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Barge Master Online Logbook

Launching Summer 2023.

About the Online Logbook

In 2020 IJUBOA received a grant from Trinity House to transform the traditional ‘Blue Book’ used to record sea-service time, and turn this into an online app. Over the past two years, we have been working with SwiftTrack to develop this.

The aim was to a create virtual logbook capable of storing both visual and written information to support the candidate in achieving qualifications and also enabling his/her qualifications and experience to be validated to avoid spurious attempts to gain employment in the capacity of a Barge Master.

Through this new business model, IJUBOA is actively encouraging Barge Masters and supporting crew around the world to become members of IJUBOA, each holding a virtual blue logbook which contains information on their qualifications and experience. It is IJUBOA’s intention that this should become the industry standard and that all owner, operator companies will require the IJUBOA logbook system for their employees in the certain knowledge that the information contained in the logbook is a true record of their qualifications and more importantly, their actual experience in field conditions.

For someone new to the industry, the online system will help them to navigate the milestones, and theoretical and performance criteria they must meet to achieve Barge Master Status.

The app encompasses a sea-service log which individuals can use to record their time away on projects, a lessons learned feature to record incidents and findings, a portal to upload all mandatory (and any additional) training certificates and a mechanism to upload testimonials.

An on-board mentor will also receive a login which they can use to verify the candidates experience and to provide additional evidence against their competence. All of this information is then signed off by an Assessor.

We have also designed a route for experienced barge master’s to achieve the above through a grandfathered route.

For both pathways, the candidates’ profiles will then be sampled and verified by IJUBOA’s Barge Master Review Committee (comprised of our Executive Committee and Audit Experts) and then individual’s will become eligible to sit the Barge Master Final Assessment Exam which is hosted, invigilated and certificated by The Nautical Institute.

The Nautical Institute is the global body for maritime professionals and is a non-governmental organisation with consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Once the final exam has been passed, individuals will be issued with an IJUBOA Barge Master certificate.

*Individuals not wishing to enrol in the certification system will still be able to use SwiftTrack as a sea-service record. 

Please read the following standard which details how to use the app, evidence requirements, the role of the mentor and assessors and the certification process. Click here to view.

It is important to note that IJUBOA cannot train Barge Masters. This pathway has been created to support the development of an individual and it is the responsibility of the employer organisation to provide the necessary training for a Barge Master to operate vessels’ competently.

Role of the Mentors and Assessors

Mentors and assessors play an important role through the online logbook process. It is their responsibility to sign an individual off with confidence that they are ready to sit the Barge Master Final Assessment.

Mentors and Assessors need to be satisfied that personnel have demonstrated competence on the job and that they have the theorical knowledge for them to perform the role of a Barge Master.

Mentors/Assessors should be competent to carry out assessments of the personnel being assessed.

Registering as a Mentor

As an appointed mentor to a Trainee Barge Master, mentors have a responsibility to use their own knowledge and experience of industry working practices and techniques to make a judgement of a learner’s knowledge, understanding and practical performance. They will receive their own unique login to track the progress of the candidate and must sign them off only when they are fully confident that they are competent to carry out the task/role being assessed and determine if the assessment criteria has been met.

The mentor will also verify the candidate’s sea service log to provide an evidenced account that the experience they have recorded is true and accurate. A company assessor will give the candidate the final sign-off.

To ensure mentors have the correct experience to be signing individual’s off, IJUBOA requires the following information:

An up-to-date CV signed by the individual’s Company Director (this should include a brief overview of sea-service). The CV should include contact details for at least two previous employers who may be contacted by IJUBOA as reference check

A company headed letter completed by a Company Director verifying the individual has the correct experience to act as a mentor – click here to download the template.

All of the above will be reviewed by IJUBOA’s Barge Master Review Committee and the individual will only be accepted to act as a mentor when the Review Committee are fully satisfied.

