Education vs. experience in ship maintenance and repair
November 22, 2017
Experience is one of the most valuable commodities in the job market, especially when it comes to ship maintenance and repair (M&R).
The question remains, is experience all you need for M&R, or do you need a proper M&R education as well? Knowledge and experience go hand in hand, and ideally, M&R personnel are properly educated and have lots of experience. Without one or the other, performance is not as effective. Think of high-quality products used erroneously, poor pre-treatment methods and incorrect use of 1K and 2K coatings, for example. A small mistake can get very expensive in the end.
Online education is a great way to ensure the right product knowledge is transferred an it is cost-effective. That is why Paint-Inspector.Com has developed the online program e-WAALS. With this online program, one can avoid expensive training stretching over several days as well as unnecessary loss of time and money.
Paint-Inspector.Com’s Managing Director Richard van der Wal emphasises the importance of teaching M&R personnel technical subjects. Its approach will save most businesses a fair amount of money. “In the last 20 years, I have seen many mistakes made during the ship maintenance and repair that have ultimately cost the owners a lot of money,” he says.
Poor surface preparation in a combination with extremely high paint application.
The online course e-WAALS offers eleven chapters and 60 studying hours in which owner and employees will gain essential paint-related M&R insight and knowledge. This online course adds to employees’ professional knowledge and contributes towards more efficient work processes within the organisation. For individual students, it is a way to strengthen their position in the labour market. “We created e-WAALS to fill the gap on the market and provide an affordable option for people and companies who need to educate themselves,” says Viktorie Ambrozova, Project Manager at Paint-Inspector.Com.
E-WAALS is web-based, so it can be accessed from any device, and on any platform (Apple, Windows, Android etc.). All the students need is internet access and a web browser. This allows them to seamlessly switch between devices and to continue exactly where they left off without missing any progress. E-WAALS is comprehensible, has no prerequisites, gives access to an online discussion forum and features a handbook that can be downloaded and accessed offline as well. Its licenses are valid for up to three years and the program features a supervisor account when multiple licences are purchased. The participant also receives a diploma with their name, individual chapter grades and their final grade.
Education is the first step and can reduce maintenance cost by 70 %. When people have proper M&R knowledge, maintenance can be carried out more efficiently and a larger area can be brought under control with less effort and manpower.
Coating is your first defence against the corrosion mechanism. Make sure your defence is in the right position 24 hours per day.
To access e-WAALS website, click HERE.