With the advent of the revised STCW code new aspects are being
introduced in the traditional maritime education and training concepts.
One of these aspects is the matter of quality standards in maritime
education and training with consequently the related quality control and quality assurance
requirements.
In the manufacturing industry these are well adapted principles for
which a number of systems and standards have been developed and applied. In the services
industry, and as such education and training should be regarded, there are also
possibilities to apply various QA Systems. However in maritime educational systems this is
fairly novel.
Therefore it seems sensible to try and project these standards onto
maritime education and training and to illustrate what implications it will have on the
well established ways of working. As an example a description of the related areas of
ISO9000 with the relevance to MET is described and explained.
As new technology will influence the way and possibly the procedures
and locations where maritime education and training will be performed in future, the
consequences hereof will have to be taken into account when designing and applying quality
control and quality assurance systems.
Keywords: Maritime Education; Training; Quality.
1. Definitions.
In the modern terminology buzz words tend to develop and start to lead
a life of there own. It is therefore desirable to first try to establish a common
understanding of these terms, if only for the sake of this paper:
What is quality?
Degree or standard of excellence.
What is quality control (QC)?
Control of the relative quality of a manufactured product by inspecting
and rejecting defective work.
What is quality assurance (QA)?
A well run management system as a preventive way of getting things
right the first time.
What is total quality management (TQM)?
A system of continuously improving quality and reducing costs
