Maersk Training

eSeaM A R I T I M E / O I L & G A S / W I N D / C R A N E · N O . 2 1 / 2 0 1 5

EM AGA ZINE FROM M A ERSK TR A INING

21

RELAXATIONEXPECTATION

INNOVATIONDEDICATION

Remote Well Control Tower > Core Education >

Moving Forward at the Speed of Light Sockets > Taking Your Passion Into The Office >

‘Bad Day At The Office’ Curling Career Turner > Sync On Skis >Leif ends at 18 >

Houston I’ve Got No Problems >The Adventures of Katwoman >

The Seagull Has Landed >Barrels of fun – not! >

Thinking Inside The Box >

2

Core EducationThe staff at Maersk Training’s centre in Aberdeen have been working closely with Apple in order to make the iPad contribute to the learning experience whilst at the same time removing the need for books and writing materials. >

Remote Well Control TowerFor over a month Just Wessel has been ‘co-piloting’ a well drill which is happening 700 kms due north of him. >

Moving Forward at the Speed of Light SocketsRome wasn’t built in a day, but Dubai tries. There are few places where things happen as quickly as in Dubai. >

content

The Adventures of KatwomanTwenty-three year old Katrina Benton is a walking fixing dynamo at Maersk Training’s two Aberdeen centres. >

The Seagull Has Landed Stephen Smith is a perfect example of the species, post-squaddie. Perfectly built for the job, robust, resilient and ready for action. >

Taking Your Passion Into The OfficeThey sit in adjoining rooms, just metres apart, but Susanne Slotsager, Jesper Nielsen and Leif Meitilberg have one thing in common, they have all represented Denmark at international level in their chosen sport. >

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23 26

64 8

Barrels of fun – not!We keep hearing that the cost of a barrel of crude oil rises and falls and as it does the whole world shudders. But what exactly is a barrel?. >

Houston I’ve Got No ProblemsMaersk Training in Houston is still just concrete, but by the end of the summer it will be a fully functioning drilling complex for America’s fastest growing city. >

Thinking Inside The BoxIt’s funny how dependent we get on the little things in life. >

2518

10

fragile

3

This is the ation issue, stories reflecting

innovation, relaxation, expectation. In some

the reflection even crosses over to provide a

dual reason for highlighting the story.

There’s innovation in Aberdeen where one of

the world’s most successful and innovative

companies has backed an idea which creates

a whole new use for the iPad. And there’s

innovation across the North Sea in Stavanger

where onshore technology is providing a

unique support service to a rig 700 kilometres

away.

Then there’s relaxation, although the

participants might not quite see it that way.

Sitting just a few metres apart we find three

international players in three very different

sports. Here they consider that what they do

in their spare time on ice, snow and concrete,

helps them develop their skills at work.

And finally there is expectation – separated

by nine time zones are two concrete shells,

the expectation is that before the summer

ends, people will be sitting at simulators

and in classrooms in both Houston and

Dubai. Expectation is what Stephen Smith

experienced some months back when he left

a career in the army for a new one offshore.

He already knows that his great expectations

have been fulfilled. Now he’s on a North Sea

production platform helping ensure that the

barrels of crude oil continue their journey to

power our cars, homes and lives.

Barrel? What’s a barrel? We answer that too,

another ation, an explanation.

editorialRichard [email protected]

Hamburgefintsiv

For over a month Just Wessel

has been ‘co-piloting’ a well

drill. Just has not been any closer

to the sea than driving home

along Stavanger fjord, but he is

right on top of the drill which is

happening 700 kms due north of

him.

Of course the airlines might look

to their control towers and say we

do the same thing, but not quite.

The air traffic controller knows

altitude, speed and direction, but

he has no information about how

the plane is performing or how it

would react to adverse weather.

Remote Well Control TowerIn many respects the offshore industry in all its guises, from maritime to drilling, has looked admiringly at aviation and said ‘that’s the way to do it.’ It’s been a catch-up process that never catches up, but a project that’s been going on in Norway might just have the airline’s looking over their shoulder and thinking, ‘Real Time Decision Support, that’s clever.’

Images created to show how a Remote Well Control Tower could look

4

Hamburgefintsiv 5

In the event of an accident, the full

story would not be told until the

black box was recovered. What

Chief Instructor Just was doing

in Maersk Training’s simulator

complex in Stavanger was to take

all the data from the rig via a live

feed and to use it to predict how

the well was proceeding, hence

the title, Real Time Decision

Support. It is a multi-faceted

service which uses simulation for

consultancy and forecasting.

‘It’s a bit like having a second

driller, second supervisor, second

tour-pusher on tower,’ Just

explains. ‘We can determine how

fast or slow you can run in and we

have a well-kill model to estimate

the kick margins during the drill.’

NOT OR NEVER AVAILABLEWhat it does is to promote a

pro-active, rather than reactive

approach with an automatic

overview of the entire process

being driven by a level of

experience not always available

offshore and using computer

power that is never available.

The rig itself is the Transocean

Arctic currently working on a

HTHC well, north of the North

Sea on Haltenbanken. A semi-sub,

the biggest hurdle they have had

to overcome in the past month or

so, has been the last of the winter

weather. ‘Last week we only did

45 meters when we should have

done 1000 to 1500,’ says Just.

The usage of the word ‘we’

indicates the amount of

involvement the shore-base feels

about the project. It also helps

encapsulate why the project has

such potential. Communication

between off and on shore has in

the past often been an issue, but

now Just has a daily meeting with

the onshore team and at his finger

tips precise information about

what is happening way out there

in the deep blue sea.

SUPPORTING FIVE WELLSThe adverse weather also

answers the question, why don’t

they do this on board? There is a

lot of expensive equipment which

would be idle during bad weather

and downtime. From his seat in

Stavanger Just estimates that

he could contribute to certainly

three, but maybe five, drills,

spreading the equipment costs

and compacting the knowledge.

