Welcome to the October edition of Making Waves. The time of writing coincides with the date of our planned 25th Anniversary Seminar, but we are now making plans to reschedule the event in late 2021. Hopefully, we will all be free from the lockdown restrictions by then.
The theme of our seminar was to be focused on the energy transition and our responsibilities towards the environment. I am pleased to report that the strategic direction for our Environmental Sustainability programme has recently been confirmed by the Board, and details can be found later in this edition.
We have recently updated our Bye-laws which can be found, as normal, on the governance page of our website. This is an annual process for the Board to review the document and approve modifications suggested by Members, the Secretariat, or in response to changing market conditions. In summary, this year we have taken the opportunity to:
- Promote our Environmental Sustainability Committee and Digitalisation Committees to the Core Committee designation.
- Make some terminology changes to be more consistent with more commonly used terms and clarify certain diving terms and issues.
- Remove the redundant ICo committee.
- Include a liability section with certain obligations on our Members. This recognises the changing circumstances in our industry and the inherent risks of litigation over which IMCA has no control.
Over the past two years we have promoted at every opportunity the introduction of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in our industry. The Diving Division has taken the lead and earlier this year we made the Diving Supervisor CPD App freely available to the industry worldwide on a voluntary basis. Our plan, as previously announced, is now to move the scheme forward from its voluntary phase and, starting in early 2021, make it an obligation for Diving Supervisors to maintain CPD records. This is a major step forward for the diving sector, which has the full support of the industry. Please see the more detailed article later in this edition. We will continue to communicate widely on this topic and would encourage our Members to ensure that their diving supervisors are aware of this approaching requirement.
Of course, the global oilfield services industry is still sustaining strong headwinds and a painful restructuring strategy is ongoing across our industry. But our Members can be assured that we are totally committed to our work in supporting our membership and improving performance in our industry.
As always, let’s all stay safe and healthy.
Allen Leatt, IMCA Chief Executive
