best practice guide ensuring that you select the optimal solution to

Best Practice Guide For maritime training and certification

choosing an onboard competency management and training solution

VIKING Saatsea, which was welcomed into the VIKING Life-saving Equipment group in 2013, was founded to address a significant challenge in the maritime industry.

Our mission is to help vessel and rig owners improve their training capability while avoiding the delays, exposures to liability and financial losses that can result from inefficient, out-dated solutions to the onboard competency management and training (CMT) problem.

During our journey, we have learned a great deal about the key issues and, in particular, about what it takes to build a best-practice CMT solution. This document aims to share some of this knowledge with the industry.

Of course, while advanced CMT solutions will become a vital element in vessel and rig owners’ safety strategies, they are still only part of the overall picture.

As DNV’s 2013 positioning paper titled “Enhancing Offshore Safety and Environment Performance” concluded: “Safe operations are the product of safe and reliable technology, an effective organization and a competent strong management, and motivated people who at all times know the relevant risks, understand their role in managing those risks, and then effectively manage them.”

We hope you will find this document useful as a planning tool and encourage you to contact us if you have knowhow and insights to share for later editions.

Kim BaarsøeVIKING Saatsea

VIKING Saatsea CEO Kim Baarsøe with VIKING Life-Saving Equipment’s CEO Henrik Uhd Christensen

Introduction

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does it have to be so hard?High standards of training, as well as detailed documentation of onboard skills, are crucial to protecting people and business. The challenges vary across sectors, whether it’s OPITO certification for ERRVs (standby vessels) or STCW training for other maritime tasks. And regulatory demands are on the increase for heavy industry and passenger ships alike.

costly delaysOften, personnel are urgently required at sea but, even if they have recently completed required training, can’t report for work until they have been appropriately certified or re-certified.

administrative complexityFor most, managing such situations is a complex and time-consuming task with an ever-present risk of error. Moving to an up-to-date, online CMT solution alleviates these problems.

No “create-your-own” course capabilityThe proprietary nature of most current training offerings does not provide a platform for individual vessel or rig owners to produce their own, company- or task-specific courses.

Overall, there are five primary areas where traditional CMT practices have failed to live up to vessel and rig owner needs:

- Speed and ease of scheduling- Speed of certification- Range of training possibilities- Ease of administration- Cost per crew member

time to changeToday’s most advanced CMT solutions are designed to make the onboard training task less costly and more efficient, offering a powerful new business tool and helping to improve onboard safety.

Managing the skills and certifications of crew has long been an administration and implementation nightmare. Progress has been held back by habit and technological barriers.

The difficulties of traditional training and certification


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From land-based training to today’s high-technology, highly accessible onboard solutions, cMt has come a long way.

A powerful new paradigm for onboard competency management and training


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1st generation 2nd generation

ONLINE, PROPRIETARY ONBOARD TRAINING

- Physical media or access via Internet connection

- High data impact- Semi-paperless

2008-12

24/7 ONBOARD CUSTOMIZABLE

- 24/7 access regardless of connection status

- Low data impact- 24/7 electronic/print verification- Create-your-own course capability

2013 >

LAND-BASED TRAINING

- Physical location- Paper-based documentation- Moderately customizable- Complex, expensive logistics

< 2007

cloud-powered – but highly accessible Today’s most advanced onboard CMT solutions, unlike their predecessors, use the Internet “cloud” to transfer and share training and certification data.

The user’s data is secured behind firewalled security systems and can be accessed from land or sea. Each vessel also has an onboard server installation, ensuring fast access at all times.

Land-based training under threat

1. Less expensive per-participant training due to savings on travel and accommodation

2. Greater participant acceptance and positive attitude to learning as the training can be carried out at sea

3. Here-and-now training without scheduling delays

4. Training with the correct types and brands of equipment to be used by the crew member

5. Superior documenting and tracking capabilities at crew member and vessel levels

the state-of-the-art in onboard cMt solutions is represented by highly customizable systems that are accessible both online, when the vessel is connected, and offline when there is no current connection.

24/7 onboard CMT solutions- the new frontier


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c L O u d

customercustomer

Hosting center

c L O u d c L O u d

VesselVessel

ViKiNG saatsea FirewallSSl - Secure Connection

Multiple perspectives There is a broad spectrum of points to consider when evaluating the best of today’s onboard competency management and training solutions.

The following pages examine each perspective in detail, highlighting both basic and more advanced aspects.

determining an advanced onboard cMt solution to meet regulatory as well as company-specific training needs requires a framework for careful analysis of competitive alternatives.

