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Professional competencies for inland navigation

The PLATINA Joint Working Group on professional competencies (JWG) evolved out of the Round Table on “Education and Training” organised by the Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR) in June 2008. At this occasion stakeholders called for a comprehensive approach to tackle challenges for a more harmonised description of a common understanding for IWT personnel competencies. PLATINA has developed a strategy for a harmonised education and training system with certification criteria for inland navigation, the “Standards of Training and Certification in Inland Navigation (STCIN)”, which include amongst others a detailed definition of professional competencies on different levels of responsibility.

Since the beginning of 2009, Social Partners consisting of representatives from the European Barge Union (EBU), the European Skippers' Organisation (ESO) and the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) as well as representatives from the European educational IWT network EDINNA (Education in Inland Navigation) and representatives from the Secretariat of the Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR) and Danube Commission (DC) meet in the JWG which is coordinated by PLATINA. As of June 2011 a representative from the Secretariat of the Sava Commission (SC) attends the JWG.

PLATINA has developed a strategy for a harmonised education and training system with certification criteria for inland navigation, the “Standards of Training and Certification in Inland Navigation (STCIN)” (PLATINA Deliverable 3.8). Elements of the STCIN should be amongst others: detailed definition of professional competencies on different levels of responsibility, requirements for practical learning tools, qualifications of instructors and assessors, certification criteria for educational institutes, quality control criteria as well as ways for documenting competencies. The national educational systems could orient their curricula on the yet to be developed contents of STCIN; they could go beyond these standards on a voluntary basis.

STCIN would thus ensure more transparency and equality of different educational systems in European inland navigation and therefore contribute to an improved mobility of IWT personnel in Europe. In a first step, the JWG agreed on recommendations for professional competencies for two levels of responsibility in December 2009, which were also introduced in the Sectoral Social Dialogue in Brussels. These competencies were developed from a „safety“-point of view and take into account the highest sub-levels of responsibility.

The JWG understands „competencies“ as the real and individual ability to apply theoretical knowledge, practical skills and attitudes subject to concrete, daily changing situations at the workplace with reference to personal and social activities. The distinction between operational level and management level was chosen in order to display the two core functions on board a barge and in order to facilitate an easier access for career changers from other transport sectors such as for example from maritime transport or other professions.

Communication toolbox for Inland Waterway Transport

The Image work package in PLATINA has prepared a Communications toolbox to aid those communicating about inland navigation. The toolbox, based on the communication strategy developed in the work package, contains a selection of items designed to make it easy to convey key messages on the advantages of inland waterway transport.

These key messages are:

Inland waterway transport is the perfect mode for all kind of products/goods (not only bulk transportation), because it operates just in time and has a lot of free capacity, making sure that it can guarantee you efficient transportation.
It provides you with integrated solutions; it gets your products/goods from A to B in the most efficient (also cost-efficient) and effective manner and you do not have to be settled next to a river or canal.
We have an integrated network of rivers and canals in the whole of Europe.

Downloadable tools include:

The toolbox additionally contains a database of photographs, posters and rights free, visual materials as well as a collection of case studies for the use of inland waterway transport in specific supply chains. Please contact info@naiades.info to obtain the full communication toolbox by postal mail.

Strategic Research Agenda for Inland Waterway Transport

The European Commission aims at promoting and strengthening the competitive position of inland waterway transport. As one important element to facilitate innovation, PLATINA experts prepared a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) for the Inland Waterway Transport. The intention is, to indicate major research areas and priorities, thereby supporting innovation policy, e.g. in terms of possible input for future research programmes at national or European level.

Inland waterway transport is an obvious choice for moving freight in an energy-efficient, safe and environmentally sound way. Using the potential of inland waterway transport (IWT) could significantly contribute to achieving the EU 2020 and the EU transport policy targets. The realisation of this potential will however require co-ordinated efforts and contributions from all involved actors. Research and development are the drivers to enable and speed up innovation and modernisation and to contribute to a continuous improvement of IWT’s technical and economic performance as well as its environmental and safety standards.

Therefore, a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) for inland waterway transport, which defines the specific research and development demand for inland waterway transport, was set up. It shall decisively contribute to the EU transport policy targets.

The SRA is based on anticipated developments and scenarios, on a sound analysis of system characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of inland waterway transport as well as on the analysis of global and sector-specific challenges. It determines strategic goals and provides a comprehensive overview on required research demand and activities, clustered within 3 pillars

enhancing competitiveness,
improving environmental sustainability and
managing growth and changing trade patterns.

