Technical classroom training goes virtual

The travel and gathering restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic have affected businesses in many ways, not least the delivery of training. In early March 2020, Fugro Academy recognised that many critical classroom-based courses were likely to be cancelled, preventing staff from accessing the training needed to deliver client projects. Additionally, courses such as our internationally accredited Category B Hydrographic Training Programme, already underway in Plymouth, UK, had to be paused to allow course attendees to return to their home countries.

In some respects, Fugro Academy was well prepared for remote training, as a significant investment in our approach to learning and development over the years has been towards e-learning, with a well-established use of online learning technology and LinkedIn Learning.

That said, some technical training requires the involvement of a live instructor to support the development of practical skills and assessment. As we began to transfer key courses to a virtual instructor format, trials were scheduled for mid-April, including a pilot 5-day data-processing course. However, 2 weeks before the virtual pilot, an urgent requirement arose for training on subsea positioning and inverted long baseline (iLBL) rig moves to support a client project. The team therefore accelerated planning and successfully presented the course remotely at the end of March.

The “remote trainer” method involves the instructor working from their home or local Fugro office (as permitted by current in-country regulations) during the office hours of the course attendees, who are typically grouped from the same office or region. Courses are based on the classroom content but are modified to better suit virtual learning. Attendees use a dual monitor PC where one screen shows the instructor and the other screen displays the course software. This allows for virtual face-to-face interaction and instruction, as well as a “hands-on” experience of using the software.

As of 15 May 2020, 10 courses have been successfully delivered using this method, with more scheduled for Q2 2020. They can be up to 5 days long and cover a range of subjects, including subsea positioning, data collection, data processing and data interpretation.

In addition to these market-specific solutions, Fugro also delivers an extensive range of fit-for-purpose map products and GIS datasets to support public and private sector projects including coastal resiliency, natural resources management, land-use planning and infrastructure development.

More to come…

Accurate and comprehensive Geo-data brings order to our world, helping us understand where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re headed. Fugro is committed to continually advance the way we collect, process, visualise and simulate Geo-data. With an emphasis on autonomous systems, cloud computing and machine learning, we are increasing the speed by which we can deliver complex Geo-datasets, and we are doing this in a way that is as accessible—and riveting—as an election results map in a highly contested race.

Did you know?

• Almost 80 staff have been trained remotely so far during the Covid-19 restrictions