Best practice onboard / online cmt solutions - a model for decision-making

Six key perspectives comprise the big picture for vessel and rig owners evaluating best-practice onboard CMT solutions.


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Best-practice onboard CMT

Certificatemanagement

Userexperience

Customizability Provider

Content

Architecture

rich, flexible training contentTraining experts agree that a variety of techniques must be deployed to ensure students can best learn and retain new information. At the same time, students are exposed to a rich tapestry of impressions from other media in their daily lives, raising their expectations for screen-based interactions.

These aspects place heavy demands on the ability of an onboard CMT solution to accommodate almost any technique preferred by course designers.

In this respect, the platforms underlying the most advanced onboard CMT solutions are a far cry from the limited capabilities of first-generation solutions, enabling full design flexibility and the delivery of a rich range of content without burdening precious data bandwidth.

Content capabilities worth considering when determining an onboard CMT solution include:

1. Multiple learning tools- Enables multiple learning strategies to be

implemented – using a variety of tools including at least text, graphics, video, Q&A formats and animations.

2. support for theoretical and practical exercises

- In addition to theory exercises, the system should provide specific tools for completing on board practical exercises.

3. timely content updates- Unlike, for example, CD-based learning packages,

content within a best-practice CMT solution can be centrally updated without requiring new media or installation.

4. compliance-ready- The solution must be approved by regulating

authorities to enable courses to fully comply with regulatory requirement such as those of IMO, STCW and OPITO.

rapidly acquired, memorable skills training requires the use of a wide range of verbal, visual and audible tools. a best-practice onboard cMt solution provides almost limitless, rich-media content options.

Evaluating content capabilities

Having a flexible CMT solution with a variety of learning strategies enables the individual user to learn in a way that suits their personal preferences, yet still manage to prove their competencies with regards to regulatory requirements.

Anders MIkkelsenCourse designer, VIKING Saatsea

5. Base training offering- Where the onboard CMT solution provider

provides not only the system but modular training courses as well, the provider should offer a sufficiently wide range of maritime courses. Or have a roadmap that continuously widens the range within acceptable timeframes.

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uninterrupted access, an intuitive interface and high reliability are key elements of a successful user experienceEarly onboard training systems have consistently failed to properly address the way people best acquire new skills. Typically, they have relied on one-way ‘presentation-style’ communication that doesn’t measure the effectiveness of skills transfer.

A meaningful and enjoyable user experience is not just a matter of providing videos along with text, or structuring lessons in an educationally correct manner, but requires a holistic view of the individual’s needs – from skills required through to preferred methods of access to training.

1. train-at-own-pace convenience- A major advantage of best-practice CMT solutions

is their ability to provide 24/7 training that enables crew to train when it suits work or leisure schedules.

2. intuitive, simple interface- Typically, a vessel’s crew are skilled mariners rather

than IT experts. They need to find their way around in the training environment via a straightforward, consistent navigation system. Therefore, best practice CMT solutions take care not to present their users with more options and capabilities than strictly necessary.

3. Multiple language support- Depending on the training and testing context, the

solution should make it possible for people to learn via their language of choice – not just in terms of content, but also system menus, help screens and similar.

to ensure great training results, crew being trained need to encounter a task-relevant training environment that puts them at their ease and prepares them to learn at their best.

Evaluating user experience

4. company branding- Training tools have greater relevance and the

experience is likely to be more memorable when put into context with company-specific logos, colors and similar.

5. Vessel’s own equipment- Safety is best ensured when crew are able to

perform practical exercises using references to equipment types and brands on board their particular vessel. The solution should, therefore, support vessel-specific content inclusion.

6. crew member-specific capabilities- Crew members require personal, passworded access to the system and can follow the progress

of their own training.

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Lightening the loadPaper-based routines require administrators to sift through binder after binder of certificates in order to ensure certification compliance, as well as a heavy flow of phone, post and email exchanges.

Instead, a central or distributed database should provide an efficient platform for administrative tasks. Administrators can then quickly enter crew member profiles and certification data, generating reports that can easily be distributed to vessels, rigs or regulators without manual processes. At the same time, status updates should automatically flow from vessels or rigs to the shore.

Transfer of employees between vessels and companies should not be a problem. The system must offer access to training records even after employment is terminated or with employment of crew from another company.

