Recently, crew- and vessel managers from our Kristiansand-office had their first proper training with the new tool, and the feedback has been positive.

"This allows us to conduct high-frequency 'basic training' wherever and whenever we want, in a safe environment where the consequences of making mistakes are far from what they would be in the real world. The virtual callers(pretending to be next-of-kin) sound realistic, and I appreciate the fact that we are able to adjust the scenarios as we progress," says Birgith Edvardsen, Crew Manager at Siem Offshore. 

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Until today, the product has mainly been used by the emergency sector. According to Trine Bjørnsen, CEO of Sklls, they started in the emergency sector because of their need for efficient training tool but also to prove that the technology can be used in the part of our society where proper and efficient communication is the most critical. She emphasizes that the tool is also highly relevant to others, such as emergency responders within the shipping sector.

– We are talking about automaticity – the ability to perform cognitive tasks with minimal conscious efforts, to allow them to become automatic after extensive practice or repetition. By transferring the handling from your conscious to subconscious part of the brain, you free up your mental capacity to actually listen to the caller and hence handle the situation in the best possible matter, she says, and adds:

– It was great fun to test this with Siem Offshore, and we couldn’t have done it without them. It is very motivating to see that this helps them to feel safe and confident in such situations. There was also a lot of enthusiasm and good feedback from those who took part.

The project is a collaboration with Sklls, Rayvn and Siem Offshore (pilot), and is funded by Innovasjon Norge. Together we will develop a digital and automated training program for emergency responders within the shipping sector.

Learn more about the HiSklls simulator: