03 Sep Simwave Newsletter August 2021
Find out what happened at Simwave in our Newsletter August 2021. Sign up for the newsletter here for regular Simwave updates!
Message from our CEO Marcel Kind
This summer we had the privilege to travel again with the family and we decided to visit beautiful Italy. With most travel restrictions being lifted you just realize how much you missed travelling, meeting other cultures and, in our case, how much we have missed the sun! Above all we are also happy to see that more and more people have access to vaccinations and that we are in a much better place than 12 months ago.
Also, in Simwave we see an increase in activities with more training, assessments and operational studies. Training and assessments are critical factors to understand and work on the competencies of seafarers. Without the proper competence level, accidents are more likely to occur at sea. In this newsletter you will learn about our assessment program in combination with our Learning Management System & Competency Management System.
In the summer period we delivered more ships models than ever before as well as operations studies. Our unique approach with inhouse development of mathematical models of ships and visual database development makes it possible to conduct port studies or operational studies in a short time. With shipping companies starting up new activities they like to understand the operational challenges and limitations. Therefore our team of applied researchers and ship handling experts are flexible and capable of delivering different types of studies on short notice. In the newsletter you will read more.
Furthermore, I would like to draw your attention on planned open courses, among IFG code (Basic & Advanced), Polar Code, BRM etc.
If you have any question at all, please feel free to contact me.
Many thanks and stay safe!
Marcel Kind
CEO & Founder
Assessment program
| Training programs that bring a seafarer towards compliance do not always provide the technical and non- technical skills needed for his or her role in the organization he or she is working within. For many years, the traditional Maritime Education and Training (MET) approach has been the vehicle through which seafarers are prepared to serve onboard ships. A key principle governing MET is ensuring all seafarers are trained according to the minimum standards set under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW). Although this principle is applied by most MET education providers, there is a consensus in the literature that quality issues still exist for seafarer training. Apart from the quality, other key deficiencies appear to exist for seafarer training in the 21st century. The challenge for shipping companies is that a seafarer can obtain a certificate for a specific course and afterwards, he or she may not regularly apply the acquired theory and skills as they are easy to forget. Quality standards of training can also differ between training providers and / or countries and are not specific for a type of vessel or based on company specific standards. Especially courses to respond and manage certain incidents (e.g. firefighting) they require a 5-year refresher, conversely courses to prevent an incident (e.g. use of ECDIS, ColRegs etc.) do not have a refresher requirement at all. This is not subject to a legal requirement and therefore not subject of compliance-based training. One way to measure if the officer has acquired the necessary level of competencies is by having them going through a proficiency check conducted at regular intervals. At Simwave we designed and implemented an assessment program which every officer will have to undergo. The scope of this program is to measure individual competencies against the specific competency framework by identifying strengths and weaknesses of each Officer. This approach benefits both the Officers and the Organization as it will offer the opportunity to analyse training needs based on identified GAPS identified. In general, we use two different assessments: online through our Learning Management System (e.g. for theory or procedural training) and on our simulators (e.g. the Nautical Competency Assessment). |
 Nowadays marine simulators have contributed a useful tool to assess navigators’ capabilities. However, the simulation is just a hardware device, a complete assessment program decisively determines its quality. This includes marine assessment procedures, simulation scenarios, evaluation criteria, observation systems, measurement and result grading. Due to the high practical requirements of the market, Simwave’s research and development department quickly began working on and completed it in the first quarter of 2021. This nautical assessment system is also integrated with an advanced learning management system (LMS).  The nautical competency assessment integrated in LMS One of the highlights is an imaginary visual database that has been developed by the visual development team to provide an extraordinary, unexpected work environment for the navigators. It is a complex port city built on enormous islands connected to the rest of the world by international sea routes. Vessels can approach and enter the islands from East, West, South and North through different channels, traffic separation schemes (TSSs), including shallow water, deep water, and narrow channels. As a real port city, Simwave Islands is developed with many ports, terminals, jetties, quays for ships of unlimited sizes and types such as cruise, VLCC, ULCC, tanker, container, roro, offshore, dry cargo, yacht, fishing boat, etc. River bridges, ship locks with operational gates, mooring, anchorage areas, and vessel traffic services (VTSs) are also built into the island, providing a complete marine environment for navigation scenarios with different situations from routine to complex and emergency, meeting the criteria for officer assessment and other training course such as ship handling and bridge resource management (BRM). To accommodate the contents and requirements of the full mission bridge simulation (FMB), the detailed and specific ENCs are also built according to the S57 standard which is compatible with all current ECDIS types.  The complex ports and marine traffic system in ECDIS Island of Simwave is not only an ideal environment to practice, assess seafarer quality, but also an opportunity to relax and continue wonderful journeys with the optional vessels in beautiful and peaceful surroundings. It is also an opportunity to challenge with emergency and critical situations that can only be performed on simulations. The first maritime competency assessments using the new program were conducted in the second quarter of 2021 and have achieved positive results, they were also well received and welcomed by customers, ship owners, crew management and maritime organizations as well. With this unique and excellent port city along with an advanced nautical competency assessment program integrated with the LMS system, Simwave can provide an enhanced nautical assessment service and training with the best quality and capability.  A view of the Islands of Simwave If you like to learn more about our assessment program, please let us know. |
Open enrolments
On our website we also offer a range of open courses. These courses will be extended in the coming period. The open courses that we are offering at the moment are LNG introduction for shoreside personnel, Polar & Ice Navigation (Polar & Ice Navigation Basic now also online!) , DP Familiarization Course, STS operations, Navigation Assessor Course, IGF course, etc.
Please have a look at our open courses.
Upcoming:
- IGF Code 13 – 17 September
- Polar & Ice Navigation 13 – 17 September
- DP Familiarization 22 & 23 September
- Bridge Resource Management 25, 26 & 27 October
In our Learning Management System we also offer a lot of different courses. If you would like to know more please contact us.
Trending LinkedIn: Nautical Competency Assessment
Trending LinkedIn: Sailing at Simwave is a lifelike experience
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