Managing safety risk at sea is a challenge! Commercial divers work at depths of up to 300 meters and spend weeks living in enclosed hyperbaric chambers and often face tough working conditions requiring a high level of training and competence.

With training and competence playing a key role in todays industry, the joint partnership of Maritime Training & Competence Solutions  (MTCS Ltd) and KB Associates Group of Companies (KBA) is a leading initiative that will establish new benchmarks within the commercial diving and ROV industries. Both organisations have a keen passion for safety, training and competence and will be collaborating to deliver their range of services to the industry.

The joint partnership will see multiple benefits where both organisations will be sharing the knowledge to enhance the training courses offered, while both groups of clienteles are also able to enjoy broader diver / ROV competency development training at more training locations to fit their plans.

KBA Group provide an integrated professional specialist solution for consultancy and training that fosters safety excellence and quality in the Offshore Oil & Gas industry and onshore terminals construction industries.

Darren Brunton (CFIOSH), the Managing Director of KBA, brings a wide range of diving and safety management expertise to the courses planned by both companies. He has worked in the Offshore Oil & Gas Diving industry since 1990 as a diver, diving supervisor, client representative, diving system / company auditor, safety management and diving trainer with experience globally such as in the Asia Pacific, China, United Kingdom, Middle East and South American regions. Darren posses the hands-on experience of offshore operations, safety management, compliance and training deliverables in all the courses developed.

Darren commented: “We’re thrilled to forge this partnership with MTCS Ltd on the various training courses and other projects within the work scope. Strategically located in Singapore and Aberdeen KBA offers MTCS a platform to bring its brands and training to the Asia Pacific region and we gladly welcome MTCS instructors and trainees to our facility in both Singapore and Aberdeen, UK for the series of competency training courses conducted. We strongly believe that this synergy will set us apart and offers a more comprehensive solution to our clienteles.”

Some of the available KBA training courses include: Diving System Assurance Awareness – 1 Day course; Diving System Assurance – 4 Day course; OGP Client Worksite Representatives Training – 5 Day course; IMCA Air/Bell Diving Supervisor and Assistant Life Support Technician Training; Diving Technician competence courses such as DSI KBM Helmet Technician and a range of internationally accredited safety training such as NEBOSH Training from WSH Qualification to International Diploma levels.

MTCS Ltd are to deliver training alongside KBA at their new facility in Aberdeen as well as in Singapore, where they plan to run Diver Competency schemes and also a Skills Assessor course.

MTCS Ltd is a fully accredited assessment and training centre, whose head office is based in the Lake District and currently manage the largest independent assessment and certification programme for people involved in Subsea Operations such as ROV, Diving and Hydrographic Survey. Providing a full IMCA-aligned Competence Scheme Management service, MTCS Ltd ensure personnel are demonstrating competence in the offshore workplace.

Richard Warburton, Managing Director for MTCS Ltd said: “Working with KB Associates can only be beneficial for both companies, as many of our courses complement one another and the sharing of expertise will result in improved safety to divers and a better service to our clients. MTCS Ltd has extensive experience in competence working. There is an on going requirement for offshore personnel to demonstrate competence in the work place and one of these areas is in diving. The main driver for this comes from the oil companies who insist personnel are registered in some form of competence management system. This system must prove that personnel are competent, or working towards competence, in safety critical, operational and technical activities. Many of the contracting companies have had successful competence management systems in place for many years. There has, however, always been an issue regarding agency personnel or ‘freelancers’, in particular how do they demonstrate competence when they often work for a number of different companies.”