DP Newsletter
Dynamic Positioning
Issue 2 - May 2015
Welcome...
Welcome to the second edition of our Dynamic Positioning newsletter, which aims to keep all of our stakeholders up to date with developments in the certification and accreditation activities that we undertake on behalf of the maritime industry.
The new DP training standards agreed by the offshore industry via the Dynamic Positioning Training Executive Group (DPTEG) in 2014 came into effect on 1 January this year. The purpose of the scheme, originally established in 1983, has always been to ensure well trained DPOs are available to carry out safe operations in the oil and gas sector. In a fast evolving, technology-driven industry it is paramount that training is kept up to date to meet the offshore sector's specialist needs and the revisions to it take account of these.
The DP standards have been maintained and updated with the full engagement and cooperation of all key stakeholders working through DPTEG. DPTEG is facilitated by The Nautical Institute and comprises the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), International Dynamic Positioning Operators Association (IDPOA), International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), International Support Vessel Owners' Association (ISOA), Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), and Regional Training Providers in Asia, the Americas and Europe.
The main changes to the DP scheme from 1 January 2015 were:
Introducing shuttle tanker and restricted certificates for unclassed vessels alongside the established limited and unlimited certificates
Moving from 30 days familiarisation to 60 days DP sea time between induction and simulator courses
Introducing additional assessment after completion of simulator course
Moving from a total of 210 days DP sea time to 120 days DP sea time
Moving from a minimum of one hour on DP desk per qualifying day to a minimum of two hours per day
Moving from a logbook to an enhanced task book
Moving from no revalidation requirement to revalidation every five years
The revised scheme was supported by the launch of the Alexis Platform (
http://www.nialexisplatform.org) website, which provides a single point of access for trainee DPOs seeking certification and certified DPOs who have to revalidate their certification. The new IT systems were extensively tested prior to the launch but there were a number of technical glitches that came to light in the initial weeks of operation. Our IT team has worked 24/7 to address these and the system is now running far more smoothly. We would like to thank users of the Alexis Platform who experienced any difficulties during this period for their patience.
The Alexis Platform is designed to help DPOs meet the requirements of the new training standards and to submit the correct information to allow us to assess their applications as efficiently as possible. It contains all the advice and information to support DPOs with their applications and checks that the correct information is being input at every stage of the process. This ensures that correctly completed applications reach the 20-strong team responsible for the management and administration of the scheme.
We are pleased to report that the processing time for new applications is significantly reducing and that the 10 new staff members that have joined the team since last year are also making headway in addressing the backlog of applications within the system.
You will find more information on the performance of the scheme below, along with advice on how best to submit successful applications. We are committed to reporting our performance on an on-going basis and also to working with the schemes stakeholders to ensure that the new standards are understood and that the new requirements are effectively consolidated in the coming months.
Our aim is now to issue newsletters on a monthly basis, to ensure that we keep the global DP community up to date with news on activity and developments.
Regina Bindao
Director of Accreditations, The Nautical Institute
DP Scheme Performance Update
There are two major themes to our DP work at present. The first is ensuring the successful roll out and consolidation of the new DP training standards and the second is to address the backlog of applications from 2014.
In preparation for the launch of the new scheme we have invested in additional resources, including £100,000 in the Alexis Platform and creating 10 new posts within the DP team.
The performance of the new system is being closely monitored and all new applications received are now being logged, processed and dispatched by the DP team within an average of 21 days, if they are successful or unsuccessful. Verified or unsuccessful applications are dispatched to applicants by courier twice a week.
If an application is potentially successful but there is a small query on the documents, the applicant is emailed at this point in the process and is able to track the communications and application status by logging into their DP account.
According to data collected in the last six weeks, the new system has improved the internal processing by reducing the verification time from an average of 50 minutes to an average of 22 minutes. Applications for initial certification may take longer due to the extra checks in place.
In overall terms, there are currently 1,200 applications within the processing system of which around 500 have queries against them and are awaiting further information from the applicants.
Based on our experience to date, the new systems and the additional team members are ensuring that fewer applications are received containing errors or missing information and that overall processing times for verification are reducing. Both factors are ensuring that we provide an improved service to users.
Using The Alexis Platform
In this section we provide advice to users of the Alexis Platform to help them navigate the system and submit correctly completed applications.
It is important to note that the system was designed to help applicants complete each step with advice, guidance and help provided within each online section of the system. Making use of these functions especially the help buttons on each page will provide answers to most questions and speed up the application process for the individual concerned. Please check these resources before you contact us with a question.
The system will reject applications that are not properly filled in or lack the required information.
All applicants must attach a full set of the required documents in an electronic format (JPEG, PDF etc.) when applying online. They must also courier the hard copy originals of the documents to us for verification.
The DP team receives more than 800 emails every week and they are categorized according to the subject and responded to as quickly as possible. For example, emails regarding the classification of vessels and password requests are prioritised. Applicants are requested not to send multiple emails on the same subject until they have received a reply to their initial enquiry.