Starting as an inspired idea at a

technology day, the concept has

taken a decade to become reality,

but with the backing of several of

the majors it has done just that. It

being the first of its kind one well

was enough this time around. ‘We

were also learning as we went

along, continuously improving the

models,’ says Just. ●

'We can determine how fast or slow you can run in and we have a well-kill model to estimate the kick margins during the drill.’

The staff at Maersk Training’s

centre in Aberdeen have been

working closely with Apple in

order to make the iPad contribute

to the learning experience whilst

at the same time removing the

need for books and writing

materials.

‘It’s quite an extensive project

we are going through at the

moment. The initial idea was

Core Education

Marcus is six on his next birthday, after the summer break he starts proper school and on day one he will be handed an iPad. This, and subsequent developments in technology, will be his constant learning companion for the rest of his formal education. Marcus is not a spoilt child, he’s a child of his generation.

Ben is thirty-something and a driller, he’s about to have some further education, a drilling technology course. He too will rely on an iPad to get the message firmly implanted in his mind. However the iPad he’s borrowed for the five day-course is rather different. Ben is not a pampered driller, he’s just getting a better learning experience.

Mike Prate-Cockayne in his own Garden of Eden6

7Core Education

to put the course material on

using pdf, but we wanted to

go completely paperless, all

our forms, check lists, safety

checklists, risk assessments,

absolutely everything. It includes

participants’ workbooks, test

papers during class time.’

explains Operations Manager

Mike Prater-Cockayne.

In conjunction with Apple in the

UK they have developed the iPad

so that it becomes an integral and

interactive part of the learning

process. It’s a two-way process

between the instructor and the

participant, but one where the

instructor retains the controlling

hand. There’s no need for the

instructor to say ‘go to chapter 12’

and then have to wait as the class

stumbles through the pages of a

book.

NO EMBARRASSMENTA simple click sends all the iPads

to the right section. What’s also

innovative is the traffic light

system where the participants

can quietly inform the instructor

of how they feel about the

information. Green for yes, amber

for a little more clarification and

red for not understanding. ‘It

cuts out the embarrassment of

putting your hand up and saying

you don’t understand or I’m

struggling,’ says Mike.

The system uses a Beta operating

program which is two updates in

the future away from what the

rest of us use today and it allows

the instructor to know precisely

what the knowledge level of

each participant is. A simple

Q&A page charts the knowledge

base of the participant. This

helps tremendously in situations

like OPITO courses which are

standards driven. There is no time

wasted going over old ground.

The brains of the whole project

is an independent server. This

gives access and control of as

many devices as you need. It

also enables the function which

sees the iPads close down when

outside of the desired range. In

effect they go into a coma should

they leave the building and can

only be brought back to life by

returning. The benefits are twin-

fold; they insure the iPads have

no exterior value and they keep

the knowledge in one place.

‘There are occasions when we

would want the knowledge to

be accessible to the participant

and they can have that. All the

classwork they have done is sent

to them electronically at the end

of the course and they have the

ability, when in the building, to

use QR codes on various bites

of equipment. This gives them

instant access to videos on how

the equipment is used,’ says Mike.

iGREENA better learning experience is

the goal, but there’s no denying

that an estimated saving of £30

thousand in printed materials

makes the project a tablet that

any CFO could swallow. There’s

also the benefit that a lot more

trees will continue to shred leaves

and pine needles. ●

'What’s also innovative is the traffic light system where the participants can quietly inform the instructor of how they feel about the information. Green for yes, amber for a little more clarification and red for not understanding'.

The system also allows the instructor to see what topics the participants have prior knowledge of. A simple Q&A page charts the knowledge base of the participant.

Hamburgefintsiv

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but Dubai tries. There are few places where things happen as quickly as in Dubai.

Moving Forward at the Speed of Light Sockets

8

Kasper Arendt Dahl opened

up his laptop and ‘bingo’, the

announcement of a new offshore

training centre totally dominated

the local news on the internet.

At that moment Maersk Training

in Dubai was a hollow shell of a

building in a new development

site - in exactly 26 weeks

mariners and oilmen would be in

front of simulators doing courses.

‘At the moment it is just concrete,

an area with pillars and posts,’

he says. ‘Dubai is a remarkable

place in terms of construction,

the time line is simply amazing,’

says Kasper who was already

wondering who to invite to the

opening day, despite the fact that

there was yet to be one electrical

socket in the building.

EVERY BRICK IN THE WALLPart of the relaxed atmosphere on

the part of the planners is due to

the fact that the Dubai centre will

roll off the back of another new

centre in Houston which rolled

off the back of developments in

Maersk Training in Europe. ‘We

have in Operations Manager

Tonny Moeller, our knowledge

hub, what he doesn’t know about

the best way to set things up

effectively we’ve yet to find.’

Tonny, a former chief instructor

in maritime watched every

brick being laid at the MOSAIC

9Moving Forward at the Speed of Light Sockets

Space today, within weeks it will never look the same again

10Moving Forward at the Speed of Light Sockets

complex in Svendborg and

with each new centre there are

refinements which add to the

learning experience. Classrooms

are working areas and people

respond better if they are

designed with learning in mind.

Ten years ago there was no such

concept as a ‘break out’ area.

Classrooms themselves also

reflect a change in approach, gone

are the long rectangular boxes

with a board at one end, in their

place a more open environment

where there’s more interaction

and contact.

‘I think what we’ve learnt is that

you can bring a set of architect

drawings to the table but you

need to look at them with

different pairs of glasses. First

you work out the size of the rooms

and then you put on the customer

experience glasses and look at the

facility from an entirely different

viewpoint,’ says Kasper who

said they had security glasses,

IT glasses, power glasses and a

look to the future pair of glasses

among others.

The whole area is a designated

government incentive known as

Dubai World Central, DWC. Beside

what will be the world’s biggest

airport, they have 140 sq kms of

desert which will host Expo 2020,

a major world event and the first

time it has come to the Middle

East. DWC will remain as a new

business city.