Responsibilities of the Mentor

The mentor should assist candidates with the following:

  • Help to plan learners’ assessments by identifying the evidence needed for the assessment criteria
  • Provide guidance on submitting additional assessment evidence
  • Give learners information and assistance in completing the online logbook
  • Assess the evidence presented by learners against the specified assessment criteria fairly and without personal bias according to agreed protocols
  • Complete records to evidence the assessment process showing how the evidence has been judged and decisions made about learners’ competence
  • Monitor progress and provide regular feedback to learners, to encourage learners to reach their full potential
  • Receive and act on feedback from Internal and External verifiers
  • Attend standardisation meetings and planning meetings with trainers, Internal verifiers and maintain communication with all parties
  • Respond to any appeal from a learner according to the agreed appeals procedure
  • Actively engage in professional development and performance management to ensure quality and high standards in training for more information

Registering as an Assessor

As an appointed mentor to a Trainee Barge Master, mentors have a responsibility to use their own knowledge and experience of industry working practices and techniques to make a judgement of a learner’s knowledge, understanding and practical performance. They will receive their own unique login to track the progress of the candidate and must sign them off only when they are fully confident that they are competent to carry out the task/role being assessed and determine if the assessment criteria has been met.

The mentor will also verify the candidate’s sea service log to provide an evidenced account that the experience they have recorded is true and accurate. A company assessor will give the candidate the final sign-off.

To ensure mentors have the correct experience to be signing individual’s off, IJUBOA requires the following information:

An up-to-date CV signed by the individual’s Company Director (this should include a brief overview of sea-service). The CV should include contact details for at least two previous employers who may be contacted by IJUBOA as reference check

A company headed letter completed by a Company Director verifying the individual has the correct experience to act as a mentor – click here to download the template.

All of the above will be reviewed by IJUBOA’s Barge Master Review Committee and the individual will only be accepted to act as a mentor when the Review Committee are fully satisfied.

Responsibilities of the Assessor

  • Sign off a candidate’s assessments by identifying the evidence needed for the assessment criteria
  • Assess the evidence presented by candidates against the specified assessment criteria fairly and without personal bias according to agreed protocols
  • Complete records to evidence the assessment process showing how the evidence has been judged and decisions made about learners’ competence
  • Monitor progress and provide regular feedback to learners, to encourage learners to reach their full potential
  • Actively engage in professional development and performance management to ensure quality and high standards in training for more information

If your question is not answered above or within the other documents available on the website, please contact carly@ijuboa.com 

Apply

  1. Please send the following application form to carly@ijuboa.com along with a copy of your CV, a passport style image of yourself and specification sheets and class documents for the vessels you operate/will be operating. You will be asked to provide details of who will be acting as your mentor and assessor. These individual’s will be contacted separately to become approved by IJUBOA.

  2. You will be issued with a login to your online logbook account.

  3. Log all required information as detailed in the accreditation standard and user guides.

  4. Obtain sign off from an IJUBOA approved mentor/assessor (just assessor if you are entering in the Recognised Prior Learning path). Submit Company Director Reference document within the SwiftTrack platform.

  5. Once your profile has been signed off by an approved IJUBOA mentor/assessor, please contact carly@ijuboa.com to let us know.

  6. IJUBOA’s Barge Master Review Committee will review your application and make a decision on whether the candidate is eligible to sit the Barge Master Exam or if they need to provide further evidence.

  7. If the individual is ready to sit the exam, details will be passed on to The Nautical Institute.

  8. The Nautical Institute will host the remotely invigilated online exam which consists of 45 questions. There are nine different categories within the exam:
    • Jack-up Barge Safety
    • Jack-up Barge Maintenance
    • Legal Requirements
    • Elevated Operations
    • Stability
    • Jack-up Barge Moving
    • Geotechnical Requirements
    • Fundamentals of Jack-up Barge Operations
    • Weather and the Marine Environment

    5 questions will be pulled from each category, and you must get at least two questions correct from each category to pass. You will have 1.5 hours to complete the exam with a pass mark of 80%. There is revision material available in the ‘Resources’ section of the online logbook.

  9. Once the exam has been passed, individual’s will be issued with a certificate and are eligible to become Barge Master members of IJUBOA.

    Please see example certificates below that will be issued.
  1. Individual’s must re-validate their certificate every 5 years and must show a continual log of sea-service throughout this period.
Application Form

Gudiance & FAQs

How much does it cost to use the online logbook system?

There is an initial £80 joining fee for individual's joining from a member company, (£100 if you are joining from a non-member company). When you are ready to sit the Barge Master exam, there will be a £500 fee for your application review and to sit the exam (you will be charged an additional £250 to re-sit the exam if failed). Once you have passed the exam, you will be eligible to become a Barge Master Member of IJUBOA, membership costs £250 per annum and access to the online logbook is included in this price.

