Our ETA unpacked

Using our simple and easy-to-use online ECDIS training assessment platform, shipowners can choose deck officers, deck cadets or appropriate crew members to answer 48 multiple-choice questions – which can be paused and resumed at four key points, at no cost.

Based on real-life ECDIS scenarios and screen displays for maximum knowledge retention and engagement, the questions are split into four groups of 12 subsections covering the widely accepted passage planning philosophy of:

• Appraisal (including general knowledge)

• Planning

• Execution, and

• Monitoring

To help crew members learn as they go, ETA lets users know if they’ve correctly or incorrectly answered each question, explains why, and provides a takeaway learning point.

While the entire assessment should take around just 40 minutes, our ETA is designed to fit around seafarers’ duties. Users can save their progress after completing each section of 12 and return to where they left off at a later date.

Once all 48 questions have been completed, the crew member receives a summary report providing an individual score for each area and a low-to-high, colour-coded indicator running from red to orange to green to blue to easily identify any areas of weakness or knowledge gaps. They also receive an onboard training pack containing a suite of support materials to help further learning.

The member receives an overall fleet report providing a complete overview of the fleet’s ECDIS knowledge, highlighting where further support or training may be required.

NorthStandard does not see the results, and performance in the assessment has no impact on membership or premiums.

Members can also call on our Loss Prevention team’s expertise to help with training and access a range of complementary ECDIS support materials to plug any gaps or strengthen any areas of uncertainty. Crew members can retake the assessment as often as needed to ensure they understand ECDIS completely and keep up-to-date on any new developments.

Why members need ETA

ETA provides members with a range of features and benefits.

While we’re always here to support and guide members if they need us, we also appreciate they want to be self-sufficient wherever they can. As part of our commitment to exceptional innovation and service, we give members the practical tools and resources they need to protect themselves, their crew and their property from the risks that are part and parcel of every voyage and operation.