Marinelms News

Expedition cruising company Lindblad Expeditions will deploy Marine Learning Systems’ online training platform, MarineLMS, fleetwide, following a successful pilot period. According to Marine Learning Systems, online training at sea has always been a challenge for operators due to the unique and challenging maritime operating and training context, especially in the remote locations where Lindblad Expeditions often operates. The Vancouver, B.C. based company has developed its training…

E-learning technology and service provider secures £10,000 grant to implement proof of concept for end-to-end crew training solution aboard working ferryInmarsat announced that e-learning technology and service provider Marine Learning Systems (MLS) as the winner of the its inaugural Ferry Open Innovation Challenge, a competition inviting start-ups and SMEs to propose digital solutions that promise to enhance the working lives of ferry crews. Launched in January 2022 in collaboration with the largest ferry operator in Greece…

A customer once told me that they had just completed a business continuity analysis and had identified their LMS as their second most mission-critical technology - second only to payroll! Take a moment to consider how much you rely on training technologies to sustain your operations and compliance. How long could you comfortably go without your employees having access to training? How long could you go without access to your compliance records or your employees’ certificates?

In a coming edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, we explore modern training and “blended learning” techniques with Murray Goldberg, CEO of Marine Learning Systems, maker of MarineLMS. A researcher and developer of learning management systems, Goldberg’s software has been used by millions of people and companies worldwide. Here Goldberg explains the scope and important of a historic new annual survey, The Maritime Training and Insights Database (MarTID) (www.martid.org/survey).

As I write this article I am flying back to my home base in Canada from the 42nd annual Interferry conference in Split, Croatia. Interferry is an outstanding conference full of dedicated and passionate ferry operators and those who serve the industry. One presentation was delivered by Captain John Wright, a Master Mariner who has spent his career in the maritime industry in a variety of roles including vessel master, marine superintendent, chief executive and general manager. All of his roles have had a focus on safety and cultural change.

Everyone responsible for safety or training in their organization is very aware that everything is changing in the maritime world. The worker demographic has shifted. Regulatory demand is rising and compliance is more complex. Fortunately, it is also the case that maritime safety and training has entered a renaissance period. New tools are available that improve training outcomes and allow organizations to assess the state of training and compliance with a level of insight not previously possible.

Everyone responsible for safety or training in their organization is aware that everything is changing in the maritime world. The worker demographic has shifted; regulatory demand is rising; and compliance is more complex. Accidents are more public and the consequences more severe. Ignoring this changing operational context means we are creating risk for tomorrow – a risk that increases every day until finally something gives. It has become increasingly difficult and risky to operate in today’s environment using yesterday’s tools and processes.

It’s a major understatement to say that Subchapter M is top of mind for workboat operators. While most would agree that the new regulations will raise the level of safety and operational sophistication, most would also likely agree that with change comes uncertainty, cost and effort. Thus it was no surprise that at October’s national meeting of the American Waterways Operators, discussions were dominated by Subchapter M and its implications for operators. As a former faculty member at a large research university and someone very focused on training in the maritime industry…

Marine Learning Systems, an eLearning software and services provider, delivers interactive, customized maritime training with a key focus on safety and performance improvement. Company founder and CEO Murray Goldberg explains. “Creating technologies that improve training outcomes” is Murray Goldberg’s professional passion. A relatively new tool in education, eLearning has gained acceptance as an effective means for knowledge acquisition in many educational and industrial fields.

Seagull AS and Marine Learning Systems are partnering to provide the full library of Seagull learning content on the MarineLMS training platform. The partnership will provide an integrated solution to the cruise and ferry industries enabling rapid deployment of eLearning programs with course content on land and on-board, with or without connectivity. The system will also provide metrics and analytics which identify training issues before they become performance or safety problems.

BC Ferries cut time loss injuries in half; it reduced serious injuries by two-thirds; it slashed annual insurance claims costs by more than three-quarters. What are you waiting for? Can a vessel operator completely reshape its safety culture? Can it transform communications, training, operational practices and even employee engagement? And most importantly, if an operator is able to make such sweeping changes, what measurable difference will it make? It turns out it can make a huge difference to almost every meaningful key performance indicator…

Like it or not, eLearning is transforming maritime training. People may argue its merits and applications, but there is no arguing that it is here to stay. As eLearning continues to expand its presence, all of us involved in maritime training are going to be faced with critical decisions about whether and how we employ it in our organizations. But do we know enough to make informed decisions? Do we truly understand eLearning, its strengths, its limitations, and how it is best applied? This is the second in a series of articles which examines eLearning in the maritime industry.