By the very nature of the global industries, organisations and individuals that MTCS support, the factor of personnel working in remote locations is something of a given, however this can present challenges when there is the requirement to assess competence remotely.
Working offshore obviously places demands of connectivity but the advances in recent years in satellite, microwave and cellular technologies and associated communication services means that crew and personnel can enjoy the same – or close to – connectivity as those onshore.
Whilst we provide a comprehensive library of document templates which can be downloaded and used offline for recording tasks and activities, there is also the requirement for ongoing assessment of candidates’ knowledge and understanding of concepts, their ability to perform tasks safely and efficiently, and within acceptable time scales.
For any number of reasons, we appreciate there are times when a skills assessor may not be available on a platform or vessel, but there are also times when geographical distance on land means that a remote assessment is the only practical option.
Making use of everyday technology
Live video assessments are, we suggest, the next best thing to having a qualified Skills Assessor or Witness there in person, and the technology we all have in our pocket makes this possible.
Whether it’s Google Duo or Google Meet, FaceTime, Skype, Teams or Zoom, there are a wealth of live streaming video applications for both iOS and Android operating systems, many of which also include video recording functionality and all compatible between mobile devices and desktop or laptop computers.
Remote competence assessment via live video may need a little more organisation than having the assessor there in person, but having the ability to record the footage also has its benefits as this may be included in your personal portfolio as primary evidence.
Is it really an effective approach?
The answer is a most definite and resounding yes! Not only is remote video assessment effective, it can be incredibly efficient in terms of everyone’s time.
Only recently, MTCS were asked to conduct an assessment of a high voltage practical exercise carried out by personnel at National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. Given that the MTCS Head Office is located in the English Lake District, some 300 miles away, it would realistically have involved the best part of a day in travel alone.
With some forward planning and agenda setting, the remote assessment was conducted in around 90-minutes, with the subsequent video and audio recording available for circulation to all involved shortly afterwards.
On this occasion, we used Microsoft Teams on our desktop machines with the participants in Southampton on a laptop, and the results were perfectly acceptable.
Participants were able to ask questions and, likewise, answer questions from their assessor whilst undertaking the activity.
Whilst we fully appreciate that we and the participants in Southampton were in an office and workshop respectively, and not out on deck in inclement conditions whilst at sea, we still believe that using the available technologies is the future for helping with assessing personnel as part of their Individual Competence Assessment.
Here are a few tips to help achieve a successful live video assessment:
- Plan and communicate in advance – this is the responsibility of the Candidate to give their Skills Assessor adequate notice.
- Create an agenda – what task are you going to undertake, at what time, and what other information might the Skills Assessor need to know?
- Make sure you are familiar with the application and functionality of the device you’re using.
- If possible, arrange a ‘test’ video call with your assessor soon after you arrive at your work location
- If there is a poor or weak connection, find out what can be done to improve it.
- If the connection can’t be improved, then obviously find an alternative way to have your skills assessed in person.
- If a colleague is available, ask if they might help do the recording whilst you are doing the actual task.
- Consider investing in a small tripod to hold your mobile device – they are inexpensive yet practical.
- Record the video call and the activities done as this is good primary evidence.
- Add your own commentary while you film it, explain what you are doing and why.
- Don’t feel you need to edit or add any effects to the video – this will not make any difference to how the footage is assessed.
- Ask permission of anyone else who is involved in the video.
- MTCS will treat all evidence in strictest confidence, with video used for assessment purposes only and will never be shared.
- Consider also backing-up the footage to cloud-based storage (e.g. Dropbox or Google Drive) as well as to your MTCS Online account.
- And make sure your videos are successfully uploaded to your MTCS Online account before you delete them!