Gardline Offshore Geophysical Engineering Course Receives Gardline Innovation Award 2013, UK

Ian Ashman and Johnny Quinn from the Geophysical Engineering department at Gardline in Great Yarmouth were recently presented with the Gardline Innovation Award 2013 by Chairman Gregory Darling.

The pair developed a three week long course after a training need was identified which could not be addressed externally. The only nationally recognised course in the country for geophysical engineering - it is an excellent introduction to engineering within the offshore survey industry and covers the complex practice of a geophysical survey. The learning is supported by a comprehensive handbook of course notes and is concluded by a two day long practical assessment. The instructors all have a wealth of practical, theoretical and teaching experience in their specialised subjects.

The training is run at Gardline’s head quarters in Great Yarmouth in a designated training room, a simulation laboratory and servicing workshops. The full simulation laboratory has been built especially for this course and replicates the working environment onboard a vessel allowing students to practically set up, install and run the equipment in the most realistic environment possible.

This course gives all who attend a thorough introduction to the theory and practice of the tools and techniques used in an offshore survey. The purpose of obtaining the national recognition is to guarantee the continuity of high standards by inviting external professional auditors from the teaching profession to monitor the course. The high standard of the course then translates to setting a high baseline competency level for our engineers and thus high performance for clients. The course, which is open to external personnel has achieved national recognition within the industry and is consistently well attended. The next stage in the development of the training is the addition of a foundation degree. After completing the initial course, staff could enrol on the foundation degree extending the training over the first two years of employment guaranteeing engineers are trained to the highest levels in the industry.