Jane Bugler
‘Effective competence solutions’ is the theme of an International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) Competence and Training Seminar to be held in Aberdeen on Wednesday 2 September 2015. It is aimed at competence and training (C&T) representatives and their offshore personnel as well as oil company representatives and providers of C&T solutions; members and other interested parties can attend the full day event free-of-charge, but need to register at www.imca-int.com/events/
“Competence & Training is an IMCA core activity, and the our competence assurance and assessment guidance provides members with a framework for creating their own in-house schemes for assessing and recording the competence of people working in safety-critical and other roles, ” explains Jane Bugler, the association’s Technical Director and Acting Chief Executive.
“Our regular competence seminars around the world with their mix of presentations and round-table discussions on competence-related industry topics help participants gain an insight not only to the IMCA framework, but on how other organisations address this increasingly important issue. This insight is invaluable for supporting companies in developing new competence schemes or improving and refreshing existing schemes. One key objective is to raise the profile of demonstrating competence in the offshore and subsea sectors offering companies tools and solutions to develop effective competence management schemes and systems.
“Our first speaker on the day, industry consultant Gavin Smith, IMCA’s C&T Core Committee Chairman will be highlighting something that we feel strongly about, adding value but not cost and highlighting efficient L&D (learning and development) solutions in a challenging economic climate. His introductory remarks will be followed by a group exercise demonstrating that this is very much an interactive event where those attending will have the chance to contribute their views.”
Packed and informative day
The packed day includes nine other presentations, and opportunities at the coffee and lunch breaks for networking. Other presentations will be on: Competence assessment and its impact on loss prevention: a P&I club perspective (Louise Hall, Shipowners Club); and Identifying and removing barriers to education and training: Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB) (Captain Kevin Slade, MNTB Chairman) before the coffee break.
Then the spotlight falls on Development and implementation of competence management systems: a contractor case study (Bibby Offshore); Accreditation of company competence management systems: presentation followed by group exercise (Neil Evans, IMCA); and Knowledge transfer partnerships (KTPs) (University of Aberdeen and Solutions Aberdeen) with a break for lunch.
After lunch there will a a further four presentations – Industry and academia working in partnership (Rulzion Rattray, Oil and Gas Academy Scotland (OGAS)); A professional qualification route for offshore surveyors (The Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (ICES)); Offshore Survey HND course outline (David Whitcombe, Shell Global Solutions BV & Andy McNeil, Fugro Subsea Services Ltd);and Using IMCA’s framework to demonstrate competence of freelance and contract workers: presentation followed by group discussion session (Andrew Blears, Atlas Professionals), before Neil Evans gives a summary of the day.
The full programme is online with an easy booking system as an integral part of the programme information at www.imca-int.com/events/
Further information
Further information on IMCA and its work on behalf of its 1000+ member companies in over 60 countries is available fromwww.imca-int.com and imca@imca-int.com. The association has LinkedIn and Facebook groups and its Twitter handle is @IMCAint
About IMCA
- IMCA is an international association with over a thousand members in more than 60 countries representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies. IMCA has four technical divisions, covering marine/specialist vessel operations, offshore diving, hydrographic survey and remote systems and ROVs, plus geographic sections for the Asia-Pacific, Central & North America, Europe & Africa, Middle East & India and South America regions. As well as a core focus on safety, the environment, competence and training, IMCA seeks to promote its members’ common interests, to resolve industry-wide issues and to provide an authoritative voice for its members.
- IMCA Vision & Strategy. As a result of work and collective input in 2013, IMCA has redefined its stated core purpose to be “Improving performance in the marine contracting industry”. To achieve this goal, IMCA’s Vision & Strategy has been devised with two elements in mind: Core activities and ways of working.
- IMCA publishes some 200 guidance notes and technical reports – many are available for free downloading by members and non-members alike. These have been developed over the years and are extensively distributed. They are a definition of what IMCA stands for, including widely recognised diving code of practice, DP documentation, marine and ROV good practice guidance, the Common Marine Inspection Document (CMID) – now available electronically as eCMID, safety recommendations, outline training syllabi and the IMCA competence scheme guidance. In addition to the range of printed guidance documents, IMCA also produces safety promotional materials, circulates information notes and distributes safety flashes.
About the industry IMCA serves
The marine contracting industry plays a vital global role. Its vessels account for 4% of the world’s maritime fleet. Collectively IMCA members employ some 350, 000 people and have an annual turnover of around $150bn. They work in all the world’s major offshore areas, delivering large offshore oil and gas and marine renewables projects around the globe that quite literally fuel the global economy.