ANCHOR JOB‘We are an anchor client at DWC,

we are not just a commercial

company coming in and setting

up an office space. We will have

a multiplier effect because we

will draw in people and their

companies from all over. We’ve

been conceptualizing this as a

regional hub of offshore training

excellence from day one.’

One of the benefits is that DWC’s

corporate communications team

has been very helpful in making

sure that the good news hits the

networks. The news of the centre

went out on a large number of

DWC’s platforms and then that

got taken up by other agencies

and newsrooms – ‘hopefully

because our soon-to-be presence

in the region is welcomed as

a contributor to creating a

knowledge hub in the region.’

In the meantime the clock ticks,

the electricians are hard at work,

watch this space. ●

Dubai Factfile• The entire United Arab

Emirates cover an area the

size of Austria

• Dubai is just 5% of the land

area of UAE , yet is still the

second largest - Abu Dhabi

86.7%

• 1822 population about 800,

today 2.1 million

• Only 17% of population are

Emirati – Indians represent

more than half

• Dubai most populous state in

UAE with 35.6% From 1968-

75 it increased three fold.

• A pearl port until Great

Depression 1930’s and

invention of cultured pearls

• Asphalt runway in 1965 then

in 1970 Duty free shop

• Oil was only discovered in

1966

• There are seven emirates,

together they hold the 4th

richest oil reserves in the

world

• Dubai average summer high

41C overnight low 30C

• Dubai hotel rooms second

only to Geneva in terms of

expense

I think what we’ve learnt is that you can bring a set of architect drawings to the table but you need to look at them with different pairs of glasses.

Hamburgefintsiv

They sit in adjoining rooms, just metres apart, but they have one thing in common, they have all represented Denmark at international level in their chosen sport. In fact two of them are currently presidents of their sport’s national body.

The sports, one largely

summer and two definitely

winter, are diverse, but if one

word were to join them it would

be precision.

Susanne’s polished granite rock is

released with a calculated precise

movement which can only be

adjusted by teamwork, for a few

seconds four people become one

through communication with

curling.

Jesper concentrates, along with

his eleven teammates, for they

know that on misjudged move

will destroy months of precise

practice for the synchronised

skiers.

Leif knows he’s out there on his

own, only he can determine his

result and he can only do it from

concentration and making precise

calculations because anything

else will not deliver the perfect

round in mini golf.

Here they tell us how they got into

their sports and how sometimes

their sports get into their jobs. ●

Taking Your Passion Into The Office

Clockwise, Susanne Slotsager in action at the Salt Lake City Winter

Olympics, Leif Meitilberg has a different ball for every situation

and Jesper Nielsen about to grab a ski lift

11

Hamburgefintsiv

One week in February 2002 turned Susanne Slotsager’s life upside down and inside out. Denmark’s women were one of the best curling teams in the world and at the 19th Winter Olympics, bronze, silver, gold even, beckoned. In the end when Susanne and her Hvidovre clubmates got back on the plane to put Salt Lake City behind them, they were battered and bruised having only won two out of nine games, it was a classic ‘bad day at the office.’

One week in February 2002 turned Susanne Slotsager’s life upside down and inside out. Denmark’s women were one of the best curling teams in the world and at the 19th Winter Olympics, bronze, silver, gold even, beckoned. In the end when Susanne and her Hvidovre clubmates got back on the plane to put Salt Lake City behind them, they were battered and bruised having only won two out of nine games, it was a classic ‘bad day at the office.’

‘Bad Day At The Office’Curling Career Turner

12

13‘Bad Day At The Office’

It was such a disappointment

that it caused Susanne to

rethink her life, one that she’d

built around the sport – ‘as a

teenager my whole life was in

the curling club. I don’t even

remember the parties in the

gymnasium (high school). My

parents were an active part of

one of the first clubs in Denmark

and the first president was like an

uncle to me,’ she recalls.

Post Salt Lake all that dedication

and passion evaporated. For

Susanne it was time to get on and

do something different, build a

career, a life away from the rink.

But the defeats in Utah were to

linger and in a positive way, the

negative memory was to turn.

‘After a couple of years of

frustration at the loss I started

to study organisational

psychology which is basically

the psychological process in

groups. I did it because I couldn’t

understand where it went wrong.

Back then we were a group that

functioned, or failed to function, as

individuals. But even then I could

not see that it was this failure

that had actually motivated me,’

says Susanne. ‘When at Salt Lake

City my job was in HR. I started

out in HR having studied social

work, so it all came together.

Today I can see that there was a

red line through everything I was

doing, but I didn’t see it back then.

Today I use a lot of my sporting

experience in my work.’

SIMULATION, THE FUTURE?Susanne didn’t touch ice, except

in drinks, for nearly ten years.

Then the World Championships

came to Esbjerg in 2011 and she

went to see a game –‘I met all the

people from my past and I was

hooked again. Within three years

I was president.’

Curling is a relatively new sport

in Danish terms, but the Olympics

and its surrounding kudos, has

propelled it into the mainstream.

‘Up to 20 years ago it was a beer

sport, socially driven. Now to

compete you need to be 100%

professional on and off the ice.’

That’s why Susanne is smack

in the centre of the target,

without ever getting the

chance to play. Most of her

presidency is spent on strategic

development and leadership,

such as the current round of

talks with Team Danmark –

the Danish Governmental Top

Ahtlete committee – about high

performance development.. Then

a thought struck her, like the

eighth and final granite stone

slipping into the target and

kissing the opposition stone to the

back board, ‘we use simulators

at Maersk Training to define and

refine actions, maybe that’s where

the Danish team preparing for the

2018 games in South Korea, need

to be.’ ●

‘After a couple of years of frustration at the loss I started to study organisational psychology which is basically the psychological process in groups'.

Hamburgefintsiv

Jesper Nielsen’s passion and his career compliment and contribute to one another. At work he aims to bring the best out of people in creating a united team; at play he is part of a team that is not just united, but in perfect sync. Jesper is part of the Danish Synchronised Skiing team.

