IIMS News

An open letter to the worldwide manufacturing industries

Posted on by News Hound
IIMS would like to see the worldwide yacht and boat industry coming together to act responsibly with the treatment of latent defects
IIMS would like to see the worldwide yacht and boat industry coming together to act responsibly with the treatment of latent defects

All worldwide manufacturing industries fundamentally face the same basic key challenges. They must be competitive within the markets they operate in, which requires them to produce the best possible products within strict financial constraints, ensuring they make a profit to enable them to continue to invest in research and development to create new products.

Some worldwide manufacturing industries through choice approach this challenge by producing the best possible high-quality product with a top end price. They have a well-defined strategy of selling less units using a marketing approach to create a unique market position and a cachet around the brand. Put in simple terms, at the top end are the elite where only a limited amount of a product is manufactured with a high price tag. At the other end of the scale are the mass-produced, low-cost products with a throw away price tag by comparison.

Continue reading “An open letter to the worldwide manufacturing industries”

The opportunities that long haul flights present for strategic thinking

Posted on by CEO
IIMS Logo on a rock at sea, with a lighthouse behind it
IIMS Logo on a rock at sea, with a lighthouse behind it

Long haul flights present the perfect downtime for thinking and reflection in my opinion. Those endless hours whiling away the time in the air, wondering how many more absurd movies you can watch or books you can read, is a challenge! It’s true, I do a lot of strategic thinking when I travel. My colleagues tease me whenever I come back from a long trip as my head is stuffed with good ideas, well some are good, some less so.

How lucky for me then that I am about to head out to Australia the week after next – more thinking time – stopping in Singapore on the way back. I am particularly thrilled at the number of members and non-members who have signed up for the two day IIMS Australia seminar in Brisbane. We are quite a crowd. I am very much looking forward to meeting both those I know well and those who I have never Continue reading “The opportunities that long haul flights present for strategic thinking”

Murrills House set to become the Institute’s permanent home as IIMS opens crowdfunding opportunity

Posted on by News Hound
Murrills House is set to become the permanent home for IIMS
Murrills House is set to become the permanent home for IIMS

In a strange turn of events, Murrills House in Portchester, UK, is set to become the new Head Quarters of the IIMS. But wait a minute I hear you say. IIMS is already headquartered in Murrills House isn’t it? Yes you are right of course. IIMS has been renting these offices for the past decade since its move from Gosport. But with the end of the lease looming, IIMS entered into talks with the landlord earlier this year with a view to the Institute acquiring the freehold of the property and adjacent land. The outright purchase of suitable office accommodation rather than renting one was something that the membership voted in favour of at the 2018 AGM.

So now IIMS would like your help. We are reaching out to the members and supporters of the Institute to invite them to make a financial donation towards the essential maintenance we would like to undertake upon completion of the deal to secure Murrills House as the Continue reading “Murrills House set to become the Institute’s permanent home as IIMS opens crowdfunding opportunity”

IIMS played a leading role in the ‘Trailblazer’ scheme

Posted on by News Hound
ew Marine Surveyor 'Trailblazer' apprenticeship scheme
Marine Surveyor ‘Trailblazer’ apprenticeship scheme

IIMS has played a leading role as part of a small but dedicated team that has worked hard over the past two years to develop the framework for an apprenticeship scheme (‘Trailblazer’) for the marine surveying profession in the UK.

The working group has been chaired by Alan Cartwright, Blabey Engineering Ltd, with Mike Schwarz, IIMS CEO, in attendance from the outset. More recently, Alan Larsen, SCMS, joined the working group to help shape its direction. Di Fitch from John Moores University in Liverpool in conjunction with Mark Aberdein has been ever present and has brought her considerable specialist knowledge in the area of Continue reading “IIMS played a leading role in the ‘Trailblazer’ scheme”

IIMS recognises IMCA’s Technical Director with a Blue Water Award

Posted on by News Hound
Mark Ford (pictured left) is presented with his Blue Water Award by Mike Schwarz
Mark Ford (pictured left) is presented with his Blue Water Award by Mike Schwarz

Mark Ford, Technical Director of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) was caught by surprise when he was recently awarded an IIMS (International Institute of Marine Surveying) Blue Water Award at the IIMS London 2019 Conference Dinner held at 10/11 Carlton House Terrace in central London.

