with documentation /
materials.
Primarily: Learning by Observation,
Person-to-Person, Dialogue, Doing
Figure 5. The journey from early career to master for process engineers