Sync On Skis

14

15Sync On Skis

To associate Danes with

specialist downhill skiing

is akin to having a Mongolian

Surf Club, but no. ‘Actually for

a country without mountains

and little snow, we have a very

competitive approach to skiing.

We, as a nation, are better at

it than you’d expect,’ he says

pointing out that London, Paris,

New York all have people who

love to ski but can’t do so on their

doorstep.

Skiing has been a huge part of half

of Jesper’s life. The synchronised

skiing team is an extension of his

former day job as an instructor in

the French Alps for 12 years. Now

at Maersk Training in Svendborg

his role revolves around getting

mariners and oilmen to develop

their communication practices in

order to lead and be lead better.

‘How to move people from one

place to another, how to develop

people,’ he explains. The ski team

is this in a microcosm.

‘There really couldn’t be a greater

internal contrast within skiing.

As a skier you are an individual

setting out to do the best for you.

We are ten to twelve people and

what you have to do is to adapt

to the style and techniques of

someone else, usually the lead

skier,’ he explains. ‘That lead

skier is usually a median talent,

so some have to step up their

performance and others moderate

to make sure we come down the

mountain as one. That’s what

being synchronised is all about

and some really good skiers can’t

do it, they can’t merge.’

VITAL AWARENESSJesper says that he uses how

to handle people from different

environments and on different

levels and how to support them

in moving in the right direction

in both work and play. ‘Being in

the mountains you have to be

constantly safety aware and this

is the same thing we have in the

industry, accidents can be deadly.

Situation awareness is crucial in

both arenas.’

Asked if he could witness any

common ground between skiing

and curling and between his and

Susanne’s work approach, he

immediately noted that ‘we’re

both competitive and want to

be the best we can. I think if you

want to reach any level you have

to have that gene in you. You have

to be prepared to do things over

and over until you’ve mastered

it. We also share a comfort with

being with people from different

backgrounds - that is where

people in sport and people at work

most combine.’ ●

Being in the mountains you have to be constantly safety aware and this is the same thing we have in the industry, accidents can be deadly. Situation awareness is crucial in both arenas.’

Click to see Jesper

and his team in action

– Denmark are in blue

Hamburgefintsiv

Leif Meitilberg remembers well the day a chance decision to kill some time turned

into a passion; a passion which lead to him representing his country and to becoming president of the sporting body that was to

consume hours, days, weeks of his free-time.

Leif ends at 18

16

17Leif ends at 18

‘It was in 1990, we’d been relaxing

having a couple of beers and

someone suggested mini golf – an

hour or so later I was hooked,

four years later I was playing for

Denmark,’ he recalls.

We’re talking mini golf here, not

the multi-million dollar version

which requires a tolerant partner,

a home that needs no repair and

a healthy bank balance; nor the

version which needs just two

clubs and a ball, pitch and putt.

It’s not even the slightly mad-

capped Disneyesque version of

the game which requires more in

luck than technique to get the ball

past the revolving windmill and

into the duck’s mouth.

Mini golf is pure precision and a

total inversion of the game which

requires an area the size of a farm.

To start the 18 holes can fit onto

an area the size of a tennis court,

the players generally only carry

one club, a putter. The biggest

change is in the ball they use.

The Saturday golfer hopes to get

round the whole course using

the same ball. Leif and his fellow

competitors have cases full of

balls, varying in colour perhaps

but each having an individual

characteristic or quality that

makes them unique, and in some

cases valuable. They cost 120 to

160dkk, but when prized they can

have a resale value of up to 3500

kroner.

18 IS PERFECTIONEvery golfer dreams of a hole in

one, the mini golfer dreams of

18 of them. Leif has had many

perfect rounds, and he says you

can’t draw a similarity with the

club golfer’s moment of one stroke

glory. ‘I’m not devaluing it, but for a

golfer to hit a hole in one it takes a

good shot, the rest is largely down

to luck, the bounce, the run of the

grass. With mini golf to get an 18

requires the perfect technique 18

times in a row,’ he says.

To do that he judges the surface,

the temperature, the atmosphere

and then selects the ball he thinks

is right. To find any sporting

similarity you need to look to a

147 break in snooker.

We’ve all seen videos of Tiger

Woods and Rory McIlroy

swinging a club at just four. ‘With

mini-golf it is pure technique and

you can’t expect to have the touch

and control until you are at least

twelve,’ says Leif. The bonus is

that you can play on and on. Leif

remembers having a round with a

guy who’d been playing for thirty

years and then at the age of 72,

and in Leif’s company, he scored

his first perfect 18.

Don’t confuse Mini Golf with its

Goofy cousin, Crazy Golf. There

are no motorised windmills or

other driven objects, it is pure

geography and geometry.

Leif plays for Denmark Seniors

and reached his own sporting

pinnacle at Easter when he

clinched his first major, the Nordic

Seniors title against players

from Scandinavia and the Baltic

countries. ●

Click here to see Leif’s

moment of triumph

Speed is everything in

Houston, chief instructor

Kim Laursen first observed,

‘that was the biggest initial

shock for me, the traffic, the six-

lane highways with everyone

rushing everywhere. It seemed

unstructured at first but now it

is easy. But still it took a while

to get comfortable with driving,

especially after the country roads

around Svendborg.’

Houston I’ve Got No Problems

Dad’s idea of a fun day out, seven-year old Magnus gets a treat outing,

the Galveston Drilling Museum

18

There’s another empty shell of a building, in another oil hub, half way round the world from the new Maersk Training centre in Dubai. Maersk Training in Houston is still just concrete, but by the end of the summer it will be a fully functioning drilling complex for America’s fastest growing city. Several of the latest to join the ever growing population have been re-located Danes, moving from country into the fast lane.

19

The take me home country roads

of Houston are massive and

fast, even though it takes Kim

an hour each way. ‘I leave for

work at about 5.30 to get in early.