Mike Schwarz, CEO of IIMS quotes from his speech on the night:

“…….Talking about having good people around us, I am also reminded that we have some brilliant partners who we work with and they with us. One of our key partners who we have developed a solid relationship with going back five years is IMCA, the International Marine Contractors Association. We entered into dialogue with IMCA back in early 2014 and the result is the now acclaimed eCMID Accredited Vessel Inspector scheme. I am proud that with IMCA’s help we have been able to play a vital role in cleaning up what was once an unregulated offshore inspection sector. Vessel operators now know who is boarding their ships and boats and where the inspector’s competencies lie. It is testament that organisations such as Siemens, Vattenfall and Orsted, to name but three, have publicly backed the scheme. 600 people have come forward for accreditation. Continue reading “IIMS recognises IMCA’s Technical Director with a Blue Water Award”

Reflections on a memorable 2019 IIMS London Conference

Posted on by CEO
Mike Schwarz (right) welcomes Toastmaster, Richard Palmer, to 10/11 Carlton House Terrace

Great venues. Brilliant speaker content on a range of relevant surveying topics. Meeting old friends and colleagues. Excellent food and the odd beer or two. What’s not to like about an IIMS London Conference? OK so we had non stop rain and a train strike to contend with, but that did not put a dampener on proceedings! Judging by my email inbox, the event would seem to have been a great success not only for those who joined us in person, but also for our increasing number of online delegates who joined online from far afield via Zoom. If I have one regret it is simply that only 75 of our near 1,000 members were present and exposed to some wonderful and pertinent content.

These events are not easy to get right and they require detailed preparation. The IT is always a challenge – trust me I know! Making the right food choices is equally challenging. So my thanks to my colleagues who worked so hard behind the scenes to deliver this year’s Continue reading “Reflections on a memorable 2019 IIMS London Conference”

Are we compromising life due to enclosed spaces?

Posted on by CEO
A sailing boat
A sailing boat

Once again the subject of enclosed space fatalities is back in the marine news headlines following a spike of fatalities and incidents over the past 18 months. I for one find it very distressing to read about this phenomenon on a regular basis, which could surely be prevented? This news story brings the numbers into stark reality and, as it clearly shows, 2018 was a shockingly bad year, in fact the worst since statistics became available back in 1999; and 2019 has started in a similar vein with more high profile cases. Seemingly we do we not learn as an industry. Why? At the very least it would seem sensible to take appropriate precautions before entering an enclosed or confined space. I wonder if it simply a lack of training and education, because I suspect it runs deeper than that. None of us is immortal and indestructible. We think it will not happen to us. But I urge any marine surveyor to take extreme caution when entering an enclosed space and, let me remind you, small spaces in yachts and small craft can Continue reading “Are we compromising life due to enclosed spaces?”

New technology – the root of all evil or the way forward?

Posted on by CEO
African Challenge yacht
African Challenge yacht

We all love to knock new technology it seems don’t we? For many of us, technology can be something of an Achilles heel and because we do not understand it, we go slightly negative and on the defensive! However, I have been genuinely taken aback by the initial feedback following the launch of the IIMS Marine Surveyor Search App last month. Comments received such as “Simplicity itself” and “Fabulous cutting-edge initiative IIMS” have certainly buoyed me up. One gets so close to these projects during the development phase, so it is pleasing to get positive early feedback from real users who see instant benefit. Interestingly only a handful of IIMS members have yet to download the App. I urge you to do so. Our developers, eDot Solutions, have released several updated versions and are continuing to look for ways to enhance the App and the experience of using it. Keep watching for more news. If you have yet to engage with the App, this link will help you do that.

A man using an app
A man using an app

Continue reading “New technology – the root of all evil or the way forward?”