Strategic Research Agenda for Inland Waterway Transport
(2011 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 18.9 MB)

PLATINA newsletter (3rd edition)

The third project year of PLATINA, the Platform for the Implementation of NAIADES, almost finished. This newsletter contains an overview of recent project results such as the very successful Barge to Business event in Brussels. It contains statements and feedback on the event from political, industrial and environmental stakeholders. Other recent project results are the launch of European Good Practices Database and the publication of the Strategic Research Agenda for Inland Waterway Transport.

This year we will witness a number of European policy initiatives that will have a significant and positive impact on inland waterway transport such as the new European White Paper on Competitive and Sustainable Transport, the adoption of the Strategy for the Danube Region as well as the revision of the TEN-T Guidelines and the launch of a Strategic Transport Technology Plan (STTP).

On 30 November and 1 December 2010 Barge to Business, an exciting European event about logistics and supply chain management, focused on inland waterway transport, took place in Brussels. More than 30 presentations and panel discussions showcased all that inland waterway transport has to offer logistics and supply chain managers. Simultaneously to the information pillar of Barge to Business, a unique business to business pillar called Riverdating was organised under the auspices of PLATINA partner Voies navigables de France.

PLATINA newsletter (3rd edition)
(2011 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 0.9 MB)

European Good Practices Report for IWT (3rd edition)

The third edition of the PLATINA Good Practices Report is now available. The information on good practices included in the second version was updated and various new good practices have been added. In parallel the European Good Practices Database for Inland Waterway Transport has been launched. The online portal will from now on provide constantly updated and validated information on good practices and benchmarks in European inland waterway transport.

Within the PLATINA project, information and data on good practices have been gathered throughout three years by the project team. The third edition of the PLATINA good practices report includes new performance data, changes in organisational matters and other updates regarding already presented good practices as well as information and data on new good practices from across Europe. The objective is to learn more of selected good practices and to search for key factors in order to implement similar cases elsewhere.

Together with the paper version, PLATINA also launched an online good practices tool, which facilitates know-how transfer and networking among IWT operators, users, experts and political stakeholders. For more information www.naiades.info/good-practices

European Good Practices Report for Inland Waterway Transport
(2011 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 11.8 MB)

Inventory of IWT related logistics education institutions and training content

PLATINA partners collected information on current coverage of topics related to inland navigation in the general logistics education. This information and data forms the basis for developing a strategy for the integration of inland waterway transport (IWT) knowledge in general logistics education. The target groups ranged from secondary schools, vocational education to University level.

Apart from a few institutes offering courses with a stronger focus on inland navigation it can be concluded that there is a considerable gap in the general logistics curricula throughout the different countries and throughout the different levels of education along the interconnected European Waterways.

Topics which seem to be of importance to a majority dealing with inland navigation in the general logistics education are:

comparison of transport modes
strengths and weaknesses of IWT
transport geography
types of goods and ships
technology in inland navigation
legal knowledge
transport planning
markets and prices
infrastructural topics
transport documents

This report gives an overview on the national research findings. Different tables with contact data and more information on topics covered are attached to this report in Annex II.

Inventory of IWT related logistics education institutions and training content - Report
(2010 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 0.3 MB)

Inventory of IWT related logistics education institutions and training content – Annex II
(2010 | Language: English | Format: XLS | Size: 1.0 MB in total)

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
France
Germany
Hungary
Netherlands
Romania
Serbia
Slovakia

PLATINA Roadmap Report IV

The PLATINA roadmap reports provide an overview of the main milestones achieved within the project. PLATINA Roadmap Report IV covers the activities carried out within the time frame from 1 February 2010 until 30 November 2010. The report was approved by the Steering Committee and the European Commission.

The PLATINA roadmap reports present the main milestones within the five thematic areas markets, fleet, jobs & skills, image and infrastructure including a detailed overview of results achieved during the last six months of the project and PLATINA activities planned for the forthcoming six months.

The project consortium presents its roadmap reports to the Steering Committee and the European Commission in order to inform them on the current status of project activities and to provide an opportunity for critical review.

Roadmap report IV
(2010 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 1.5 MB)

Manual on Good Practices in Sustainable Waterway Planning

PLATINA has launched an innovative manual presenting good practises in sustainable waterway planning. The document provides guidelines for planning waterway development projects that are compatible with environmental protection requirements, creating a win-win harmony. It offers general advice for waterway infrastructure projects and addresses both technical planners and other interested stakeholders who want to be involved in a waterway development planning process.