But driving along, even when

it is quieter, you are constantly

reminded of the dangers. There’s

a big billboard with the current

yearly number of road deaths

in Texas. We’re not yet really

into the spring and already it is

362, that’s currently about 35 a

week. It is a very strong message

to someone working in a safety-

based industry. You see car

crashes every day, the traffic is so

dense.’

Kim’s current journey will be cut

to just 20 minutes when the new

centre being fitted out close to

the airport is finished. Currently

he’s building the instruction

team with much of it coming

from the former Transocean

training centre, which was

assimilated into Maersk Training

in January. For at least the next

five years Maersk Training will

be responsible for the technical

training of Transocean staff,

where they are currently

operating from, not just in

Houston, but worldwide. His

current task is to get IWCF up and

running along with competency

assessment for crane operators

and drillers.

UPS AND DOWNS‘I’ve really got used to it, so

much so that coming back home

to Svendborg to help with the

performance enhancement

course, I found driving my own

car strange, and mildly scaring.

Twice I nearly started it into a

wall forgetting to use the clutch,’

he says.

The speed of life in Houston has

been readily accepted by his

young family, especially by his

wife Lisa ‘who’s a better driver,’

although Matilda at 11 is finding

the local education system quite

tough. She’s not alone in that

since the state decided to strive

for excellence and moved the

curriculum forward by to years.

Son’s idea of a fun day at home

– well he could do this

in Svendborg in March

Houston I’ve Got No Problems

20Houston I’ve Got No Problems

Everything about Texas and

Houston in particular is about

striving to the top and to do that

they have drawn people from

all over the world. The Danish

Laursen’s fit in well in what is

America’s most multi-cultured

society and fastest growing,

highest earning city. More than

half the population is first-

generation American or, like Kim,

on a working visa.

INSTANT HOMESThe building process amazes Kim.

He smiles as he observes that you

can drive down a road one day

and you see workers putting up

the wooden interior structure,

drive past the next and you see

stone walls outside, drive past

next week and there are kids

playing in the garden.

‘They just glue the stones on and

don’t expect it to be used for more

than thirty years. Who knows

how big Houston will be in 2045?’

he says.

The hustle, the bustle, shopping

mall car parks the size of

downtown Svendborg, yet it’s

been a relatively easy transfer.

‘We are all used to English, I can’t

imagine a transfer the other way

from the US to Denmark could

ever be so comfortable. At six

Magnus is the least comfortable

with English, but it is really funny

to see him play with other kids

in the neighbourhood. He just

knocks on the door and says “can

boy play” they say “Minecraft?”

and that’s the last we see or hear

of him for three hours.’

Strangely as part of the Houston

boom, Kim has already met two

former classmates who, even

although they are in different

industries are now based in

Houston.

‘It’s the place to be.’ He says with

the slightest hint of a Texan

drawl. ●

• Named after war hero Sam

Houston by two brothers who

decided to build a city in 1836

• Oil discovered in 1901

• 4th most populated city in US

• Home to the world’s largest

concentration of healthcare

and research institutions

• Rated most culturally diverse

city in US

• Home to NASA’s Mission

Control

• Apollo 13 never said ‘Houston,

we’ve got a problem’ what

they did say was ‘Houston we

had a problem’ but Hollywood

thought that might somewhat

curtail the movie

• If Houston does have a

problem, it is air pollution – it

is #6 in the list of US ozone-

polluted cities

• One crucial factor in the

growth of Houston was the

availability from the 1950’s of

affordable air conditioning

• It’s a hanging offence to put

graffiti on someone else’s

cattle

• Infamous: Houston was home

to ‘the Candy Man’, Dean Corll,

one of America’s worst serial

killers who killed 28 young

boys in the early 70’s.

• Famous: Beyoncé was born in

the city in 1981

The Houston facility is destined

to be a very active place for

at least the next five years.

In February they followed up

the agreed cooperation with

the world’s biggest drilling

company, Transocean, by

signing a contract to provide

virtual environment training

to oil major British Petroleum.

Houston’s position is pivotal

to the US oil industry and the

scenario-based training process

developed at Svendborg is

central to creating an enhanced

workforce through better

technical and non-technical

skills.

Houston Factfile

Top League Training

Hamburgefintsiv

Water pipe burst, internet down, new sign needed, send for Kat. What Kat can’t do, she’ll call in the experts.

The Adventures of Katwoman

21

The Adventures of Katwoman

Twenty-three year old Katrina

Benton is a walking fixing

dynamo at Maersk Training’s

two Aberdeen centres. ‘I don’t

have a toolbox, just a set of Allen

keys,’ she says, but they are

a very flexible set since when

something’s needed she’s right

there.

She explains that she never set

out to be a one-girl maintenance

engineer, ‘it just happened that

way. I’ve sort of fallen into jobs

and picked it up as I moved

along. I’m everywhere. Main

maintenance tech for Portlethen

and Kingswells so I have to

manage external contracts – all

the management and form filling

has just come as along-the-way

education

The first job she fell into was

built around her love for diving.

‘The shop I worked in contracted

out divers to the rigs so I spent a

lot of time servicing equipment,

regulators and the like.’

It was in the dive shop that she

met Mike Prater-Cockayne, then

a diver and now her operational

boss at the two centres. ‘Mike got

a job in maintenance at Maersk

Training and as he moved up the

position became available.’

DESK FREEHer new role was not dissimilar

to her old one, servicing diving

equipment, but there was a lot

more variety around the corner.

Today Kat not only services the

rafts and dry suits, patches wet

suits, but pulls one on and jumps

into the pool to assist in HUET

– helicopter underwater escape

training. What is different is that

when she emerges, in seconds she

could be up a ladder, hammer in

hand.

‘I couldn’t have a desk job, couldn’t

sit at it, have to adjust the legs,

take one off and put it back on

again,’ she says.

Somehow it is a statement that

doesn’t take much questioning. ●

22

Hamburgefintsiv 23

They are perfectly built for the job, robust, resilient and ready for action. There are plenty already in position and plenty more waiting to join them from the production line.