When do I need to renew my certificate?

Individual’s wishing to uphold their Barge Master status with IJUBOA will be required to revalidate their certificates every five years.

Mandatory requirement for renewal is a minimum of four weeks’ worth of sea-time recorded on the online logbook (signed off and verified by mentor and assessor) and re-sitting the Barge Master exam.

Individuals must revalidate experience on each vessel they were previously certificated or these vessels will be removed from their updated certificate.

If I have a query regarding my application review or score for the Barge Master exam, what should I do?

If you have a query or would like to raise a complaint, please email accreditations@ijuboa.com

How long should it take to achieve the Barge Master certificate?

This will depend on the amount of experience you have and the current certificates you hold. For new entrants, individuals must upload a minimum of 250 operating hours and experienced Barge master’s must backdate 5 years. Once this has been recorded, certificates achieved and competencies completed, you can apply for the Barge Master Review Committee to review your application. The Review Committee get together every three weeks.

False Information or Fraudulent Applications

Applications and certificates that are found to be fraudulent may be revoked and the individual banned from IJUBOA’s Barge Master Training Scheme for a period of up to five years.

Others found involved in the fraud cases may also have their certificates removed and banned from the system for a period of time. IJUBOA reserves the right not to accept applications or letters from companies involved in fraudulent cases.

I’ve also added some images and some documents to be added to the Resources section.

If your question is not answered above or within the other documents available on the website, please contact carly@ijuboa.com 

Introducing our Online Logbook App

In 2020 IJUBOA received a grant from Trinity House to transform the traditional ‘Blue Book’ used to record sea-service time, and turn this into an online app. Over the past year, we have been working with SwiftTrack to develop this. Introducing, the IJUBOA Academy.

The aim was to create a continuing professional development learning programme to provide a pathway to progression for Barge Master personnel.

The Academy is designed to help all Barge Master personnel (new and existing) to maintain their sea-service and technical knowledge, whilst helping them to navigate the milestones, and theoretical and performance criteria they must meet to achieve Barge Master Status.

It is IJUBOA’s intention that this should become the industry standard and that all owner, operator companies will enrol their employees into the IJUBOA Academy in the certain knowledge that the information contained in the logbook is a true record of their qualifications and more importantly, their actual experience in field conditions.

The IJUBOA Academy App Content

The learning programme on the app has been collated by IJUBOA’s Executive Committee and industry experts. The app encompasses:

  • A sea-service log which individuals can use to record their time away on projects
  • A lessons-learned reporting feature to record incidents and findings
  • A portal to upload all mandatory (and any additional) training certificates
  • A mechanism to upload testimonials
  • And, for new entrants into the industry, a competencies framework to complete to support theoretical and performance knowledge of the role of a Barge Master. This framework is broken down into the following modules:
  • Jack-up Barge Safety
  • Jack-up Barge Moving
  • Jack-up Barge Operations
  • Fundamentals of Jack-up Barge Operations

The content has been designed for use on mobile devices. The delivery of the content is through the SwiftTrack application software which is a mobile device learning management software. The app is available across IoS, Android and computer devices, and has offline functionality. 

IJUBOA Academy Pass-Out

An on-board mentor will also receive a login to the app, which they can use to verify the candidates experience and to provide additional evidence against their competence. All of this information is then signed off by an Assessor (a Company Director within the employer organisation.)
 
We have also designed a route for experienced Barge Masters to achieve the above through a grandfathered route.
 
For both pathways, the candidates’ profiles will then be sampled and verified by IJUBOA’s Barge Master Review Committee (comprised of our Executive Committee and Audit Experts) and through a third-party, The Nautical Institute to ensure all accounts are accurate and correct.

IJUBOA Guidance for Mentors and Assessors on SwiftTrack

The Nautical Institute is the global body for maritime professionals and is a non-governmental organisation with consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Once the IJUBOA and The Nautical Institute are satisfied, the individual will be eligible to sit the Barge Master exam and achieve Certified Barge Master status.

*Individuals not wishing to enrol in the certification system will still be able to use SwiftTrack as a sea-service record.

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