1. Paperless solution- A paperless documentation solution (no

manual data entry processes) protects valuable documentation and provides quick, multi-point access for verification

2. administrator capabilities- Multiple administrator levels- Simple new vessel setup- Support for scheduling including refresher alerts- Printable audit reports

a best-practice onboard cMt solution integrates and eases administrative processes, offering savings on manpower and preventing administration issues from slowing down operations.

Evaluating certificate management


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3. crew member trackingThe shore-based organisation must be able to follow the current certification status and progress of each individual crew member

- Crew member profiling- Crew member lists with certification data- Certification event overview by crew member- Practical exercise history by crew member

4. Vessel tracking- Individual vessel performance tracking- Overall view of all vessel skills status- Certification event overview- Practical completion overview by month- Practical exercise history by vessel- Competence gap analysis

comprehensive authoring systems accelerate organizational learningVessel and rig owners have been crying out for a single system that can provide both standard onboard training courses and company-created, company-specific courses. But, with a highly protective training industry cautious about sharing its intellectual property, and the inappropriateness of conventional course development systems for maritime conditions, this capability has only recently been made available.

While comprehensive authoring systems are still relatively new to onboard CMT, a best-practice solution will include the ability to:

- Create a company-specific course- Choose from a set of proven templates, layouts

and navigation elements- Upload a wide variety of media to support training- Maintain a consistent structure- Request new templates- Version roll-back - Seamless integration with other courses

(same interface, same tracking, measuring and reporting processes)

the best of today’s onboard cMt solutions make it possible for companies to create their own scalable and engaging training courses on the same platform, with the same content and reporting capabilities.

Evaluating customizabilityBest Practice Guide For maritime training and certification

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Best-practice onboard CMT functionality includes the ability to create company-specific courses in a way that integrates such courses with the existing training offerings and learning methodologies.

company-specific course creation

Onboard training (theory + practical)

certificate management

A best-practice CMT solution should allow the customer to operate efficiently with easily available network infrastructure technologies, and provide a scalable and secure platform for information exchange. As data security and integrity is a primary concern,

best practices demand the ability to back up or recover information in the case of hardware or network problems, resulting in minimal impact to the customer’s regulatory compliance.

David CooperChief Technical Officer, VIKING Saatsea

What should be in place for your future onboard cMt platform?Outdated, limited or poorly designed solution architectures inevitably result in a difficult and costly customer experience from the outset and only grow worse with the passing of time.

Maritime buyers should be wary of solutions that are adaptations of existing solutions, or that require systems with different architectures to be joined together in order to delivery essential functionality.

1. system robustness- The solution should be able to be used when

online or offline. In the event of a longer-duration connection loss to land then the vessel should be able to use an onboard server to continue training activities without interruption.

2. data impact- With bandwidth severely limited at sea, (as low

as 1kbps when conditions are worst), the onboard training system must include an optimized data transfer engine that allows plenty of room for data associated with critical operational systems.

3. Backup and recovery- Protecting valuable data from risk of fire, flooding,

intrusion and the like supports the case for distributing data storage at sea and on land. Given bandwidth constraints at sea, optimized daily batch backups represent current best practices.

4. data security- As a minimum, a best-practice solution will provide

commercial-quality system access and data transfer protection, including procedures that require physical presence to access key system functions at the solution provider’s facility.

5. turnkey solution- Ideally, both hardware and software should be

sourced from the solution provider to minimize configuration and support issues, and to avoid potential conflicts with existing onboard systems.

6. Vessel-wide access- Today’s onboard CMT systems connect to the

vessel’s intranet, making training services available to all computers on the vessel.

a robust, modular architecture provides a strong foundation for your onboard cMt solution, both for regulated training needs and company- specific activities.

Evaluating system architectureBest Practice Guide For maritime training and certification

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7. upgrade routine- Routine code updates (such as software patches)

should be automatically and regularly (preferably on a daily basis) distributed to all land- and shore-based system instances without requiring special installation routines.

Given the comparatively recent development of onboard cMt solutions, thorough assessment of the provider’s stability, solution platform and product roadmap is crucial to the selection decision.

Evaluating the solution provider


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What elements should be considered when choosing an onboard cMt solution provider?For business-critical resources, for situations where you will be spending a lot of money, or where you want a long-term relationship with a solution provider, it’s worth putting a great deal of effort into provider evaluation.

Innovations within maritime CMT have exclusively originated with smaller, more agile solution developers. This demands due care when choosing a solution provider, particularly focusing on the provider’s stability as a company and on the product development roadmap.

While no one can be perfect all of the time, the provider should have processes or procedures in place to ensure a consistent quality of customer experience. Ask the provider about their approach, and request in-depth solution demonstrations and references.

