DBMA Programs : Workshop Skills

Our academy maintains excellent rapport with several shipping companies and they in turn make use of our facilities in many ways:

a) Marine workshop skills enhancement courses include hand and power tools, machine shop, all kinds of welding, overhaul of marine machinery etc. for all categories of Seafarers. These are sometimes tailor-made for specific requirements of some companies and are very popular courses among shipping companies, especially for Junior Engineers.

b) Basic and specialised courses in welding (up to 6 G/ 6 GR level), Gas, SMAW. MIG, TIG, FCAW techniques in mild steel and cast iron, stainless steel welding and plasma cutting.

c) Advanced course in shipboard AC and cargo refrigeration.

d) Basic courses in electrical/electronics and hydraulics/pneumatics.

e) Courses in specialised applications such as refractories, fibre glass, metal stitching, etc.

The marine engineer needs to be equipped with practical skills and able to take care of any repairs that are required on board with the limited resources at hand. The usual resources available for a shipboard engineer are a lathe machine, a gas welding and cutting set and an electrical arc welding set for shielded metal arc welding (SMAW). A skilled operator can produce wonders with the lathe machine which is known as the ‘mother of all machines’. Similarly, the gas and electrical welding sets are essential tools for any normal repairs like joining and cutting on steel, copper and brass in any form.

The Don Bosco Maritime Academy scores over other engineering colleges by providing sufficient number of machines in spacious workshops, excellent trainer/trainee ratio and motivating the student to do his/her best. Marine Engineers in our faculty have rich experience in supervising the training process itself. Our courses are designed after interactive sessions with the client company’s technical manpower, and imitate actual conditions and requirements on board. Money spent on such training is recompenced through the reduced number of jobs for onshore workshops and reduced downtime of the plant.

Ranging between 8 and 10, the norm for a batch of shipping company trainees is 8 candidates. Less than 6 candidates are not treated as a batch, and are trained on individual basis, as per our convenience. Charges for these are different and higher.

Dedicated courses are nominated usually by a shipping company, for their entry level marine engineers who want to advance their professional career. Courses are also conducted for deck cadets in batches, usually at the request of large companies.

Individual training is available for anybody who wants to acquire the desired level of skills from among fitters, pump men or brand new entrants from other streams who are entering the marine engineering profession. We also individually train senior engineers who wish to revise or upgrade their skills.

Note: Usually we do not mix an outsider with a dedicated batch of a shipping company, but on some occasions if all the conditions are similar, we may induct an outsider in a particular batch, after discussing the same with the company concerned.

The courses are conducted as a mix of classroom lectures, table top exercises and workshop practicals. Usually for workshop courses, there are no classroom lectures and instructions are given in the workshops itself when required, using blackboards and other facilities. Important information is also given in the form of suitable handouts.The duration of each course may be increased on any day if required, so that the skills as per plan are imbibed by all participants, as decided by the instructor.

A final test is given to evaluate the skills acquired, in each discipline. The jobs completed by participants are evaluated, shortcomings are explained, and a detailed report is sent to the company.

Each candidate is given a feedback form at the end of the course. These are perused carefully by management with conclusions drawn for improvement. As the batches are small, the conclusions and corrective actions are implemented immediately. The management also takes active interest in the welfare of the trainees and about any lacunae or problems experienced by the trainees be it about the instructor, machines, raw material or consumables in the campus - through regular dialogue. Members of the management pay frequent visits to the workshops and intervene in any matter if required. The trainees are also free to approach the management any time during training.

DBMA also has active and ongoing interactions with training managers and representatives of the shipping company and we can modify our courses based on any conclusions reached through mutual dialogue.

1. Basic Machine Shop Course - Mainly lathe work together with shaper machine, drilling machine and milling machine, if required)
Duration: 8 working days

2. Basic Welding Course - Mainly SMAW, gas cutting and brazing
Duration: 12 working days

3. SMA Welding Course - 6G Pipe (candidate must be good basic welder, preferably with experience).
Duration: 6 working days

4. TIG Welding Course - Structural (candidate must be a good basic welder, preferably with experience).
Duration: 6 working days

5. TIG Welding Course - 6G Pipe (candidate must be good basic welder, preferably with experience).
Duration: 6 working days

6. Plasma Cutting Course - Candidate must be good TIG welder and also have gas cutting skills.
Duration: 1 working day

7. Hand & Power Tools Course - Fitting Shop
Duration: 8 working days

8. Overhaul of Marine Machinery
Duration: 8 working days

Combination Basic Machine Shop, Basic Welding and Hand & Power Tools and Overhaul of Marine Machinery is offered as Marine Workshop Skills Enhancement course.

COURSES ARRANGED ON REQUEST FOR GROUPS:

9. Specialty Maintenance Practices
» Metal stitching or metal locking (only classroom).
» Fibre glass moulding and repairs (including life boat repairs).
» Refractories – rammable and castable and their repairs.
» Mechanical seals and maintenance.
» Ball Bearings and maintenance.

10. Cast Iron Welding and Stainless Steel Welding Course.

11. Advanced Course in Marine Refrigeration & Air-conditioning.

12. Surface Preparation & Coating Applications course.

Additional Information

» The minimum number of candidates, course fees, course syllabus and other details will be made available on request.

» The fees are usually only for the courses and not for any food or refreshments. If desired, food and refreshments can also be arranged for large groups or else participants can make use of excellent subsidised canteen facilities available on the campus.

» Participants will also have to bring their own boiler suits and safety shoes although we provide helmets and all other safety gear required for the trade.

» Isolated candidates for workshop courses can be accepted almost any time during the year, but prior planning is required when a group of candidates have to be trained.

» We also conduct trade tests.

Some of the companies who make use of our services in Training and Testing are:
» Barber Ship Management
» V- Ships
» Chellaram Shipping
» OMCI
» Anglo Eastern Ship Management
» Orient Express Ship Management
» Nortrans Shipping Services
» Dubai Dry Docks (through Emmar, Mumbai)
» J. Ray McDermott, Dubai (one of largest offshore structures builder)
» Camox International
» Bridgeway Electromechanical & Decorations - Dubai
» M.S.C. Ship management
» Paramount Shipping
» Lalkar Shipping
» Varun Shipping
» Executive Ship Management
» Fleet Management Ltd.
» EWAC Alloys Ltd.
» Reliance Industries Ltd.

We have presently been entrusted with the work of selecting and training welders and structural fitters for J. Ray McDermott Middle East Inc, Dubai - UAE. The welders are being trained to the highest degree of skills – 6 GR in Flux Cored arc welding, a highly specialised process and we have set up a new workshop for this activity. Similarly, for structural fabrication, we have set up a new and dedicated workshop.

Recently, we have started with various new courses like
» Marine workshop skills enhancement courses for marine engineers and deck cadets
» Marine Environment Protection Course (MEPC) for M.S.C. Ship Management
» Basic Electrical and Electronics Enhancement Course
» Basic Pneumatic and Hydraulic Technology
» Marine Fitters Course
» G.P. Ratings orientation and workshop training course
» Understanding and Over Hauling of Marine pumps
» Also on the cards a course for trainee electrical officer