The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) has co-ordinated the production of the Manual, which is the result of a consultative process between waterway operators and managers, and environmental organisations. According to Philip Weller, Executive Secretary of ICPDR: “This new planning tool will substantially enhance and smoothen communication between the transport and environment sectors.” To Mr Weller, the public discussions make it clear that “there is a strong need to guide future actions with an eye to reconciling what might be conflicting interests. Some innovative processes and measures have shown that it is indeed possible to create win-win solutions for environment, transport and other river uses.”

Manual on Good Practices in Sustainable Waterway Planning
(2010 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 10.5 MB)

Good practices report II

The second edition of the PLATINA Good Practices Report is now available. The information on good practices included in the first version was updated and various new good practices have been added. As a new feature, a special in-depth analysis is provided on the most promising good practice cases.

In this second round many good practices became more mature and many new good practices were added to the existing set which was published in the first edition of the report. Based on additional literature review and interviews with responsible authorities, stakeholders or developers, an in-depth analysis was carried out on Roll-On-Roll-Off (RoRo) transport, the EDINNA platform of education institutes which was set up in the past year, River Information Services (RIS) and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), which currently receive much attention in many European countries.

Together with a paper version, the third version of the good practices report will also be drafted as an internet-based handbook, from which interested stakeholders can derive examples on the various themes of NAIADES, and which will also be used as a means of promoting IWT as a whole. It will be published at the beginning of 2011.

PLATINA good practices report (2nd edition)
(2010 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 7.6 MB)

Tips and tricks manual for inland navigation communication

While some people are “born communicators”, others can be made. Communicating about inland waterways has its own special challenges, and this workbook developed by the PLATINA team is part of helping to plan effective communication and capitalise on one anothers successes. The tips and tricks manual is a step-by-step guide to creating a communication plan for inland navigation in Europe. To be effective, it must be customised to reflect the challenges, goals and trends that affect your individual country and organisation.

The manual assumes that one key to successful communication is effective planning. Even those with extensive communication experience may improve their efforts by improved planning. The hope is to replace last minute, poor conceived communication efforts with well thought out ones. Throughout this workbook, PLATINA has taken the example of a European wide communication plan for inland navigation. These suggestions are examples which can be modified and applied throughout the work of your organisation.

Tips and tricks manual for inland navigation communication
(2010 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 1.0 MB)

PLATINA newsletter (2nd edition)

For two years PLATINA has been a driving force in the implementation of NAIADES now. This newsletter contains an overview of recent project results such as the second edition of the PLATINA Good Practices Report, the Innovation Database, the development of a concept for Standards of Training and Certification in Inland Navigation (STCIN), the newly launched RIS Information Portal and other important forthcoming activities.

As PLATINA is a multi-disciplinary knowledge network with an open communication strategy, all project actions, results and events can be monitored through our online information services. Additionally, the PLATINA consortium keeps you informed through a regular newsletter. We are pleased to be able to present this second newsletter, detailing the progress made so far by PLATINA.

PLATINA newsletter (2nd edition)
(2010 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 0.4 MB)

PLATINA Roadmap Report III

The PLATINA roadmap reports provide an overview of the main milestones achieved within the project. PLATINA Roadmap Report III covers the activities carried out within the time frame from 1 June 2009 until 31 May 2010. The report was approved by the Steering Committee and the European Commission.

Roadmap report III
(2010 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 3.5 MB)

Reflection group on inland navigation (REGINA)

An informal reflection group on inland navigation named ‘REGINA’ – in which key experts from the industry, the river commissions as well as from the public administrations were involved – in March 2010 finished its deliberations with regard to the improvement of European cooperation and coordination in the field of inland navigation. In its conclusions ‘REGINA’ stresses the need for a strong positioning of inland waterway transport in the European Transport Policy. This has to be achieved through comprehensive and concerted action of all involved stakeholders.

Facilitated as from autumn 2009 by the PLATINA platform, an informal expert group named ‘REGINA’ has been created to start further deliberations with regard to the improvement of European cooperation and coordination in the field of inland navigation. Against the background of the many and varied identified tasks the reflection group concluded that the following measures be necessary:

Intensified cooperation between all stakeholders by establishing a permanent, structured and intensive cooperation between the competent institutions;
Permanent European IWT policy by setting up a comprehensive European IWT strategy and programme as a permanent follow-up of the current Action Programme NAIADES;
Financial and human resources by providing the financial support of the Community level required to implement a permanent European IWT programme;
Seamless transition of the ongoing NAIADES actions by securing continuity between the present and future actions.

