CEO blog

Since I recently published my most recent Coronavirus advice to marine surveyors who travel internationally for work, the situation surrounding the pandemic has worsened dramatically in just a few days. The world we knew has ended abruptly. Put simply, marine surveyors are certain not to be travelling cross-border for work given the alacrity with which most countries are racing to close their borders.

This presents a challenge to the marine surveying profession like never before and one which none of us has witnessed in our lifetimes – and there is no easy or obvious solution either.

Continue reading “Coronavirus makes an urgent rethink for the marine surveying profession mandatory”

I didn’t intend for the title of this blog, or indeed its content, to be gloomy, but it seems to reflect what is going on generally here and in the wider world. And as the ‘glass half full’ person that I am it should not mask the extraordinary things that are going on and bubbling under away from this darkness. The gloominess is, of course, led by the continuing and uncertain spread of Coronavirus (more on that in a moment), coupled with the incessant rain and high winds we have experienced in the UK for several weeks, resulting in the worst flooding I can recollect in my lifetime. And as I look out of my office window, it is pouring with rain once again. Yes there are certainly reasons to be miserable!

Continue reading “We are living in dark and challenging times”

The past few weeks have vanished in a haze. So what’s new I hear you say? But it’s all good as we are now mid way between the two biggest exhibitions in the world for the boating industry – METS and IBEX. I recently attended IBEX in Tampa alongside our USA Regional Director, James Renn. It is a big event and we met some fascinating people and potential future members of the Institute. I won’t be at METS this year, so will miss the chance to catch up with colleagues and industry friends this time round.

My reason for missing METS is simple. I will be part of the IIMS UAE Branch’s celebrations taking place on 20th November onboard the QE2, now permanently moored in Dubai. It promises to be a great event and a high turn out is expected to mark this event. Perhaps I will meet you there?

Continue reading “Exhibition and celebration times are upon us”

Long haul flights present the perfect downtime for thinking and reflection in my opinion. Those endless hours whiling away the time in the air, wondering how many more absurd movies you can watch or books you can read, is a challenge! It’s true, I do a lot of strategic thinking when I travel. My colleagues tease me whenever I come back from a long trip as my head is stuffed with good ideas, well some are good, some less so.

How lucky for me then that I am about to head out to Australia the week after next – more thinking time – stopping in Singapore on the way back. I am particularly thrilled at the number of members and non-members who have signed up for the two day IIMS Australia seminar in Brisbane. We are quite a crowd. I am very much looking forward to meeting both those I know well and those who I have never Continue reading “The opportunities that long haul flights present for strategic thinking”

Great venues. Brilliant speaker content on a range of relevant surveying topics. Meeting old friends and colleagues. Excellent food and the odd beer or two. What’s not to like about an IIMS London Conference? OK so we had non stop rain and a train strike to contend with, but that did not put a dampener on proceedings! Judging by my email inbox, the event would seem to have been a great success not only for those who joined us in person, but also for our increasing number of online delegates who joined online from far afield via Zoom. If I have one regret it is simply that only 75 of our near 1,000 members were present and exposed to some wonderful and pertinent content.

These events are not easy to get right and they require detailed preparation. The IT is always a challenge – trust me I know! Making the right food choices is equally challenging. So my thanks to my colleagues who worked so hard behind the scenes to deliver this year’s Continue reading “Reflections on a memorable 2019 IIMS London Conference”

Once again the subject of enclosed space fatalities is back in the marine news headlines following a spike of fatalities and incidents over the past 18 months. I for one find it very distressing to read about this phenomenon on a regular basis, which could surely be prevented? This news story brings the numbers into stark reality and, as it clearly shows, 2018 was a shockingly bad year, in fact the worst since statistics became available back in 1999; and 2019 has started in a similar vein with more high profile cases. Seemingly we do we not learn as an industry. Why? At the very least it would seem sensible to take appropriate precautions before entering an enclosed or confined space. I wonder if it simply a lack of training and education, because I suspect it runs deeper than that. None of us is immortal and indestructible. We think it will not happen to us. But I urge any marine surveyor to take extreme caution when entering an enclosed space and, let me remind you, small spaces in yachts and small craft can Continue reading “Are we compromising life due to enclosed spaces?”

We all love to knock new technology it seems don’t we? For many of us, technology can be something of an Achilles heel and because we do not understand it, we go slightly negative and on the defensive! However, I have been genuinely taken aback by the initial feedback following the launch of the IIMS Marine Surveyor Search App last month. Comments received such as “Simplicity itself” and “Fabulous cutting-edge initiative IIMS” have certainly buoyed me up. One gets so close to these projects during the development phase, so it is pleasing to get positive early feedback from real users who see instant benefit. Interestingly only a handful of IIMS members have yet to download the App. I urge you to do so. Our developers, eDot Solutions, have released several updated versions and are continuing to look for ways to enhance the App and the experience of using it. Keep watching for more news. If you have yet to engage with the App, this link will help you do that.

Continue reading “New technology – the root of all evil or the way forward?”

The month of November is looming large and for IIMS that means a busy month of training, seminars and a Conference too. Yes the coming weeks will see IIMS personnel out and about meeting members from all over the UK and further afield too. I recommend the programme of events we have put together for your benefit over the coming weeks and hope to meet many members at them. And remember if you cannot be there in person, some of the events you can attend in an online capacity using the Zoom option. Full details about the upcoming events can be found elsewhere on the web site.

But in brief, we kick off with the Large Yacht & Small Craft Working Group Scotland two day training event by Glasgow Airport on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 November. This is rapidly followed by the Large Yacht & Small Craft Working Group ‘Super’ training day near Portsmouth a week later on Monday 13 November. The week after sees the Certifying Authority two day training event taking place in Continue reading “We are never too old as a month of learning opportunities looms”