Stephen Smith is a perfect

example of the species, post-

squaddie.

Seventeen years with the

military, he now works on a

North Sea production platform

putting his mechanical skills

to use in a very different arena

to those he worked in with the

29th Commando Royal Artillery

regiment. His transition from the

army to oil and gas has not been

without its moments of tension,

like when a fishing boat broke a

gas line, but now back at home

in Aberdeen after three months

on and off shore, he has had the

chance to reflect on the two lives

he’s led.

There are many similarities

and quite a few shocks, mostly

positive. Like the emphasis

put on safety in the oil and gas

industry and the way training is

a little more structured in terms

of things put into stages. But the

biggest initial change he had to

overcome was in adjusting to the

teamwork ethos.

The Seagull Has Landed

The Seagull Has Landed

‘The army is all about teamwork,

you are as strong as the weakest,

we constantly learnt there is no

‘i’ in team. But in industry there’s

a lot of “I did this, I did that,” it’s

taken me some time to get used

to,’ he reflects mentioning the

early job interviews were he was

asked what he’d do and he was

left thinking, ‘surely it’s what

we’d do in the situation.’

‘It’s about selling yourself

differently, once you get out there,

there’s plenty of teamwork.’

NOVEL CHOPPERSStephen, a staff sergeant, put

in for voluntary redundancy

and was a little surprised when

it came up. The transition has

been ultra-smooth and just

about perfect timing. His long-

term partner Natalie and he are

expecting their first child in April.

The shift patterns, two on two off,

are a lot more family convenient

than a tour of duty. Stephen,

known as Smudge, has seen

duty in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and

Afghanistan.

‘Now Natalie only worries when

I’m flying,’ he adds pointing out

another dramatic difference

between industry and the

military. ‘The helicopters here

have seats and doors and are

much quieter.’

He arrived in the industry at an

interesting time, just as prices

fell and the pumps and the effect

rippled through the industry. But

he was well prepared. ‘Natalie’s

dad, brother, uncle and her mum’s

partner all work offshore and one

of them said to me, “stay away

from drilling, everyone needs

production,” and that’s where I

started, on my birthday and even

before I was officially out of the

army.’

Stephen’s transition from the

military started in June with

a specialist company, Last3

Recruitment preparing him for

a new occupation. That involved

instruction at Maersk Training’s

centre in Portlethen just south of

Aberdeen. ‘I was very impressed

by both the facilities and the

instructors. They took time and

responded to all our questions.’

NO REGRETSWith the industry going through

a change at the moment Stephen

still has no regrets and is looking

to the future, becoming a lead

mechanic and then maybe a

supervisor job onshore in five

years or so.

‘I know it is early days but I’m

pretty confident I’m made the

right move.’

Benson his dog is also happy, for

him his favourite tour of duty

is a walk in the Aberdeenshire

countryside. It’s a walk that

might now include a pram with

a baby girl on board, Stephen

and his partner Natalie became a

family on March 2. More than the

seagull has landed. ●

Reunion - Stephen (second from right) and some old mates catch up on a

Scottish Loch

24

Hamburgefintsiv 25We keep hearing that the cost of a barrel of crude oil rises and falls and as it does the whole world shudders. Today we almost enjoy filling up the car, but then we pick up the paper to see companies trimming back because cheap oil to them means a production crisis. Through it all the news talks barrels, but what exactly is a barrel?

First of all in oil terms it is

American, and not to be

confused with the imperial

measurements. There are 42

US gallons in a barrel, that’s

an inconvenient 158.98722

litres, and the contents, when

petroleum products or alcohol,

are referenced at 16 degrees

Celsius. In the 1860’s oil in the

Pennsylvania fields was collected

in whatever they had at hand,

clearly something needed to be

standardised. They pick up some

old English wine barrels and that

was that. The gasoline oil drum

carries a further 13 US gallons.

But what exactly do you get from

a barrel of crude? To start off to

further confuse things you get an

extra 6.43 gallons on top of the 42.

This is due to additional elements,

such as alkylates, that are added

during the refining process. Crude

oil varies but a typical barrel* is

expect to yield a little over half

(51.4%) as petrol, then there’s

15.3% diesel, 12.3% jet fuel, gas

5.4% and coke at 5%.

The barrel isn’t yet finished,

residual fuel oil, the stuff that

drives heaters makes up 3,3%

and LPG is a further 2.8%, asphalt

lubricants and other refined

products make up the remaining

4.1%. A barrel of oil is a bit like a

Chinese chicken, every part is

used for something.

So if it produces 51.6% in petrol

that’s 94.6 litres of petrol from

a barrel which cost, in total,

recently $50. When you consider

that about 60% of what you pay at

the pump in the UK and Denmark

is tax, you start to see why the

industry is presently looking

down the butt of a barrel. ●

*data from the California Energy Commission

Barrels of fun – not!

It’s funny how dependent we

get on the little things in life.

Take cruise control for instance.

Personally it doesn’t really matter

when buying or hiring a car what

size the engine is, my selection

process starts on the bottom-

rated car offering my right foot a

rest on motorways.

Very kindly my mother-in-law

lent us her car to get us over a

minor transportation dilemma.

It is in fact a shopping bag on

wheels, provided you don’t buy

too much. The engine struggled

at 100 KPH and my right leg was

the most exhausted part of my

body for the first part of 200

kilometers.

The journey was quite tiring,

but not quite in the league of the

Australian guy whose story came

out in a book a couple of weeks

back. In terms of inventive travel

this was thinking inside the box.

It’s funny how dependent we

get on the little things in life.

Take cruise control for instance.

Personally it doesn’t really matter

when buying or hiring a car what

size the engine is, my selection

process starts on the bottom-

rated car offering my right foot a

rest on motorways.

Very kindly my mother-in-law

lent us her car to get us over a

minor transportation dilemma.