The experts believe it is the right time to address these issues now and to recommend solutions to strengthen the role of inland navigation.

REGINA final report
(2010 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 2.9 MB)

PLATINA newsletter (1st edition)

In 2009 PLATINA, the Platform for the implementation of NAIADES, has carried out several actions in the fields of fleet innovation, education and training, image and awareness, river information services and infrastructure development. The recently published PLATINA newsletter provides an overview of the progress made so far.

In the first project year various PLATINA activities and working groups have been set up. PLATINA has initiated several actions in the fields of fleet innovation, education and training, image and awareness, river information services and infrastructure development. As PLATINA is a multi-disciplinary knowledge network with an open communication strategy, all project actions, results and events can be monitored through our online information services. Additionally, the PLATINA consortium keeps you informed through a regular newsletter. We are pleased to be able to present this first newsletter, detailing the progress made so far by PLATINA.

PLATINA newsletter (1st edition)
(2009 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 0.6 MB)

PLATINA Roadmap Report II

The PLATINA roadmap reports provide an overview of the main milestones achieved within the project. PLATINA Roadmap Report II covers the activities carried out within the time frame from 1 October 2008 until 31 December 2009. The report was approved by the Steering Committee and the European Commission.

Roadmap report II
(2009 | Language: English | Format: PDF | Size: 2.0 MB)

Inventory of existing IWT education and training institutes and curricula

Stronger cooperation and coordination between existing education and training institutions is needed to raise the effectiveness and efficiency of the European educational landscape for inland navigation. For this purpose, an inventory on existing education and training institutes was created. The inventory includes contact data, number of pupils, level of education as well as the curricula.

The thorough investigation enabled the identification of IWT educational and training institutes in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. Limited training activities were also identified in Finland, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Portugal. The inventory will be constantly updated by the PLATINA partners.

On 4-5 February 2009 the educational network EDINNA (Education in Inland Navigation) was officially founded at the General Assembly in Rotterdam. EDINNA currently consists of 20 education and training institutes, which are also listed in this inventory. There are ongoing negotations with institutes in the Czech Republic, France, Hungary and Poland to join EDINNA.

Good practices report

The first collection of good practices in inland waterway transport is now available online. These cases represent good practices across Europe, and have been specifically selected for their transferability. Good practices that have succeeded in one place may succeed in others. As Peter F Drucker says “Today knowledge has power. It controls access to opportunity and advancement”.

With these good practices and success stories of innovative IWT services we hope to stimulate innovative transport solutions and increase the awareness of shippers and a broader audience on the efficiency of IWT. We hope to raise the attention for as well as the visibility of the IWT sector and the opportunities it offers. Good practises from the five NAIADES pillars (markets, fleet, jobs & skills, image and infrastructure) have been collected .

Good practices report
(2009 | Language: EN | Format: PDF | Size: 5.1 MB)

PLATINA Roadmap Report I

The PLATINA roadmap reports provide an overview of the main milestones achieved within the project. PLATINA Roadmap Report I covers the activities carried out within the time frame from 2 June 2008 until 31 May 2009. The report was approved by the Steering Committee and the European Commission.

Funding Guide for Inland Waterway Transport in Europe

For the first time, detailed information about funding programmes and financial aid schemes for Europe's inland navigation sector is available in one user-friendly guide.

The Funding Guide lists national and regional funding policies, subjects and criteria as well as contact persons and relevant organisations. It is aimed at inland navigation operators and users in EU and third countries with relevant inland waterway transport. From February 2009, the Funding Guide will also be available online in English, Dutch, French and German, where it will be updated on a regular basis.

Printed copies of the Funding Guide in English can be obtained free of charge by sending a short notice to funding@naiades.info.

Full document
(2008 | Language: EN | Format: PDF | Size: 10.4 MB)

Study on Administrative and Regulatory Barriers in the field of Inland Waterway Transport

On 1 October 2008 the final report for the “Study on Administrative and Regulatory Barriers in the field of Inland Waterway Transport” was presented. The survey was carried out on request of the European Commission in the framework of the NAIADES Action Programme.

The report contains a comprehensive list of around 180 serious problems which hamper inland waterway transport and provides recommendations on how to tackle these problems.

PLATINA, the Platform for the Implementation of NAIADES, takes up these recommendations and promotes their implementation in close cooperation with public bodies (national administrations), inland waterway transport users and other representatives from the sector.