TOPSIM - HEISS is an innovative way of turning learning into action and thereby focusing on creating a safety culture and developing a high performing crew. The participant can experience the clear connection between successful operations and the human element in the shipping industry. Simulating on board management decisions, TOPSIM - HEISS participants realize their own development and leadership responsibilities.
The Seatrade Shipmanagement Group is a leading shipmanager of a diverse fleet of vessel types and the world-market leader in reefer shipping. Presently, the Netherlands-based company has 80 vessels under management.
Seatrade wished to further improve on safety and the way of interacting with each other. That is why the “Seatrade Standard” has been renewed, functioning as an aid for performance improvement and offering a clear framework to work within.
In order to support the development of Seatrade’s leaders onboard and ashore, the 2008 self-designed ‘Management and Leadership Development Program’ has been reviewed and improved.
The challenge was to have a program transferring the existing knowledge about the Human Element into hands-on leadership actions in real life, leveraging the investment already made in ‘Understanding the Human Element’ or MCRM courses.
In order to increase the learning transfer and effectiveness of the program, Seatrade designed a new program based on contemporary research findings and practical experience. Together with Tata Interactive, TOPSIM - HEISS has been developed as high leverage method, integrated in an experiential, multi-dimensional learning and development process.
Simulating a possible reality on board a vessel, participants need to apply concepts learned in previous HELM/MCRM courses and exchange practical experience in order to lead the virtual crew appropriately.
Making the TOPSIM - HEISS course problem-oriented, not theory-oriented enables participants to take actions and get direct feedback from simulation, facilitator and other participants. By balancing on board related assignments, simulation, theory and reflection, participants experience a highly interactive and participant-driven course instead of a “class-room-seminar”.
TOPSIM - HEISS turned out to be the ideal accelerator for Seatrade's "Management and Leadership Development Program". The participants have to put their knowledge into practice during the simulation, thereby considering the Seatrade Standard. Furthermore the participants also experience the benefits of value-driven decision-making, both as an individual and as a team.
Combined with an individual-centered ‘Turning Learning into Action’ follow-up approach, the concept shows significant differences to all so far conducted maritime training approaches, not only on a personal but also organizational development level both ashore and on board.
The faculty of maritime studies at the University of Applied Sciences in Leer/Germany has a long tradition, founded 1854 as the “municipal school for navigation”. Leer is the second biggest shipmanagement area after Hamburg, and nowadays the maritime faculty is a well-known educational institution equipped with leading technology such as bridge and engine room simulators.
The increasing traffic density on waterways leads to complex situations. Nowadays, managing bridge teams is inalienable and thus, personal skills and effective resource planning are key elements of a successful management. Accordingly, sufficient levels in management and leadership competencies are also required by the STCW 2010 Manila amendments. However, contemporary accident analysis published f.i. in the MAIB Safety Digest 02/2016 still point out failures in situation awareness, alerting others, communication, complacency and safety culture onboard accounting for 75% of the causal factors in maritime incidents.
The bridge simulator offers the opportunity to train and improve these skills and helps to increase efficiency as well as safety and security.
The challenge was to have a holistic module improving the students’ leadership performance as ‘bridge management team’, thereby combining strengths of TOPSIM-HEISS as ‘mobile’ management simulation conducted in intensive 2.5 days and the locally ‘fixed’ bridge simulator experienced by the students over 10 weeks in sessions a 4 hours.
After a first ship handling module in the bridge simulator and being introduced to their tasks for the next weeks, the ‘bridge management teams’ experience within the TOPSIM-HEISS course upcoming challenges like time pressure, complex decision-making, group dynamics and success factors for effective communication.
Additionally, students refresh existing knowledge and transfer theoretical concepts in hands-on leadership interventions. Due to the simulated crew reaction after action of the virtual ‘HEISS – Captain’, the complexity of onboard leadership as well as the effects of specific actions become very ‘tangible’ for the course participants.
This learning experience is again turned into task-oriented actions during the following bridge simulator sessions. Thereby, both team- and task-oriented competencies are integrated and experienced in a safe learning environment within one simulation-based learning module.
TOPSIM-HEISS accelerates the development process of the participants in their bridge management teams. As stated by one participant: "We as one team are now at a point where we probably would have been after 4 – 5 bridge simulator sessions".
Integrated at the beginning of the bridge simulator module, students benefit from team- and task-oriented decision-making directly, receive constructive feedback for their challenges in the near future and have earlier the capacity to deal with difficult situations within the bridge simulator.
Furthermore, a valid and reliable environment for further scientific maritime research in the areas of for instance multi-level leadership, shared mental models, complex decision-making or behavioural-oriented training has been created.
