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A Day in the Life: At Large with MORAN’s Fleet Training Manager By Greg Walsh 
We recently caught up with Mike Nesbitt, MORAN’s manager of fleet training, while he was on the job
observing one of our Bridge Resource Management
Training Programs at Marine Safety International
(MSI) in Newport, R.I. While there, Mike was also
reviewing and updating the curriculum of the Z-drive
training classes that prepare wheelhouse personnel
for work with MORAN’s new tug group at Elba
Island, the LNG facility in Savannah, Georgia. As new
business like Elba Island comes in, Mike explains, MSI
is developing precise simulations of MORAN’s
newest tugs and the environments in which they
operate, including wheelhouse controls and whatever
docking facilities are involved."It’s kind of exciting that the engineers at MSI are developing simulators with tractor tug consoles that are typical of those found aboard MORAN’s newest tugs. MSI will also create simulations of several of the facilities serviced by MORAN, he says. Future simulation training will nicely complement MORAN’s existing Z-drive training program, which is a requirement for all wheelhouse personnel before they are cleared to work on board any of Moran’s 11 Z-drive or four MORTRAC vessels. Catching up with Mike is no easy task. He lives in Philadelphia, but spends more than 50 percent of his time traveling. On any given day, he could be working with MORAN’s port managers at any of 13 locations to determine the needs and requirements of the seagoing professionals among MORAN’s roughly 1000 employees. Or, he could be conducting training classes, representing MORAN at industry meetings, evaluating training facilities, negotiating training rates, or attending training sessions himself. "I see what I do as a service to both the company and all of our seagoing employees," he says. "My mission is to keep all of our boats moving by making sure that everyone meets the requirements of their professional licenses and regulations, as well as the requirements of the individual port locations and, of course, our customers." Mike graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1977 and sailed as tug skipper with Maritrans for 12 years before becoming that company’s fleet training officer in 1997. He joined MORAN in 2000. He has attended innumerable safety and training programs, and most recently earned a certificate as a Coast Guard-approved Designated Examiner. "With a company the size of MORAN, this [approach to training] is really the only way to go," he maintains. "In many cases I can get the training and the certifications myself, and then train others within the company. There are so many requirements nowadays that the more we are able to train ourselves, the more efficiently things run for the company as a whole and for all of our personnel." As we left Mike, he was already contemplating the benefits of an MSI training plan being developed for a new service that MORAN expects to begin early next year. |
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50 Locust Avenue | New Canaan, CT 06840-4737 USA | Tel: 203.442.2800 |
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