NINA is for everyone on our projects. To support that point of view the NINA E-learning is available for both employees and (sub)-contractors as well. Christian Rathkamp, DOCM at Boskalis Hirdes in Hamburg, recently finished it and shares his experiences. “I found it very good, because you did not have to worry about good or wrong answers. You could focus completely on the message.”
Christian Rathkamp lives in north-west Germany, twenty minutes from the shore. Being near shore is also his favorite position at work, the cable laying business. Currently he is involved in a maintenance job in the UK, at the London Array wind farm project. As DOCM he is busy with all daily work on deck. “The main risks in my job? First of all, you are in an environment that is not human friendly, you’re outside in all weather conditions, working with cables which are sensitive products, with heavy equipment. Secondly, the people themselves: maybe your colleague has a bad day, so you have to watch out for him too. This is probably the hardest in our job, because if a machine is broken it’s broken, but people can change in five minutes.”
Real life situations
What Christian liked in the E-learning is that all situations are from real life. All videos are shot at Boskalis’ vessels and projects, all people talking about safety are actual colleagues. “It was varied. Maybe it sounds strange, but I was paying more attention because I was expecting someone I knew or even myself to appear in the video or in the background (did not happen unfortunately!). Maybe that was a little incentive, too. All videos are kept short and informative. There is no boredom.”
No pressure
The second thing Christian appreciated is that he could give his answers individually, in his own words. To give an example: you have to write down your thoughts on sharing information about accidents and near misses or give comments on a video. “In many tests you have to click on the right answer and if you get it wrong the test starts all over again. That's annoying and it gives pressure, because you need the certificate as permission to start at a job. In the NINA E-learning there was no such pressure, as you couldn't really do anything wrong. I could focus on the learning itself, let it all sink in more relaxed and pay more attention to the essentials.”
NINA Talents
The aim of the E-learning is to make you aware of the NINA Values and Rules, but most of all your own role. What are your NINA Talents? Christian: “What I have learned over the years is to stay relaxed in stressful situations. My approach is to calm down, relax, analyze the situation, and start again with a good plan. And communicate. Sometimes in a toolbox I see question marks hanging over people’s heads. So I take the time we need to make sure everybody understands.”
Overall, Christian is enthusiastic about the E-learning. Asked for possible improvements, he says: “Keep it up to date. And keep people interested. Keep the element of surprise. Change the videos and change the colleagues involved regularly.” Would you advise others to do the e-learning as well? “Yes, of course, an easy way to reflect on your safety and it doesn't even take a lot of time!”