Five years on and still rolling along

Posted on by News Hound
Flag on a ship
Flag on a ship

It came and went almost without notice. I refer to the fact that I marked my fifth anniversary as Chief Executive Officer of IIMS on 1 January this year. Five years is a long time in anyone’s life and I am shocked at just how fast the time has gone. I am proud of what my team and I have achieved over that period and I am indebted to them for their continuing enthusiasm and hard work. Do we increasingly make a difference and add value to the marine surveying profession worldwide? I hope so. I believe so. Over that time, my driving force and focus has become increasingly centered on continually looking for ways to push up the standards of marine surveying worldwide and to help find ways and methods for surveyors to better themselves.

Allow me to look back briefly over the past five years without getting too sentimental. The organisation I inherited in 2014 is now almost unrecognizable from what it was. We have made significant inroads into digitizing the business – the launch of a CPD App and just last week, the roll out of the innovative Marine Surveyor Search App, the next generation search tool, are two such examples. Our social Continue reading “Five years on and still rolling along”

Training events, training, events and more IIMS training, not forgetting the Fest!

Posted on by CEO
Dr Malini Shankar addressing the IIMS Mumbai Symposium
Dr Malini Shankar addressing the IIMS Mumbai Symposium

They say we are never too old to learn and that is most certainly the case in the marine surveying profession. Yes, we are in the middle of the training season once again.

Recently we held a Certifying Authority training day for our coding surveyors. The contribution from the MAIB was particularly well received and thought provoking too. Paul Bryson’s case study presentation served as a sobering reminder that things can and do go needlessly wrong at sea.

Coming up is our next instalment of the Inland Waterways Working Group in Cheshire. UK narrowboats are right at the opposite end of the boating scale and require different surveying skills of their own.

Continue reading “Training events, training, events and more IIMS training, not forgetting the Fest!”

IIMS publishes what a marine surveyor needs to know about synthetic (composite) yacht rigging handy guide

Posted on by News Hound
IIMS Synthetic composite yacht rigging guide
IIMS Synthetic composite yacht rigging guide

The eighteenth IIMS handy guide has just been released for publication and is available in both paperback and eBook formats. ‘What a marine surveyor needs to know about synthetic (composite) yacht rigging’ runs to 112 pages and has been authored by Nick Parkyn.

Synthetic rigging (manmade fibers) was first introduced in the late 1980s with wider adoption and usage from around 2002. Synthetic rigging (also referred to as composite rigging) is regarded in the industry as disruptive technology that in time will replace stainless steel wire rigging totally.

Since marine surveyors will increasingly encounter this type of rigging, they need to understand this new technology to enable them to carry out surveys on craft and vessels which use it. In this fast growing and rapid-paced industry sector, Nicholas (Nick) Parkyn delves into standing and non-standing rigging as well as taking a brief look at next-generation fibers and the monitoring and load sensing of rigging. The handy guide is illustrated with many pictures and images to help the reader understand what they are looking at in more detail.

Continue reading “IIMS publishes what a marine surveyor needs to know about synthetic (composite) yacht rigging handy guide”

Capt Zarir Irani takes over as President of IIMS

Posted on by News Hound
IIMS would like to express their thanks to Adam, who travelled to the event in London especially from Australia, for his sterling work over the past two years.
IIMS would like to express their thanks to Adam, who travelled to the event in London especially from Australia, for his sterling work over the past two years.

Capt Zarir Irani (pictured right) took over the role of IIMS President from Adam Brancher (pictured left) in a simple ceremony at the Annual General Meeting on 26th June held at Heathrow Airport, London, UK.

IIMS would like to express their thanks to Adam, who travelled to the event in London especially from Australia, for his sterling work over the past two years. He was presented with a miniature President’s medal as a memento and a tippling stick in recognition of his service.

In his final address as President, Adam reflected on how proud he was to have held the position for the past two years and as he looked Continue reading “Capt Zarir Irani takes over as President of IIMS”

Instagram Posts from the IIMS @iimsmarine

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

Show details
Performance & Marketing Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages. This also helps us optimise our marketing campaigns. User data sent to Google Analytics may be used for ad personalization and measurement of our ad campaigns. Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Show details
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance