Fully Booked in Singapore
In 2010, Kongsberg Maritime Singapore expanded its training facilities by adding a new classroom. Since then, the centre has doubled its course activity, hired additional training staff and recently moved into new facilities to meet the growing demand. Their philosophy is simple – they never cancel!
Kongsberg Maritime Singapore is taking bookings from all over the Asian region, offering a range of both tailor made and open courses in its brand new training centre which opened in Q1 2013. The centre features five classrooms dedicated to navigation, automation and DP, compared with three classrooms in the previous training facilities. In addition, there are five technical rooms, giving students the possibility to practice real-life scenarios as realistically as possible in a safe environment. They have also just started a new train the trainer course, where ship Captains come to learn how to use ECDIS.
"The increase in demand for courses is related to the steady number of newbuildings in this regiony"
Bjørn Andrea Mørken, Regional Manager Training and Customer Support, Kongsberg Maritime Singapore
Bjørn Andreas Mørken, Regional Manager Training and Customer Support comments: "The increase in demand for courses is related to the steady number of newbuildings in this region, meaning that more qualified personnel need to be trained. We can offer custom made courses in connection with specific deliveries, ensuring that our clients get customised training suitable for their specific vessel. In addition, we offer general KONGSBERG type specific courses that are open to anyone interested."
Never cancel
The training centre with its team of expert instructors, is aiming to be a central hub for training for the Asian region, also offering support to Kongsberg Maritime's training facilities in China and Korea. The new training centre has a qualified team of seven instructors who specialise within their respective fields, meaning that the centre has the capacity to offer several courses in parallel. Most weeks, the centre is fully booked in all classrooms, and the philosophy is to never cancel a course, regardless of the number of participants.
"With local training staff at the Singapore office, we ensure that courses are conducted regardless of the amount of participants. We have even conducted courses with only one participant. Our clients book their courses several weeks in advance, so we don't want to cancel at the last minute just because there is only one participant," explains Mørken.
Staying ahead
Kongsberg Maritime courses are well known for their practical, hands-on approach by the use of simulators and practical exercises. This is no difference in Singapore. One example is the DP advanced course, where the participants are presented with various scenarios that could potentially occur on board a vessel. DP instructor Surinder Mahandwan emphasises the importance for clients of staying updated with the latest technology, and points to several benefits of staff training.
"KONGSBERG deals with high-end, innovative and cutting edge technologies, and it is important for our customers to stay current. For a client who invests millions in expensive technologies just to stay ahead of competitors, spending a few thousand dollars more on training will ensure that he reaps the full benefits of his investment. First of all, equipment will have fewer breakdowns and less down time. When the crew members know more about the various functionalities of the systems on board, a vessel can operate much more efficiently," he comments.
Confidence through training
One of the main goals of Kongsberg Maritime courses is to provide confidence through training, in order to avoid accidents and ensure the safety of vessels and crew.
"The majority of accidents at sea are due to crew errors. Although these can be subdivided further, insufficient knowledge about ship systems is a factor. We deliver the latest technologies, and the world wide training centres endeavour to support the clients' requirements for training, in order that our technology is used to enhance operations and safety. It will ensure that Kongsberg Maritime equipment is exploited optimally worldwide, the correct way and more importantly the safer way," he says.