DP Competence Assessment

Assessment of key DP personnel against the standard their rank requires

Normative anchor

IMCA M 117 Rev 3.3 · MTS PDDP2

Answers to

Company DP Authority · HR

Charging unit

Per person assessed

Primary output

Individual gap report + fleet competence matrix

Competence is a claim until someone measures it. This scope measures it in three phases — assess, treat the gaps, assess again — against a matrix that asks more of a Master than of an ETO, because the job does.

In scope

Phase 1 — initial assessment across six competences: general DP knowledge, DP documentation, DP operations, assurance, power and thruster automation, and DP incidents.
Phase 2 — directed treatment of the gaps found, against IMCA M 103, M 109, M 117, M 140, M 166, M 182, M 190 and M 220.
Phase 3 — re-assessment, closing the cycle on evidence rather than on attendance.
Scoring against the rank requirement matrix: Skilled, Knowledgeable or Aware, per competence, per rank.
Individual report with strengths, weaknesses, action plan and training plan, delivered one to one rather than as a list to the office.
Fleet-level roll-up, so the DP Authority sees where the organisation stands and not only where each person does.

Not in scope

Deciding the consequence of a failed re-assessment. That is the operator's call and we will not make it for them.
Certification or endorsement of any licence, DPO logbook or training record.
Assessing personnel of a company the assessor is employed by or holds an interest in.
Assessment of ranks outside the key DP personnel scope.

Declared so the conversation happens before the campaign, not in the middle of it.

Deliverables

What you receive

Individual report per person assessed, carrying the competence profile against their rank, a strengths and weaknesses summary, an immediate action plan and a training plan.
One-to-one feedback session for each person assessed.
Fleet competence matrix by rank.
CPD plan by rank, feeding the training programme.
Consolidated report for the DP Authority.

Scoping

What drives the effort

These move the size of the campaign. None of them moves the standard it is measured against.

Number of people assessed
Ranks covered
Whether phase 2 gap treatment is included
Remote or attended

These drive effort, not price. Pricing is quoted after the specification call, together with the documents we will need from you.

The pass mark for the cycle is 70%. Below it after phase 3, the person is recorded as not meeting the requirement — what follows is the operator's decision, not ours.

The rubric

What each rank has to reach, per competence

The bar is not the same for every rank, because the job is not. This is the matrix we assess against.

Rank	General DP knowledge	DP documentation	DP operations	Assurance	Power, thrusters and automation	DP incidents
Master	S	S	S	K	S	K
Chief Officer	S	K	S	K	S	K
DPO	S	K	S	K	S	K
Chief Engineer	S	K	K	S	S	K
Engineer Officer of the Watch	K	K	K	S	S	K
Electro-Technical Officer	K	A	A	K	K	K

S Skilled: Can develop, revise and modify procedures in the area; can validate technical solutions and mentor others in it.
K Knowledgeable: Can demonstrate working understanding of the subject and apply it to the operation.
A Aware: Can explain, describe and identify the area and its relevance, impact and consequences for the industrial mission.

DP Competence Assessment

In scope

Not in scope

What you receive

What drives the effort

What each rank has to reach, per competence

What usually goes with it

Continuous Professional Development

DP Assurance

CAM / TAM / ASOG

DP Competence Assessment — let's scope it against your vessel.