1. competency- Creating solutions for CMT in the maritime industry

requires a blend of up-to-date IT skills, e-learning knowhow and lengthy maritime experience. An ideal solution provider has all three.

2. Financial stability- To avoid being stuck with a solution that is no

longer being developed or supported, choose a solution provider with sufficient size and financial muscle to handle the good times and the bad.

3. customer support strategy- Support must be built into the solution itself

(including bug reporting) as a first port of call, backed by 24-hour hotline access and remote system takeover.

4. references- Unless your company has agreed to become a

solution development pilot project, a professional, best-practice onboard CMT solution will be able to provide suitable peer references.

5. development capabilities- While many providers outsource part or all of their

development processes, the best quality and highest responsiveness are usually obtained from providers with their own in-house resources.

6. cost level- Solution costs vary considerably in the CMT field.

A best-practice solution provider should be able to describe a clear cost path to ensure that the long-term costs of the solution can be accurately predicted. Of course, while cost is important. other factors, such as a commitment to quality and financial health, can impact your business much more than cost alone, particularly if you will be relying on the supplier on an ongoing basis.

7. authorizations- The supplier should be approved as a training

provider by IMO, OPITO, DMA and other relevant regulatory authorities.

Comparing capabilitiesPhysical,

land-based trainingtraditional e-learning via

media (cd/dVd)tradition e-learning via

the internetBest-practice

cMt solutions

Theoretical training content X X X X

Setup and management of practical training exercises on board

X

Competence measurement at individual level

(X) X X

Reduced travel/accommodation costs X X X

Reduced loss of income X X X

Training when convenient X X X

Can be used when ship is offline or connection is unstable

X X

Paperless solution (X) X X

Realtime status/overview of competencies on board

X X

Real-time status/overview of competencies on land

X X

Ability to remotely (online) update the system X

Ability to remotely update content and add new modules/courses

X

Training records are accessible even after termination of employment

X X


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evaluate your potential supplier against the following criteria:

Solution assessment toolBest Practice Guide For maritime training and certification

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Score each parameter from 1 to 5. A score of 1 indicates the company is much weaker than most competitors. 5 indicates a market-leading position. The total maximum score is 240.

Complete one evaluation for each potential supplier, then you can compare your scores.

CONTENT CAPABILITIES

USER EXPERIENCE

CERTIFICATE MANAGEMENT

CUSTOMIZ- ABILITY

SOLUTIONPROVIDER

SOLUTIONARCHITECTURE

Evaluation criteria Score Evaluation criteria Score Evaluation criteria Score Evaluation criteria Score Evaluation criteria Score Evaluation criteria Score

Multiple learning toolsIntuitive, simple interface

Paperless solutionCompany-specific courses

Competency System robustness

Support for theoretical lessons

Train at own pace Multiple admin levels Standard templates Financial stability Data impact

Support for practical exercises

Multiple languagesSimple new vessel setup

Request new templatesCustomer support trategy

Backup and recovery

Timely content updates Company brandedScheduling incl. refresher alerts

Rich media support References Data security

Pre-designed practical exercises

Own equipment Printable audit reports Version roll-back Development capabilities Turnkey solution

Compliance-ready Password access Crew member tracking Consistent structure Cost level Vessel-wide access

Existing range of relevant courses

Personal status overview

Vessel trackingSeamless integration with other modules

Authorizations Upgrade routine

Roadmap for relevant future courses

High reliability Gap analysis Tracking and reporting Global reach Standard hardware

SUBTOTAL > SUBTOTAL > SUBTOTAL > SUBTOTAL > SUBTOTAL > SUBTOTAL >

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Best Practice Guide For maritime training and certificationNotes

ViKiNG saatsea aps

Skolegade 85 . DK-6700 Esbjerg . DenmarkTel. +45 70 27 10 30 . [email protected]

www.saatsea.com

VIKING Saatsea is a developer of 24/7, fully customizable onboard Competency Management and Training (CMT) solutions. The company addresses the need of vessel and rig owners and operators to continuously train their crews on board by offering a combined solution that manages planning and implementation of onboard training as well as documentation.

Through an online training system with minimal bandwidth impact, the crew can complete and register module-based theoretical and practical assignments, with immediate, up-to-date competency assessments for maritime and offshore inspections. The solution runs on standard computer hardware, and synchronizes with a shore-based server.

cutting edge solutions for training and assessment of training

VIKING SaatseaBest Practice Guide For maritime training and certification

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