No Crew Too Big: Mintra successfully migrates 20,000 BSM crew onto Trainingportal

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) is a leading maritime services provider that enables its business partners to achieve their objectives through applied knowledge, experience and innovation. Services are delivered by dedicated and highly trained BSM people, synonymous with a culture of safety, reliability and efficiency. The business is committed to the ongoing professional development of over 20,000 seafarers and 2,000 onshore employees as well as striving to reach its sustainability goals through leveraging the power of digital tools.

Miguel Pires, Human Resource Marine at BSM. “The decision to overhaul our training provision in 2023, was not taken lightly. The logistics and challenges of transferring a highly mobile and evolving crew of over 20,000 seafarers on 415 vessels onto a digital system were vast. But we needed to improve engagement and empower our seafarers to embrace continuous development for their safety and well-being on shore and at sea. As well as this, BSM has ambitious sustainability goals and traditional training methods are time-consuming, costly and environmentally damaging. We needed a big change.”

One further requirement was to foster a learning environment that transcends traditional boundaries and caters to the dynamic nature of maritime operations. To achieve this, BSM desired a training matrix that could cultivate a culture of continuous growth and heightened safety awareness. The matrix needed to be accessible to seafarers 24 hours a day, through modern offline solutions, including a dedicated app.

The final requirement was to improve operational efficiency through a digital training partner that could automate and integrate with the existing crewing database. The objective was to establish a single, comprehensive interface that could oversee the safety-critical training requirements of BSM's highly mobile global workforce.

By streamlining the management of these essential training components, BSM aimed to enhance overall efficiency and ensure that its workforce was fully equipped to meet safety standards in the maritime industry.

The Solution:

Mintra was able to fulfil BSM’s requirements with a strategic critical path to meet their deadlines and ensure the migration of all 20,000 seafarers went smoothly.

Full integration was successfully achieved through a series of strategic measures. Cloud-based syncing facilitated seamless coordination between users and course completion records, connecting Mintra's Trainingportal learning and competency management system with BSM's HR and Crew Management Systems. The implementation also featured API data transfer for automatic tracking of vessel changes, crew changes, and rank promotions, ensuring the assignment of relevant and compliance-based training. Furthermore, the process included the automation of new user profiles and leaver management, while data and certificates for training completed offline are automatically uploaded into Trainingportal from the cloud. Upgrades were also made to Trainingportal to enhance digital learning delivery for the BSM fleet, including regular offline upgrades and new admin dashboards.

To ensure a smooth transition and address technical challenges in real-time, a phased launch was implemented, with 150 courses deployed to 415 vessels over three months. Key integrations were conducted behind the scenes before the official rollout. A dedicated Project Manager within Mintra and a BSM team collaborated to align content, streamline learning outcomes for each role and synchronise them with vessel requirements.

The Mintra team worked meticulously through the existing portfolio, collaborating with BSM to identify and fill training gaps. A new training matrix was developed, blending BSM’s learning outcomes with Mintra's course library. BSM courses were smoothly imported into Trainingportal and any missing content was addressed by Mintra’s content team who created new courses to fulfil the requirement.

A strategic and time-sensitive critical path was established with deadlines, clear communication channels and weekly meetings, ensuring the rollout's timely completion and transition from the previous supplier. Comprehensive support for BSM staff and crew preparation came in the form of user guides, webinars, and training sessions.

Finally, annual team building and strategy sessions were conducted and will be ongoing, between BSM and the key members of Mintra’s team, to foster new ideas, strengthen working partnerships and collaboratively develop initiatives beneficial to seafarers. This holistic approach ensures the continuous improvement and effectiveness of BSM's training initiatives.

Miguel Pires, Human Resource Marine at BSM, “Matching an existing digital learning library with a new training matrix was a huge logistical challenge, especially with our large crew and vessel numbers.

“During the pilot period, we found that the PCs onboard vessels did not have enough data capacity to carry the comprehensive digital learning portfolio that we required. Mintra reacted quickly to bring a solution to us, and we were able to supply vessels with external hard drives that carried the complete maritime library and connected to all training machines on board without the cost of new software.

“Mintra’s project team went out of its way to ensure the success of the rollout. We were able to complete on schedule and within budget.”

Impact:

BSM has achieved a significant milestone by successfully migrating 20,000 of its workforce onto Trainingportal so far. The learning requirements of each seafarer are managed remotely from a central point, underscoring for BSM the dramatic benefit of seamless and centralised control over their installations.

The implementation of the new training matrix marks a substantial improvement. The number of courses has decreased from over 800, with unnecessary repetition, to a streamlined suite of 150 modern, relevant, optimised and engaging courses. The training matrix and its content are specifically designed to meet ALL the needs of BSM's seafarers and the transformation has resulted in a more focused and effective training curriculum.

Trainingportal's automated functionality has proven instrumental in simplifying how BSM manages safety-critical and compliance requirements. Since the platform's deployment, there has been a notable reduction in the administrative hours required to manage the training needs of BSM's seafarers, highlighting the platform's efficiency and impact on operational effectiveness.

On average, 20,000 BSM crew members are now utilising Trainingportal, learning in the flow of work or during downtime, through dedicated onboard computers or via the mobile app. The decreasing number of technical support inquiries from seafarers over time indicates a growing familiarity and comfort with the system, showcasing its user-friendly design and adaptability.

Learning content is regularly reviewed by the Trainingportal team to ensure BSM's crew benefit from the latest and highest quality training available in the maritime industry. This commitment to ongoing improvement and relevance positions BSM at the forefront of providing top-tier training to its seafarers.

A notable feature of Trainingportal is the immediate accessibility and sharing of digital certificates by every BSM seafarer upon completing a course. This real-time access adds to the overall convenience and efficiency of the training process, allowing for quick verification and documentation of completed courses.

BSM's crew members can also leverage Trainingportal's offline feature to train in the most remote regions of the world. When connectivity is restored, content is renewed in the cloud-based system, and new courses or updates are efficiently installed, demonstrating the platform's adaptability to varying working conditions and environments.

Miguel Pires, Human Resource Marine at BSM, “There has been a significant impact on the efficiency and bottom line of our business through automation as we have reduced the man hours and cost of managing such a vast and mobile workforce. Support requests are dealt with promptly and seafarers are starting to engage and upskill beyond their allocated training matrix.”