Revalidation of DP Certificates
The revalidation of DP certification every five years is a new requirement of the scheme, which came into effect in January. DP Certificates remain valid as long as the holder operates DP systems regularly or until a certificate is due to revalidation. The revalidation of DP Certificates will be phased as below:
2015: Revalidation of certificates issued from 1984-2002, 2009 and 2010
2016: Revalidation of certificates issued from 2003-2004 and 2011
2017: Revalidation of certificates issued from 2005-2006 and 2012
2018: Revalidation of certificates issued from 2007-2008 and 2013
2019: Revalidation of certificates issued in 2013 and so forth.
We strongly recommend that DPOs who already hold our DP certificate should log their DP sea time in their NI and/or IMCA logbook. Confirmation letters from employers are required for the validation of DP sea time gained after 1 January 2014. More information is available at the Alexis Platform and has been communicated to the industry through the members of DPTEG.
The Revalidation Process and Alexis Platform
We are aware of the problems faced by some DPOs when logging in to the Alexis Platform and applying for revalidation. Temporary glitches are resolved quickly and we are attending to the matters raised by the applicants as quickly as possible.
Currently, we are working on the applications received in early to mid April and, as noted above, these are being turned around within an average of 21 days as the revalidation process is quicker than initial applications, which have additional checks in place.
The major issue arising with applicants for revalidation is the incorrect creation of a new account or duplication of the existing one. In order to revalidate a certificate, the system must recognise that the certificate exists and the candidate must therefore use the same account that was created the first time the certificate was issued, even if the certificate was issued before the implementation of any online application system. If a candidate does not know the login and password of that original account, they should contact the DP staff at
[email protected] and they will be issued with the correct log in details. Revalidation candidates must not create a new account, as this will cause delays to their application being processed.
As with applications for new certificates, the section of Alexis Platform for revalidation has extensive help screens built into it to assist applicants. DPOs should make full use of these facilities before contacting us for help.
Incorrect online entries will be rejected until the applicant inputs the required information correctly. Thereafter, the physical submission of supporting documents is required and the time overall time period required for the final process of certification and revalidation is vastly reduced.
NI Circulars To The DP Industry
Below are summaries of two recent circulars to the industry, relating to the DP scheme.
Transition from old to new DP Scheme DP Induction Course and Logbooks
Ref. Circular No. 001/2015 dated 01/04/2015 and Circular No. 003/2015 dated 13/04/2015
Trainee DPOs from the old scheme who have undertaken the Induction Course can transfer into the new scheme. However, DP sea time logged in the old logbook will not be validated and will be cancelled because the DP sea time requirements are different in the old and new schemes.
If a candidate wishes to transfer into the new scheme, the old logbook must be surrendered (black, blue, or green) to the Institute with a request letter. The Institute will issue a new logbook, the old entry of Induction Course will be entered (provided it complies with the five year rule) and the database at the NI will be updated.
Training Centres are NOT authorised to replace logbooks.
Candidates who have already joined the new scheme cannot surrender their old logbooks since this should have been done before they commenced the new scheme.
Old and new DP Scheme Vessels and DP Class Certificates
Ref. Circular No. 002/2015 dated 01/04/2015
The new Alexis Platform IT system set up to deal with applications has many checks in place. One of the checks is the DP Class of a vessel in order to confirm DP sea time (dates) claimed by an applicant for a particular period. To ensure a validated database, the Institute removed vessels that did not have an IMO number or DP Class from its database.
The updating of vessels' DP class in the database is an on-going process and some vessels may not show up due to various reasons: DP vessels may have DP systems upgraded or downgraded without the Institute's knowledge and some fleet details sent by companies have named vessels which are not yet DP classified. As a result, some DPOs may find the system rejecting a revalidation or initial certification application because vessel details cannot be verified.
To issue a Full, Limited or Shuttle Tanker Certificate, the scheme requires the vessels where sea time was gained to be DP Classed.
In cases where the Institute had previously accepted certain un-classed vessels, companies are requested to send the details to the Institute. These will be crosschecked to see if details remain the same as were previously in the database. Such vessels will be re-entered to the database to assist the DPOs in their applications but the time frame for using the DP sea time on these vessels will be restricted to sea time gained before 31 December 2014. Sea time claimed after this date must only be on vessels with classed DP systems.
The above consideration is not valid for candidates who have joined the scheme after January 2015. All entrants to the new scheme are advised not to commence training on any vessel that is not DP Classed if they wish to obtain a Limited, Unlimited or Shuttle Tanker Certificate. Failure to do so will result in obtaining an Un-Classed Certificate.
For DPO revalidation purposes only, the Institute removed the DP Class date check from the IT system at the end of February. However, some applicants may still not find their vessels in our database. The Institute will add these on an on-going basis.
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