RINA launches competence management system certification

RINA has released a statement claiming that it has successfully launched a new competence management system certification that will allow ship owners and operators to improve their crew’s skill level, as well as their shore staff’s skill level. PB Tankers – a company based in Italy – is the first company to make use of this new voluntary certification.

RINA NCC89E Rules for the Certification of Competence Management Systems sets out RINA’s competence management system. It states that companies should create, document, initiate and maintain a competence management system and constantly develop its efficiency in accordance with the rules. Furthermore, the company must determine which criteria and methods are necessary to ensure the effective operation and control of the management system. The company must also ensure that the necessary resources and information are available to support operations and monitoring of the system.

The system must include: a competence management policy; a plan for implementing the system on board and ashore; defined objectives and indicators from the company that are relevant to the system; competence assessment procedures; and a gap analysis and competence acquisition plan. Furthermore, there must also be a monitoring and evaluation process.

The General Manager Marine, RINA Services Paolo Moretti, said: “The increasingly complex technologies on board ship, constantly changing and ever more stringent regulations and the close attention paid to the preparation of the personnel by the verifiers used by charterers and also Port State Control officials make it necessary for ship operators to upskill their crews, and they need a system to manage that. RINA’s competence management system gives them both a system framework and recognition of their investment.”

The Managing Director of PB Tankers, Federica Barbaro, added: “We are confident that being the first to be certified with the competence management system will demonstrate to our loyal clientele the continual improvement we build into our services, the safety of our seafarers and environmental protection.”

Following an initial audit process, the competence management system is certified for three years, and then is maintained by using annual audits. It is capable of being integrated into a current business management system, and can work alongside existing industry systems, such as the TMSA.

Edited from press release by David Rowlands

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/product-news/01122015/rina-launches-competence-management-system-certification-1704/