Nearly 60 delegates came together for the first IIMS Australia workshop in a while, which was held on 17/18 June at the Australian Fisheries & Maritime Academy at Port Adelaide.
Adam Brancher welcomed delegates to the event, which proved to be popular as the two day programme rolled out.
First to speak on day one was IIMS CEO, Mike Schwarz. In his presentation, Mike took the opportunity to showcase the many activities that the Institute is currently involved with and invited delegates to get involved. Russ Fraser then provided a comprehensive overview of the latest NDT equipment on the market available to surveyors. Next up was Bob Miller, CEO of the Australian Fisheries & Maritime Academy, who spoke eloquently about seafarer training in Australia. After lunch, Alison from AMSA tackled the subject of becoming an AMSA accredited domestic commercial vessel surveyor and explained what’s involved. Next to speak was Kevin Jones, who talked passionately about the challenges of keeping volunteer run heritage vessels in survey and operation. Day one concluded with an hour’s panel discussion about running a survey business in Australia in 2015. Thanks to all panel members for their insightful comments and contribution.
Day two dawned, fortunately to a pleasant day given that delegates were headed out onboard one of the vessels. Capt Peter Lambert opened proceedings talking in the classroom about the theory of compass adjusting. Delegates then moved onboard to get some practical tips and advice from Peter. Delegates were then brought back to earth with a bump as Professor Gary Wittert delivered a splendid and insightful presentation into men’s health issues! After a healthy morning break, Wes Ozwin from AMSA talked about the surveyor’s role in safety management systems. This was follows by Michelle Greech who dealt with the thorny subject of risk, fatigue and bridge management.
The programme was videoed and all presentations will soon be available to watch on the IIMS YouTube channel, or via the web site. More details will be made available once the content id ready to view.
All in all a great event and thanks are due to the organising team for their effort and to the speakers who contributed hugely to its success.
