Dear friends,

At the time of writing we have just got another ship hard aground. Ships ending up in the wrong location like this are tragic cases for all involved but they usually provide interesting cases for analysis from an MRM perspective. When we this year celebrate our 20 years of involvement in resource management training we have therefore got yet another reminder that there is still a lot more work to be done in this area.  We shall do our utmost to assist not only the members of The Swedish Club but anyone in the industry who wants to increase safety, efficiency and job satisfaction in their organisations. These are the objectives of MRM.

The number of licensed MRM training providers is now exceeding 100 and MRM training is at the moment carried out in 35 countries worldwide. With these figures I believe the MRM network is the maritime industry’s by far largest network in the human factors area. Thanks to the positive development regarding the number of licensed MRM training providers we have also reached a financial situation that offers new opportunities to the benefit of the members of the MRM network. Our primary focus will be on the further development of the MRM training material and to safeguard speedy and efficient support to the MRM licensees. More about that below.

NEW WEBSITE ADDRESS

A few weeks ago we changed our website address from www.swedishclub.com/academy to www.tscacademy.com. The new address is much more handy but the most important benefit with an own domain is the opportunity to add additional information, features and functionality to the website. Please note that our email addresses have been updated accordingly, i.e. martin.hernqvist@tscacademy.com. The old addresses will be in use for quite some time but please update when you get the chance.

RECRUITMENT OF NEW ACADEMY STAFF MEMBERS

The record number of licensed MRM training providers offers us new opportunities and our primary focus will be to increase support and services to the training providers. For this reason we plan to establish two new positions, an Academy Assistant and a Media Producer. The Academy Assistant will relieve myself from many of the administrative tasks and will most likely be an important contact person for you for various matters related to the Academy. The Media Producer’s main responsibilities will be to ensure that the MRM course material, not least the computer based training material, is state of the art. I am personally keen on the possibilities to produce new and updated video clips. We plan to start the recruitment processes after our summer holiday break.  

COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

A challenge that we have faced with the increasing number of training providers is how to maintain a close and personal relationship and communication with all licensees and MRM Workshop Leaders. Besides phone and email we have therefore established three new communication channels that I find very efficient. They are forum-based which means that all of you can follow the discussions and decide yourself whether you like to just listen (read) or take an active part. I am aware of that some companies may have restrictions concerning social community memberships but if the communities for professional use are allowed I would very much like you to join the following discussion channels. Click the links below to join.

• Maritime Resource Management (Open for all people interested in MRM matters. Your membership here we help us to promote the MRM concept. 538 members today.)
• MRM Workshop Leader (Open only for MRM Workshop Leaders. Here we will discuss, among other things, priority areas for course development. 55 members today but I would like all 500 certified MRM Workshop Leaders to join.)
• Twitter (Short messages about what’s on in the Academy right now.)

You will need a LinkedIn account and a Twitter account to join. These are available for free.

MRM WORKSHOP LEADER EVENTS, SECOND HALF 2012

As you probably know there are two types of events for MRM Workshop Leaders (WSLs) – ‘MRM Workshop Leader training’ and ‘MRM Workshop Leader meetings’. The training event is aimed at prospective WSLs while the meeting is aimed at already trained and certified WSLs. Many of the events that we have planned for during the second half of 2012 is a combination of them both, i.e. the WSL meeting is preceded by an introductory training day for prospective WSLs. Registration for all events will open shortly and I will let you know when all details and the registration forms have been added to our website. Meanwhile please mark the following dates and venues in your agenda:

• WSL meeting in Almere, Netherlands,  12-13 September 2012. Introductory training day for prospective WSLs on 11 September.
• WSL meeting in Bangkok or Singapore, 19 September 2012. Introductory training day for prospective WSLs on 18 September. (Venue depending on demand. Please indicate your preferred venue by email to me.)
• WSL meeting in Kherson, Ukraine, 12 October 2012. Introductory training day for prospective WSLs on 11 October.
• WSL training in Piraeus, Greece, 23-24 October 2012.
• WSL training in Istanbul, Turkey, 25-26 October 2012.
• WSL meeting in Manila, Philippines. Week 46, exact date not yet decided. The event is preceded by an introductory training day for prospective WSLs.
• WSL meeting in Mumbai, India, 21 November 2012. Introductory training day for prospective WSLs on 20 November.

As previously advised we will in connection with the 12-13 September event in Almere, Netherlands, visit the MRM licensee CSMART which is the Carnival Corporation & plc group’s training facility. Here we will also get the chance to listen to and discuss what the cruise industry has done after the Costa Concordia incident. I am sure this shall be a most interesting visit. 

NEW MRM TRAINING PROVIDERS

Since the MRM News of 26 April 2012, we have with great pleasure welcomed the following members to the MRM network: 

• Bourbon Training Center & Simulator Pte Ltd, Singapore
• Sir Derek Bibby Maritime Training Centre, Mumbai, India
• Fairdeal Group Management S.A., Piraeus, Greece
• GPN International Maritime Training Center Inc., Manila, Philippines
• AIDA Academy (AIDA Cruises), Rostock, Germany

 

OCIMF MEETING, 3 JULY

I will meet with OCIMF in London next Tuesday (July 3^rd) to discuss issues related to MRM and human factors training. From my meetings with tanker owners I have learnt that there are sometimes confusion concerning the requirements in the Tanker Management and Self Assessment (TMSA) scheme and the Vessel Inspection Questionnaire. This concerns primarily the issues related to BTM and BRM. If anyone has a comment, or wants me to bring up a specific problem related to these issues at our meeting, just let me know latest Monday.    

Wishing you successful training!

Best regards,
Martin Hernqvist
Managing Director
The Swedish Club Academy