Get packing, Go mobile

Wind turbines, particularly those offshore, take the learning process quite literally to new heights. There is no time to wonder how something works and how to make it work if you are 140 meters above a wind-lashed sea.

When Maersk Training started in 1978, drilling crews and later mariners travelled by plane, train or car (sometimes all three)to sit in a temporary classroom building and listen to a very experienced local instructor. This was the only option.

Today, everything has changed. Maersk Training has established training centres at the principal oil hubs, and has world-leading simulators and purpose-built classrooms. Maersk Training was aware that this was not the only option, considering, in particular, the specific needs of the wind
turbine industry. It was time to get packing and go mobile.

Maersk Training’s tried-and-tested policy is to take the learning process where it is most needed. The first practical application saw two mobile crane simulators touring the world for a decade. The simulators operated at ports and brought the training to the operational environment.

Focusing on skills without the risks and within the active port environment was beneficial at every level. Experienced operators could share skills and best practices for the betterment of all. Rookie operators could obtain proficiency
in the safest of situations, and entry-level drivers could be assessed as part of the interview process. Taking training ‘to the coalface’, so to speak, also works well on drilling rigs and oil platforms.

A comparatively callow wind turbine industry benefits from all the developments grounded in many years of maritime and oil & gas training. The crane simulators were housed in that most versatile of settings, a 40-foot container. Inside, there was room for a full cabin, an instructor post and a mini classroom. In ten years, thousands were trained across the globe. Class over, the container slipped anonymously back on board.

For the wind industry, Maersk Training decided to adapt the concept and take it a stage or two further. In the UK, they worked on a three-container set-up to provide a full range of GWO courses.

The first container was shipped a comparatively short distance. It was located onshore but within sight of the huge Walney Offshore Wind Farm in northwest England. It was barely operational before Maersk Training decided to construct a second and then a third. One container is already halfway round the world in Taiwan where, although temporary, it constitutes the first phase of a huge new wind turbine training facility.

In oil & gas, armed with this ‘in-a-box’ solution, a Maersk Training instructor can stay within normal airline luggage restrictions, unpack an effective simulator and deliver a wide range of courses. Add a people skills specialist to the technical instructor and you have a mobile version of the successful all-embracing courses run at Maersk Training’s centres. Training can be conducted on a rig, in a conference room, anywhere you like.
The advantages of training on site are that it fosters a positive atmosphere and the tools are at hand so that learning is immediately translated learning into working practices. The additional advantages to the client are less administration, lower travel and accommodation costs, and more trainees can be put through mobile training than through more traditional training methods.