Seagull Maritime AS debuts STA 4.0
Seagull Maritime AS has launched Seagull Training Administrator 4.0, an updated version of the shipping industry’s most widely used training administrator, in a move the company says makes computer-based packages even easier to use.
Norway-based Seagull Maritime has built on customer feedback gathered over a number of years to extend and improve STA 4.0’s user workflow and functionality, and to add new functions, with the entire overhaul neatly presented via a new user interface. As with previous versions, STA 4.0 is available to seafarers onboard ship and over the Worldwide Web.
“STA 4.0 is certainly a logical advance from the technical point of view in line with market expectations, but its availability also brings immediate benefits for our end-users,” says Roger Ringstad, Managing Director, Seagull Maritime AS.
“Web-based solutions take e-learning, assessments, experience tracking and administration of each seafarers records to a new level. Ensuring that individual knowledge gaps are identified and closed in a systematic way is vital for the industry. The performance evaluations, ability- and knowledge tests, available through the system give the industry certainty that they develop the ‘right’ seafarers for the tasks ahead.
“With training records and profiles for every position and crew member onboard available at the point of need, the training manager can simply log in to access training results from any location.”
STA 4.0 benefits from an updated, more intuitive graphical user interface, designed to improve workflow. Individual customers can set up their networks within their own infrastructure by simply installing STA 4.0 on a network server, so that crew can access their train¬ing and records through a web browser on any computer con¬nected to the network.
“Our popular Crew Evaluation System (CES) is also now available onboard ship, to be used as a part of the promotion pro¬cess,”
adds Ringstad. “Performance Profiling is now fully integrated with STA 4.0, enabling sign-on and sign-off interviews to be completed in an easy way on board.”
Other progressive features include a new Document Manager, allowing authorised personnel to export scanned documents such as course diplo¬mas, certificates etc. to vessels. Specific vessels and ranks can also be ‘tagged’ by levels of competence, while individual records can be searched for crew members who have identified themselves as “ready to be assessed”.
In addition, the STA 4.0 Elec¬tronic Bulletin Board ena¬bles owners to communicate mes¬sages of specific importance to seafarers and receive confirmation that messages have been received, read and understood.
“The new Training Administrator is also prepared to run all 3rd party e-learning content both online and offline (typical onboard vessels). This is a strong benefit as we can then support our clients, which are using training material from several sources including in-house developed e-learning content”, says Ringstad.
Seagull Maritime is also developing the next generation cloud-based interface standard that will allow its customers to integrate their HR systems with Seagull’s own. “This will be a much more flexible solution than the existing interface standard used by many customers today,” says Ringstad.
