Within all areas of the global offshore industry there is an increasing emphasis on the importance of using competent personnel. Experience counts. Contractors are increasingly called upon by clients, regulators and others to demonstrate that individuals working for them, particularly in safety-critical roles, are competent.

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), the trade association that represents the majority of the major offshore contractors and of which Maritech is an active member, has produced guidelines to assist freelance personnel in understanding how to assemble the necessary evidence to demonstrate their competence.

The following notes are prepared by IMCA

Experienced Freelance Personnel
The IMCA guidance on competence assurance and assessment, launched in 1999 and fully updated in 2003, sets out a framework within which contractors can implement their own schemes to demonstrate the competence of personnel working in safety critical positions. While much early focus was on assessing directly employed personnel, IMCA has been working for some time now with agencies, particularly in the survey and ROV sectors where use of freelance personnel is commonplace, on how to integrate such personnel into company schemes.

It was identified that an information pack setting out the background to IMCA's guidance and providing specific information relating to each position would be useful. Following wide consultation with contractor members and agency representatives, this has now been finalised and is available for download (see below).

The aim is for freelance personnel to be able to assemble a portfolio of evidence, containing work records and details on assessments. This can then be provided to potential employers, who will be able to utilise the common format and understand how references to IMCA guidance fit in with their own company systems. This should benefit both the companies involved, through being able to use these records to assess potential personnel and avoiding potential unnecessary duplication of effort, and the individual personnel, who will hopefully find it easier to demonstrate their experience and move from company to company as required.

Maritech Consultants recommend all freelance personnel to be aware of these guidelines and attach the following link to the IMCA document that explains the framework principles and makes available the information packs as downloads.

http://www.imca-int.com/documents/competence/IMCA-FreelanceCompetence.pdf