Quality and Safety

Organization

The Dutch Loodswezen B.V.’s task is to ensure quality and safety with regards to the office organisation and the transport carried out by their crew. The office organisation continuously strives towards an improved quality.

As a result, an ERP-system has been implemented in order to optimise the use of a diverse range of electronic applications. They are also actively involved in acquiring an ISO certification. Moreover, the employees of Loodswezen B.V. are highly motivated and are schooled and trained to produce excellent performances. For example, the department dealing with transportation, which includes the transfer of marine pilots to and from sea-going ships, is in a permanent state of development with regards to quality, and especially safety.

For example, Loodwezen has worked together with external nautical engineers to develop their own fleet. The development and improvement of their own equipment, such as the rescue ladder onboard the fast tender, as well as bringing them all up to date with current regulations, has also been a priority. And above all else, the continuous training of the crews to ensure the most efficient and safe use of this equipment, is of up most necessity.

Pilots

The qualifications of marine pilots increase with experience. They are able to sail on vessels of all lengths after around ten years of on the job experience, depending on the stretch of water in the different regions. On top of this, they have to undergo continuous training for the duration of their career.

Permanent education

As well as gaining experience from normal daily work activities, there is a system of continuous training in place. Training programs are developed to allow for safe manoeuvring and navigation in newly built ports, for example. Sometimes, these programs are implemented before the port in question has been put into use. Moreover, there are a large number of shorter courses concerning modern communications and navigation systems, as well as voyages to areas seldom used within the different regions. With measures such as the continuous assessment of education and the passing on of newly acquired knowledge to colleagues, the Dutch Loodsencorporatie tries to keep one step ahead of all the new developments within the maritime world. Ultimately, the goal is to maintain the highly professional standards of the marine pilot.

The Training

The training of a marine pilot is divided into three phases:

• The first phase is training given on a national level, where sections such as general knowledge and post-HBO (Higher Education) theory are covered.
• The second phase is where the beginning of the regional training takes place and the national part is rounded off.
• The third phase is fully regional in orientation, where practical and theoretical knowledge gained in the other two phases is put into use for trainee pilots in that specific region.

At the end of the period of study, the trainee pilots will have made 200 voyages both in the day time and at night, in all weather conditions. On these trips they will be accompanied by an experienced pilot who acts as their coach.

When the training is completed, pilots are registered and may think that their days of studying are over…but they are wrong! During their whole career as pilots, they are required to complete a large number of courses and periods of training in order to maintain their level of knowledge and experience.

Pilots are not qualified to sail on every ship, initially. They have to go through a step-by-step process until they are qualified to sail on ships of all lengths, a process that has been implemented in order for pilots to build up their experience. Before these steps in ship size can be taken, however, pilots have to make a number of test voyages in which they are supervised by an experienced pilot.

After a period of ten years, pilots are able to sail on ships of all sizes, at which point they can volunteer to be able to pilot marginal vessels. This is ‘the specialist’! They are qualified to pilot vessels on the river and canal stretches with a length exceeding 235 meters and a draught of more than 12 meters. Their training consists of theoretical and practical sections based on the mathematical approach of forces that ships are subjected to, and their movements.

The practical section involves a difficult simulator training that is rounded off with an exam. ‘Specialists’ have to repeat their training and be examined, every three years.

Supplementary training

• Manoeuvring
  In order for the largest of ships to be piloted in an efficient manner, pilots are trained on a simulator specialising in manoeuvring. Here, they learn and maintain the knowledge of the specific skills necessary in order to manoeuvre on deep channel stretches and in ports. 250 marine pilots complete this supplementary training every year. This is about 40% of the total number of pilots within the national pilot corporation in the Netherlands. This simulator training program was started in 1998 according to ISO 9001- and the future ISPO- regulations.
  
• Shore based pilotage (Loodsen op Afstand LOA)
  If pilots can not board due to extreme weather conditions, ships still need to be taken safely to their destination. STODEL has developed a training program to combat these kinds of problems, involving shore based pilotage (LOA). This means that a certain part of the stretch that the ship has to sail, is piloted from a shore based radar station. At the moment, the Dutch Loodswezen B.V. has 175 qualified LOA pilots that take ‘refresher’ courses every three years.
  

• Personal safety
  Experience has taught us that accidents and incidents are usually the result of human error. In general, this is more of a behavioural issue and not one based on knowledge. Errors of judgement, negligence through routine procedures, and misunderstandings due to not hearing the order properly or it being wrongly interpreted.
  
  A method of human resource management has been developed to combat this by optimising the working relationships between people. This makes them conscious of the processes that occur within themselves, as well as in the relationships between different people. A course in Bridge Resource Management was introduced in 1993 by Loodswezen in order for pilots to recognise these processes so that they are able to handle them and correct unwanted situations. In meetings with, amongst others, the SAS Flight Academy, STODEL developed the Bridge Resource Management program. This supplementary course is not only followed by pilots, but is also given to ship’s captains and officers. It is taught by experienced marine pilots and is primarily used for optimising the teamwork between the pilot and those on the bridge. Pilots begin the course after they have been qualified for a year.

• Training for radar-manoeuvring
  STODEL has three advanced radar-manoeuvring simulators situated in IJmuiden, Rotterdam and Vlissingen. Trainee pilots, as well as experienced pilots are trained in a practical manner, to navigate and manoeuvre ships under conditions of reduced visibility.

Projects

Together with the chief pilot, the pilot service coordinators are on the go 24 hours a day to organise an efficient plan for the piloting of vessels. Weather conditions, the demands of shipping, the availability of marine pilots, the availability of equipment (tenders etc) have to be taken into account.

FOPA
This is the education and training of navigator and co-navigator/deck officer on jet-driven tenders. It is based on a system of a “Permanent training program for crews of jet-driven tenders”(B 200.00.02.480-1999)

The outcome of the "Formele Operationele Preventieve Analyse" (FOPA) and the contents of the TQM project have led to a change in the way the education, training and quality of the crew of a jet-driven tender are approached.

According to Loodswezen, a multi-disciplinary team is required in order to perform the required tasks and follow international developments concerning jet-driven tenders. Additionally, they have to maintain a high quality of safety. Through experience it has been found that busy shipping areas make higher demands on the safety management system, the crew and the boats.

The purpose of education of navigator and co-navigator
The purpose of this is to ensure that experienced captains and deck officers, who man the jet-driven tenders (who have already had a basic education and lots of experience), reach the levels of knowledge and skills, as well as having the right attitude, necessary to use the jet-driven tenders in a safe and responsible manner in the designated areas, based on an active bridge routine (navigator and co-navigator).

The purpose of education of deck officer of jet-driven tender
This is to provide a trainee deck officer on a jet-driven tender with the right knowledge and skills, including the right attitude, that are necessary to ensure a safe and responsible use of the vessel in order to place pilots onboard in the designated piloting areas, based on an active bridge routine (navigator and co-navigator).

The structure of the Permanent Education and Training Program:

• Phase 1 = FOPA test
• Phase 2 = Bridge routine program navigator and co-navigator
• Phase 3 = Basic program deck officer jet-driven tender

FOPA has, thus, resulted in the education of navigator and co-navigator. This course is offered to current captains and deck officers. New deck officers are trained on the jet-driven tender course, part of which is the navigator and co-navigator course.