It is in fact a shopping bag on

wheels, provided you don’t buy

too much. The engine struggled

at 100 KPH and my right leg was

the most exhausted part of my

body for the first part of 200

kilometers.

The journey was quite tiring,

but not quite in the league of the

Australian guy whose story came

out in a book a couple of weeks

back. In terms of inventive travel

this was thinking inside the box.

thinking inside the boxthinking inside the box

fragile

Poopdeck 26

27Poopdeck

It was in 1964 and the guy,

like most twenty-something

Australians was in London. He

was called Reg Spiers, they don’t

write names like that anymore.

An injury had ruined an athletics

career that should have taken

him to the Olympics in Tokyo

the previous summer. Now out of

sport and out of work, he was out

of money.

BIRTHDAY PROMISEBack in Australia he had a young

daughter and he’d promised her

he’d be home for her birthday. The

boat was too slow, a plane seat

too expensive, so he came up with

a daring compromise. He’d fly as

cargo.

With the help of a friend they

made a box to the then maximum

specifications for air freight –

5x3x2.5 feet, a metre and half

at its longest – inside he’d lie on

his back, knees to chest, holding

on to two straps. As I drove to

Copenhagen in the shopping bag,

it made grumbling about no cruise

control, rather petty.

The box closed and opened from

the inside and Reg’s plan was

to get out of it once in a while,

providing the baggage handlers

hadn’t placed it too close to

something else. To survive he’d

some canned food and two big

plastic bottles, one with water

and one to receive a sort of water.

The second bottle didn’t last very

long; in Paris during the first of

several plane changes, he was

disturbed and had to quickly get

back into the box. In haste he’d

left the bottle on top and the

French baggage handlers took

it as an insult from those filthy

English at Heathrow.

THE CLEVER PART Another close call was in India

where he was left out on the

tarmac for four of the hottest

hours of the day, upside down.

But he was an Aussie and they

are both durable and stubborn

and eventually, after three days

the plane landed in Perth. It was

daring, dangerous and clever but

the cleverest bit was yet to come.

Freighting a heavy wooden box

would have cost him more than

a seat in the plane, but the box

had been shipped to a fictitious

shoe company, ‘to be paid for

on arrival’. He was forklifted

into a customs hanger to await

collection. He got out, cut a hole in

the side of the building and went

to a birthday party.

We’ve all had one nightmare

journey that teaches us

something. August 1995, London-

Kingston, Jamaica, aisle seat

37C, back of plane. Shoes off for

comfort, I take a comfort break.

Stepping into the toilet and

flapping the doors closed I notice

two things - the light didn’t come

on and the previous passenger

had carried on regardless of the

problems caused by the darkness.

I jumped out, but stupidly didn’t

discard my socks, instead I tried

to wash them in the lit cubicle

next-door. Back in 37C I stretched

my legs as far as they would go

from my nose and carried on the

eight-hour journey, like a plank on

a seat. It wasn’t going to improve.

Seat 37C sat a little further out

into the aisle to accommodate the

shape of the back of the plane and

the coup de grâce came when the

hostess drove the trolley into the

seat and a half-consumed bottle of

claret landed in my lap. Jamaica-

bound I’d opted for beige chinos.

The immigration officer looked at

me, both of us lost for words. I was

lucky to get in.

Anyway these reflections of bad

travel, had killed some time on the

journey to Copenhagen, with the

engine roaring the little car and I

were doing 120kph. The sun was

coming up and for the first time I

could make out the top of the gear

knob. Small cars may not have

cruise control as standard, but a

fifth gear! I realized that Jeremy

Clarkson, I was not. There is some

relief in pain. ●

28eSea library To go back in time and access articles from

previous issues, simply click on the photo of the edition.

The numbers in front of the articles is the eSea issue.

For direct access click on the article title

eSea 1 Instructors’ back to sea programme - Sea Time Reduction announced - Vetting for Supply - New Deepwater Horizons open up

eSea 2New Towmasters’ course gets full simulation treatment - Deepwater course piloted - Wind industry - Drill instructor gets back to the well head

eSea 3MOSAIC II announced - Offshore wind, the new challenges - West African pilots use simulator to deal with the ‘big boys’ - CraneSIM in Vietnam - Piracy through the ages

eSea 4MT launches new website - Chinese in big safety push - Rig crane put in a box - Safety and People Skills build platform emergency course - how to communicate across cultures

eSea 5Maersk Training pennant raised in Dubai - Platform crews pilot Emergency Response course - How to be best in Vetting class - Danger of computer over reliance

eSea 6MOSAIC II, the ground is broken - Rig participants up to elbows in some very special mud - Semi-sub crew learns anchor handling - West African pilots start payback

eSea 7Chinese Container crews look to safety - Rig crane simulator tested - Esbjerg’s new facilities - MOSAIC II update - DP sea-time reduction - Coffee Break with Bent Nielsen

eSea 8Titanic Edition looking back at 100 years of increased safety and improved training - the lifeboat revolution - man overboard - spreading knowledge - tomorrow’s seafarers

eLibrary

eSea 9$15million Phone call - Wrappers off MOSAIC II - 5 Year drilling package - Tomorrow’s leaders today - Family comes too - Learning in luxury - Danish Olympians teambuild

eSea 10Breaking the ice, a new route in navigation - crane simulation arrives - Newcastle’s drop in course for the high life - the silent disease, loneliness - Chinese catch safety bug

To go back in time and access articles from previous issues, simply click on the photo of the edition or use the QR code.









