CONSULTING AND ANALYSIS
Consulting and analysis
All vessels, operators, and shoreside facilities must navigate a myriad of regulatory and non-regulatory safety guidelines to ensure a safe working environment. Flag State, Port State, Class Agency, insurance providers, government regulatory agencies, and a host of others are just some of what a modern vessel operator must understand. That training goes beyond the regulatory needs of STCW and their Flag State. MPT works with our clients to help develop Onboard Training Procedures, SMS Manuals, regulatory training reviews, pre and post audit training, and Job Task Analysis projects. MPT has experience on passenger cruise ships, tank vessels, mega yachts, cargo vessels, and shoreside terminal operations.
Bridge Team Management Evaluation
MPT worked with the largest cruise ship operator in the world to evaluate their current bridge procedures, developing a detailed review of these procedures and highlighting areas that would benefit from being updated. This resulted in an implementation of new bridge team procedures to not only ensure regulatory compliance but also to maximize the communications, interaction, and cross training within the bridge team.
Port Development and Familiarization
Using the specialized simulation design features of the MPT SMART Campus, we are able to create or modify port features and terminal designs to not only train mariners and pilot organizations, but to also vet new designs and port features. This allows port operators to test out projects that include new berthing arrangements, dredging, channel widening, and port expansion. Working with engineers and creating accurate bathymetric models and shoreside design features allows these projects to have a range of ship types and sizes in a multitude of weather conditions to come and go, all before the first yard of concrete is poured or the first ton of material is removed. Proof of Concept and Design Presentations are brought alive when those involved can see images and videos of ships transiting the areas with the same professional crew and pilots operating them that will be aboard when the ship arrives for real world operations.
Fire Rescue & Response
MPT developed a post-regulatory training and operations guide for a cruise line that would create a company specific response plan for each of their classes of vessels. We also organized their training to harmonize the level of training and standardized certain processes and techniques. This program provided both onboard and shoreside training for officers and command staff, along with fire team members and Quick Response Team members. It also provided shoreside command infrastructure to allow for a coordinated response to emergencies, along with integration of local, state, and federal responders.
Fire Response Operations and Fireboat Integration
MPT worked with local agencies to provide training and operations guidance to crew and support individuals, along with USCG licensing and NFPA 1405 training. We helped design specific training for individuals assigned with a primary or secondary alarm response to shipboard fires occurring within their operational area of local ports. Additional training on search and rescue techniques, vessel maneuvering and maintenance, and vessel coordination was provided.
Hazardous Materials Response
MPT worked to provide training programs and onboard procedures from the Awareness to the Technician level. Creating response protocols, equipment recommendations, and training for the first responders. Detailed risk identification and response training was a component of the training, along with an updated labeling and identification system that considered multi -lingual and multi-cultural crews.
Confined Space Operations
MPT updated and modernized the Confined Space Operations processes onboard, including updates to the permit system and to the training both shoreside and onboard. The training included all involved crew at the Awareness level and took the officers and entrants up to the Operations level of knowledge and skill. Detailed drills, equipment recommendations, and training programs allow the client to maintain the skills within their crew with annual training audits conducted onboard by MPT prior to class agency audits.
Emergency Procedure Training
MPT took on the task of evaluating the entire Emergency Response Plan for a major shipping company, from onboard emergencies such as fire and flooding to bridge response and shoreside coordination. That multi-year effort resulted in a detailed operational guide that provides specific procedures, training, equipment familiarization, and drills for virtually every aspect and every position involved in the response- both onboard and shoreside safety managers.
Onboard Refresher Training
Large operators often have difficulty maintaining the 1000s of crew certifications for regulatory and class requirements. MPT worked to create a training platform that has been approved in several countries to help an international client provide corporate training to their crew. This included STCW classes such as Basic Safety as well as Proficiency in Survival Craft. This program not only streamlined the process but provided significant savings as the training is conducted onboard the vessels rather than having to send these mariners ashore to a school.
Job Task Analysis
For many of us, new technologies and new processes have created new stressors for how best to integrate them into our daily operations, as well as how do we train for them. MPT performs JTA's across virtually all aspects of vessel operations to help identify the knowledge and skills required by crewmembers to perform their jobs. MPT cadre work with management in a systematic approach to address legal, regulatory, professional best practices, and industry requirements to break down these tasks into objectives that can then be sequenced in a training program.
Medical Training and Response
MPT employs paramedics, nurses, physician assistants, and specialty physicians to help vessels develop onboard medical response and training programs that suit the specific needs and exposure risks of the vessel. This training is post-regulatory and picks up on the principals and lessons taught during STCW regulatory courses. This training can also be incorporated into a medical response protocol with a shoreside medical provider and help the company develop standards for equipment, training, procedures, and both initial and long-term care operations.
Onboard Drills and Crew Integration
All the training and procedures in the world will not help if your crew cannot apply them efficiently and safely whilst onboard the vessel. A function of STCW was to harmonize the training across the globe so all seafarers were trained to the same standards. In application however, there are still gaps in the training and processes taught in regulatory courses around the world. MPT works with a company and vessel to develop onboard drills that are not "generic", rather they are specific to the vessel, its operations, equipment, and risk factors. Taking crew from a variety of different nationalities and creating a cohesive unit requires significant effort, MPT has decades of experience doing this and has worked with companies that have over 30 different nationalities represented within their crew. Integrating their skills and training into a single response effort is daunting but one that is vital to successfully respond to onboard emergencies. MPT works alongside vessel management to develop these drills and implement them onboard in realistic scenarios that utilize the ship's equipment and infrastructure. This allows us to provide analysis and feedback very quickly on the viability of the plan and make changes to address any deficiencies.
Shoreside Terminal Safety Operations
The MPT Group includes a division that provides shoreside safety training and consulting for the oil and gas industry, marine terminal operators, fishery canning operations, as well as other related fields. The training is designed to address specific risk factors and employs training methodologies that meet or exceed industry standards. We have developed classes for Atmospheric Monitoring, Chemical Release Response, Portable Fire Extinguisher Use (in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.157), Injury and Illness Prevention, Emergency Action Plans and Fire Prevention Plans, Medical First Aid, Confined Space Awareness, General Safety, Use of Personal Protective Equipment, Crane Safety & Rigging, Fork-Lift Safety, and a myriad of custom programs. Our client companies recognize the advantages of having synergy between their onboard and onshore training and response plans, this extends well beyond the DPO. We work with industry experts to develop safety plans and training classes that are uniquely tailored to your specific needs.
Contact MPT to discuss how we can help you achieve a higher standard of safety and operations, continue the training beyond the classroom and maximize its value to your operation.
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