Page 24: of Marine News Magazine (January 2016)

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FERRY TRAINING

SailSafe:

A SEA Change for the Better

BC Ferries has improved its safety record, operational practices – and at the same time, its bottom line.

By Jeff Joyce and Murray Goldberg n 2007, British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. (BC Fer- SEA Training Program ries) initiated a union-management joint endeavor to The SEA program is an intensive blended (online and

Icreate a world-class safety culture. This program, coined in-person) approach to job-, vessel- and route-speci? c

SailSafe, addressed a wide variety of safety-related aspects training which replaces the previous job-shadowing ap- of BC Ferries’ culture and operational practices. By almost proach to vessel and terminal familiarization for all 35 any measure, SailSafe has been a tremendous successf. Al- operational roles. It is supported by a web-based learning though dif? cult to precisely correlate any one of the many management system (LMS) speci? cally designed to sup- facets of SailSafe to operational statistics, it is not coinci- port training in the maritime context. The SEA program dental that accidents have dropped by close to 60 percent, is structured and sustainable, and produces consistent and injuries and days lost due to injury have also dropped by reliable training outcomes – unlike job shadowing. Like the same amount and insurance claims costs have plum- other SailSafe initiatives, the SEA program involves all em- meted. A key customer service indicator, on-time perfor- ployees in its creation and sustainment.

mance of the ? eet, has also signi? cantly improved. Training the “SEA way” involves three core phases de-

Key among the SailSafe initiatives was the creation of a signed to ready an employee for performance within a po- new approach to familiarization training called the Stan- sition. It is then followed by a career progression phase dardized Education and Assessment (SEA) program. The which is comprised of two sub-phases focused on ? rst ad-

SEA program is now in its seventh year of rollout and op- dressing skill enhancement within the new position, and eration at BC Ferries. Over that time, many lessons have then preparing the employee for career advancement. been learned – some the easy way, and others at some cost. The three core phases are self-study, on board education (or

This article sheds light on the SEA program and the les- “on-site” education for terminal operations) and clearance. sons that have been learned through its implementation. Phase 1 is self-study: In this phase, candidates learn on-

It is meant to provide valuable guidance for any maritime line using the LMS, which provides a comprehensive set of organization either considering or embarking on safety im- job-speci? c learning resources. The materials include self- provements through best-practice training techniques. tests so the candidates can gauge their progress and readiness

Image above: British Columbia Ferry Services

January 2016

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