Considering the Human Element as distinctive success factor in business operations, GigaMare Inc. ensures that their training programs and services are developed and innovated based on contemporary research and industry best-practices.
Located in Subic Bay, Philippines, GigaMare’s training portfolio includes courses covering fields such as safety navigation, efficiency, environmental, cargo handling, human resource, mechanical, electrical, automation programs for the Maritime, Energy, Oil & Gas, and Mining industries.
At GigaMare, the Human Element is the core foundation of all courses in order to Provide Training That Makes a Difference.
GigaMare stands for making a difference for their customers by helping them to reach their business goals, a difference for the cadets and trainees by equipping them with ideal skills and competences for safe and efficient work, a difference for the society by fostering economic development and environmental sustainability, and a difference for their employees by providing long-term sustainable work and opportunity for growth.
The challenge was how to continuously further develop human-centered learning programs in the domain of leadership and management, delivered with the aid of their unique hands-on facilities.
Empowered with TOPSIM train the trainer courses by Atria Learning & Development, the newest addition to the GigaMare portfolio are two TOPSIM Leadership and Management Simulations, being now the first training centre with accredited trainers in the Philippines.
In order to utilize their strengths beyond the maritime world, GigaMare now can offer courses with the TOPSIM Human Element In Shipping Simulation (TOPSIM-HEISS) for the maritime industry as well as trainings applying the TOPSIM Change Management Simulation for a wider business environment.
Engaged in very interactive, intense and hands-on training courses, participants make leadership decisions instead of just saying "I would do". Due to the unique course setup and design, participants really experience being the human element themselves, and develop themselves as leaders as well as being a pro-active member of high-performing teams.
Having already a team of highly experienced trainers at GigaMare, participants in the TOPSIM train the trainer courses were able to build on all existing knowledge and experience.
They were empowered to further develop their competences in the areas of ‘Gamification’ and ‘Action-orientation’, in order to conduct highly interactive, hands-on and practice-oriented trainings in the domain of management and leadership, and are simply rewarded by motivated and engaged participants!
GigaMare can lever the investment made and commitment in their existing training workforce and facilities, and customers benefit from new effective and efficient trainings, both for the maritime and the business environment.
Lloyd’s Register Marine Training Services EMEA opts to deliver tailored, relevant courses featuring real life scenarios – training that’s shaping businesses and the future of the marine industry. With a global community of experts dedicated to quality and safety, LR offers a level of choice few can match.
In the ever dynamic marine environment, being able to successfully implement and communicate changes towards a safety culture has always been vital and perhaps never more important than now. Severe accidents have been caused by leadership failure in, especially, behavioural oriented changes on board.
The challenge was to design a course can be customized to specific organizational needs and combined in a ‘holistic development approach’ with other Lloyd’s Register courses like "Understanding the Human Element", "Risk Management and Incident Investigation", "Management of Change (TMSA)" or "Train the Trainer".
Lloyd’s Registers latest additions to the training program will support maritime professionals not only in identifying what needs to be controlled in terms of changes, but also to implement and communicate changes within their organisation and create the necessary internal support.
The training course "Safety Culture Leadership" applies the TOPSIM "Human Element in Shipping Simulation", to facilitate experiential learning for maximum knowledge and skill retention. Delegates are directly shown the consequences of their actions by the displayed changes in team performance, based on individual behaviors, team status, cultural values and situational factors.
This course explains why leadership is essential for the successful implementation of changes towards the development of a Safety Culture. Through the highlighting of the five phases of implementing behaviour orientated change and by means of creating a business case for change, delegates can start to create a specific action plan and communicate the required change to their own team / crew.
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The human element is a crucial aspect in the shipping business and the key factor for the vessels’ performance. TOPSIM - HEISS offers an innovative way of making this crucial and very complex topic tangible. The interactions and interdependencies of corporate values, national culture, group dynamics and behavioural patterns within the virtual TOPSIM - HEISS crew are simulated following a holistically approach, as it is in real life!
Training is not about gaining knowledge, but changing behaviour at the workplace in the long run. During the TOPSIM - HEISS simulation, participants acquire individual hands-on leadership experience as well as team working skills, with significantly higher retention rates compared to normal class-room training. All these benefits are obtained in a risk free environment.
TOPSIM - HEISS is an approach to effectively train seafarers in leadership positions how to create a safety culture, not only focusing on individual but especially group behaviour influencing safety and performance on board.
Atria Learning and Development GmbH
TOPSIM - HEISS Germany
Hafenstrasse 6 - Haus "Hamburg"
26789 Leer
Germany
