Encouraging best practice onboard using video and interactive media

Best practice, adhered to on all vessels, is beneficial for all concerned. It saves money for the ship operator, it reduces the risk of injury, damage or loss, it ensures the continued safety of the crew, and it provides an important quality marketing tool for the department that has to sell the shipping company's services.

Continuing technical progress in vessel and operational design has emphasized the need to further develop crew education and training. But a problem lies with the traditional reliance on classroom-based teaching formats. Seafarers need the education and knowledge to go to them, rather than the other way round, and according to U.K. marine training provider, Videotel Marine International, video and interactive CD ROM-based training packages are the solution.

"Modern shipping practice means that turnaround times have accelerated, with runs ashore and time alongside suffering as a result. There is no longer the oppor- tunity for ships' crews to be taught in the classroom scenario because there isn't the time," says Captain Len Holder, chairman of Videotel. "The result is that crews are now trained in remote locations, often onboard ships, at irregular hours." Video and interactive teaching methods provide shipowners and operators with a cost-effective means of training their staff. Videocassette recorders and PCs are standard equipment on many ships, and allow easy access for many seafarers to those methods of training.

Other advantages of the Video and CD ROM-based packages are that this form of education can be delivered in various languages, overcoming what is often a hurdle to efficient education. This is particularly helpful in an industry where officers and crew are sourced from diverse and non-traditional seafaring nations. The trend is that while officers often speak English well, crews from these countries rarely do.

Being able to provide training packages in their own language is a significant step towards ensuring they have the knowledge and skills to do their jobs properly.

The obvious spin-off is best practice in all areas.

Interactive education also covers a huge range of training topics. Leaders in the market have published titles covering all aspects of ship operations, including complex procedures that are easier to demonstrate practically than explain in words. Holder believes in this practical side of video education. He says, "It is an excellent visual educational tool. As an example, ships' crews can use it to visualize certain maintenance and repair operations." Other aspects of interactive education are the degree of interactivity previously not available to students on board ships. "Multimedia can interact with the student, provide specific facts and figures, ask questions, monitor answers, assess knowledge, and remember what a student has done during a session. It is an electronicequivalent to having a tutor on board," Holder says.

The most appealing aspect is its ability to monitor progress. "CD ROMs can highlight key points, and create and maintain a record every time a trainee uses it. It logs who used the package, when it was used, and what was achieved," he says.

The application of interactive media training to shipboard best practice has revolutionized the education of seafarers in recent years. But computer-based training is not new; it has been around for nearly 20 years.

However, it is only recently that computer systems have been developed using more power to process information faster.

Holder says, "Computers now provide an effective platform which combines information from various sources, and delivers it to the PC user in a single, interactive medium." He continues, "The same technological advances that have allowed PC games manufacturers to produce products of previously unheard of complexity and visual accuracy are helping education providers deliver sophisticated training packages that are able meet the requirements of today's maritime industry." The importance of onboard training will increase further.

The maritime industry is experiencing a period of unprecedented regulation. With new legislation being introduced almost monthly, shipowners and operators need an effective and reliable method to train their personnel if they are to meet their regulatory responsibilities.

CD ROM and video-based onboard training packages will play an important part in keeping crewmembers qualifications and experience up-to-date.

Captain Len Holder is chairman of Videotel Marine Limited, a U.K.-based producer of videos, workbooks, CD-ROM and CBT training materials.