Industry champions sign up to support digital emergency response standard
Published: 11 April, 2017
A TECHNOLOGY-led initiative to transform the way oil and gas workers around the world undertake safety-critical emergency response training has received cross-continent support from organisations keen to be part of its development.
More than a dozen training providers from as far afield as the UK, Netherlands and Brunei to Australia, Abu Dhabi and the US have signed up to become champions of the Digital Standards Integration, an industry programme to create regulated, consistent online safety and training Standards with world-class credibility and compliance.
Companies including Maersk Training, IFAP, MTC International, ERGT Australia, STC-KNRM Offshore Safety, AIS Group, Shell Roberts, M&A Safety Services, Petans, Bastion Technologies, GTSC, Yassine Marine Services, Survival Systems India and Megamas Training will all contribute to the creation, testing and pilot of the digital integration ahead of its launch later this year.
An integral part of ensuring the new digital standard is robust, practical and fit for purpose, the training providers will be involved in shaping the knowledge and learning elements that will transfer from the current standard into the digital version. Some training providers will also make their facilities available for filming live sequences which will be incorporated into the digital elements of the BOSIET course.
They will also be part of the piloting process of the digital elements of the standard in key energy hubs around the world, prior to its full global launch.
The Digital Standards Integration project is spearheaded by industry-owned, not-for-profit safety and workforce development organisation OPITO. International learning technologies leader Atlas Knowledge Group is partnering with OPITO on the creation of the digital Standards and a universal portal through which industry can access them.
“The oil and gas industry is changing and it is vital that the way we set standards, train people and assess competence continues to be relevant, effective and reflects the changing need of employers and workers,” said OPITO International managing director Graham Gall.
“Critical to the market and sought by a number of major employers, the inclusion of a digital element in the training offering represents a significant shift in how the workforce has been trained to date, providing an alternative choice of learning to the traditional classroom-based element of safety standards.
The most widely recognised and accepted set of global standards in the oil and gas industry, OPITO Standards have been adopted by major international and national oil and gas companies in 45 countries. Over 165,000 people per year train to OPITO Standards across the globe.
The need for, and introduction of, digital standards has been unanimously supported by oil and gas employers across the Americas, Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, UK and Europe.
Available on an opt-in basis, the Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET), Tropical BOSIET and BOSIET CA EBS will be the first standards launched and made available through the digital offering.
At present, the BOSIET/TBOSIET/BOSIET CA EBS is divided into 40% of classroom learning and 60% practical training. The digital version will provide an interactive, online alternative to the classroom based element with additional knowledge content.
Delivered in US English, it will be for new entrants and others returning to the industry; and the content will be refreshed and updated yearly. It will also include regional specific legislative content, ensuring the training is relevant and specific, no matter which country individuals are working in.
The verifying assessment of a learner’s performance during the practical learning outcomes of the standard will remain unchanged and will continue to be delivered by OPITO’s network of 200 approved training providers around the world.
“This investment by industry for industry is being introduced now to enable a transformational learning choice for new generations of entrants going forward into the oil and gas sector,” added Mr Gall.
“We will continue to engage with a wide cross-section of industry in the months ahead as this long-term initiative progresses.”
The digital BOSIET, TBOSIET and BOSIET CA EBS will be available in Q3 2017.
