New collaborative course launched at The Underwater Centre

Leading subsea training and trials facility, The Underwater Centre, is working in collaboration with Stork, global provider of knowledge-based asset integrity services focused on the oil and gas, chemical and power sectors, to deliver a brand new one-day certified course in bolt tensioning.

What will the course offer?

The ECITB approved course – MJI 21 Hydraulically Tensioned Subsea Bolted Connections – addresses a key activity, which every offshore construction diver should be familiar with and will be added to the centre’s commercial diving training suite, firstly as a standalone course.

It will provide students, of varying levels of experience, with the knowledge and experience of working with and using bolt tensioning equipment, which they can then use in their job – whether on the surface or underwater.

Who will be training the students?

The industry has identified that bolt tensioning is a skill more commercial divers should have experience of before going subsea.

It will be delivered by an expert from Stork’s onsite training facility, who have also supplied all the equipment for the course, and will include isolations, dismantling techniques, inspection of components, alignment techniques and assembly and tightening techniques in specialist critical bolting.

Comments from The Underwater Centre and Stork

Steve Ham, The Underwater Centre’s General Manager, said: “The courses we deliver at the Centre have been tailored to meet industry needs and this addition is a perfect example of this. We have been working very closely with Stork to develop this course so that it provides our students with the opportunity to train with the specific equipment they would be using on the job, allowing them to hone their skills before heading offshore. Here at the Centre we have been delivering bolt tensioning training for a number of years, but this new course takes things a step further and provides students with a certified ticket which they can add to their CV.”

Rod Agnew, Vice President for Service Delivery at Stork, said: “We are extremely pleased, to again be working in collaboration with The Underwater Centre, integrating higher levels of Subsea Mechanical Joint Integrity Courses. Stork recognises that quality training and competency lies at the core of safe operations and our vastly experienced and multi-disciplined instructional team, plan, tailor and deliver courses to meet client specific requirements. The new bolt tensioning course is one example of this and builds upon our extensive list of industry recognised courses.”

Available training packages

Both the Premium Industry and Construction Career Packages provide training in the statutory components of the Health and Safety Executive's commercial diving curriculum, as well as training in the use of subsea tools and practical exercises in carrying out construction and maintenance tasks underwater such as subsea welding and cutting, and rigging and slinging operations.

The Premium Industry Package also includes training in subsea inspection techniques: a vital skill to have when working offshore.

The Underwater Centre is a purpose built training facility, which incorporates an extensive pier complex including four dive stations, classrooms, workshops and decompression chambers.

With accommodation and additional classrooms based at the landward end of the pier, The Underwater Centre is set up to provide its students with the skills and experience to succeed in their new careers, and continue providing the subsea industry with the workforce that it needs.

Edited from various sources by Stephanie Roker

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/03092015/new-collaborative-course-launched-at-the-underwater-centre/