eLibrary












eLibrary












eLibrary












eLibrary












eLibrary












eLibrary












eLibrary












eLibrary












eLibrary




eSeaM A R I T I M E /O I L & G A S/ W I N D/C R A N E · JA N UA RY 2013

macondo – a lesson unlearnt? the worlds most advanced offshore simulation complex >�

the most socially isolated person on planet earth? >

training to avoid skyfall >

captaining a floating town >

combating stress with underwater rugby >

11

EM AGA ZINE FROM M A ERSK TR A INING eSeaM A R I T I M E / O I L & G A S / W I N D / C R A N E · N O . 1 9 / 2 0 1 4

EM AGA ZINE FROM M A ERSK TR A INING 19

Hello GoodbyeWhat’s that...? >Moustache Or Madness? >Runway to Slipway >Lady in Black > RIGMAROLE* you don’t need >Rolling Back the Years >Floating Like Butterflies Stinging Like Bees >SCOTS land on MARS >Umbrella Fella >Sund of Silence >Friendly Fred & Frugal Friend >



20

On the move

From Diverse to Dynamic >New Day, New Horizon >Working for Transition >The Duke of Hazzard >Caso do Constant Care >Karoline’s Tartan Diary >2000 Light Years From Home >

MARITIME• 1 DP Sea Time Reduction • 1 Vetting for supply • 2 Towmaster course • 6 West Africans payback time • 10 Ice breaking through world

short-cut • 11 Captaining a hotel • 12 Bridge and engine room in

sync • 12 A new look at mooring • 14 What MLC 2006 means • 15 All Fired Up – a very real

computer game • 16 Ngoc’s Fourth Bar • 16 838 Days – Søren’s days in

pirate captivity • 19 Sund of Silence – a farewell

ferry story

O&G• 6 Semi-sub crew handling

anchors • 6 Mud course • 9 The $15million phone call • 11 Macondo – a lesson unlearnt? • 12 North Sea, experts look to

bright future • 14 Brazil’s oil and gender

revolution • 15 Gulf Lessons – performance

enhancement • 15 What is Performance

Enhancement? • 19 Lady in Black – Anna takes

us on a journey into the world of MPD

• 20 Working for Transition – new

logo, new role, same job WIND POWER• 12 The father of wind power • 12 Olsen team get specific

training • 13 Training at heights for lady

with no vertigo • 14 Blade Runners, the new high

level repairmen • 17 Carload of Hopes: the heights

some people will go to for a job• 18 Career Climber – Jonny

benefits from his car-eer gamble • 18 Bonus Points – we take a tour

of Siemens training facilities in Jutland

• 20 From Diverse to Dynamic – Dong Energy’s energised team in Esbjerg

CRANE• 3 CraneSim in Vietnam • 4 Rig crane in a box • 7 Rig crane simulator tested • 13 APMT’s management

improvement programme • 15 Slinging in the sunshine

SAFETY• 4 Container industry in big safety

push • 7 Chinese container crews show

huge progress • 20 Duke of Hazzard – Svitzer’s

newest employee is no accident

MISCELLANEOUS• 3 Piracy through the ages • 8 Titanic edition looks at

progress since 1912 • 10 Loneliness, the problem of

isolation • 11 Underwater rugby, combating

stress • 13 Piracy and the cross - the roll

today of the seamen’s mission • 14 The Story of Ngoc – a

remarkable tale of resilience and good fortune

• 14 Eat meet and leave – the messages in our diet

• 15 Puffed – Hawaii’s Ironmen • 15 Michael Bang-From defusing

to enlightening • 15 The story of the world beating

blue boat • 16 Colony of Hope, meeting

India’s stigmatised community • 17 Marstal – port of passion and

ferry tales• 18 Tracy’s Screen Test – we see

how to Skype yourself into the right job

• 19 Runway to Slipway - a pilot’s eye view of simulation training

• 20 51 Shades of Grey - Aberdeen city of contrast


wind powerWindmills - never ending or beginning >�Poul la Cour. Father of Wind Power >Olsen band crack safe operation >The Floating Table >Bridge and Engine in Sync >Door Knobs to Safety >The North Sea Glory Story > 12


eSeaM A R I T I M E / O I L & G A S / W I N D / C R A N E · N O . 14 / 2 0 1 3

food


Don’t blame the cook >Eat meet and leave >

Triple E = 3M’s >Brazil’s oil and gender revolution >Funny Tummy

So what is the MLC 2006 all about? >Food for Thought >Blade Runners >

Playing the name game >

The Story of Ngoc



15

Gulf Lessons >Keep taking the tablets > What exactly is Performance Enhancement? >When BP means Better Prepared > Nintendo boys, game on >Puffed, but the magic drags on >No bang Bang >Girls Out Loud >Every Boat Tells a Story >Science - stronger than steel >All fired up >Space, the final frontier >

performance enhancement

Piracy – Søren’s Somali Story

Ngoc's Fourth Bar >Colony of hope >

Farewell Favela, So Long Shanty >Starbuster >

All Sorts Have One Aim >Knowledge Seekers >

Helsingborg to Prague, via Svendborg >Surely not >



16

Carload of Hopes >Revolving door >

Caught Flagging >Logomotions >

Hard Drive for Soft Skills >Perfect Pressure Performance >

Marstal - port of passion and ferry tales >Rockall - All Rock or Oil Rock? >

eSeaM A R I T I M E / O I L & G A S / W I N D / C R A N E · N O . 17/ 2 0 1 4


17

The Great Bag of China- what's the secret of good branding?

Oceans Seven >Bonus Points >'Tracy's Screen Test' >What’s a Flag State? > She’s Leaving Home >Stonehaven, home of ... >SiberianOnSafety >Recalculating... >



18

Jonny’s $10,000 Gamble

Hamburgefintsiv 29

ContactEditorial issues and suggestions:Richard Lightbody - [email protected]

Names and emails of those able and eager to help with specific enquiries arising out of this issue

Sales enquiries Aberdeen (UK): [email protected]

Sales enquiries Brazil:[email protected]

Sales enquiries Esbjerg (DK): [email protected]

Sales enquiries India:[email protected]

Sales enquiries Middle East:[email protected]

Sales enquiries Newcastle (UK):[email protected]

Sales enquiries Nigeria:[email protected]

Sales enquiries Norway: [email protected]

Sales enquiries Svendborg (DK):[email protected]

Sales enquiries United States:[email protected]

Or visit our website www.maersktraining.com

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