2007 ECPINS Super-User Conference a SUPER Success!

The inaugural ECPINS® Super-User Conference held from February 19th-23rd at the Holiday Inn in North Vancouver brought 34 delegates representing 8 nations together for discussions regarding the present and future use of ECPINS by military users.   The nations represented were:

• Canada – Navy, Hydrographic Services Office
• United Kingdom – Royal Navy, United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
• New Zealand – Royal New Zealand Navy
• United States – US Coast Guard
• Australia – Australian Hydrographic Office
• Portugal – Portuguese Navy
• Norway – Royal Norwegian Navy
• Denmark – Royal Danish Navy and Home Guard

The delegates were requested in advance to submit a list of proposed discussion topics. These suggestions were used to provide the framework for the conference. The format was divided between formal presentations and breakout sessions where the delegates were divided into smaller groups that allowed for more active discussions.

Additionally the conference addressed the company’s plans for ECPINS development and desired improvements to the software. Part-way through the conference, following a provocative presentation by Lt Cdr Marius Schonberg of the Royal Norwegian Navy, the group debated the issues surrounding the current use of ECPINS.

Clearly there are some very different approaches to the use of electronic navigation and some countries make far more use of the features within ECPINS than others. It is also clear that much of what is happening today is the result of some nations having mature policy to guide the use of electronic navigation and other nations are developing such policies. The Super User Conference provided an excellent opportunity to air ideas and discover alternative ways of looking at similar problems.

As part of the conference some participating nations volunteered to give presentations which helped provide unique and detailed insights to a number of issues faced by all.

Another aspect of the conference which spurred much discussion was the idea of “Engineering Credits”. This initiative included a sum of money that could be used individually or collaboratively and put towards a specific new ECPINS feature. The delegates were left to decide amongst themselves how to tackle this and at the end of the conference a ‘wish list’ was presented. The clear message here was that it is possible to get together and have a collaborative approach to feature development. In the future perhaps this approach could be adopted outside the conference and allow nations to jointly develop and fund new features.

Feedback from delegates was overwhelmingly positive with the biggest question being – “When will the next SUC be held?” Some specific examples of comments from the delegates were:

• “Many thanks for all the effort to make this the success that it clearly was.” Lt Cdr Adam Egeland-Jensen, Royal Navy
• “This conference gave me a lot of useful input that I can use in my lessons. I am looking forward to coming again.”
  Lt Cdr Kim Geisler Kristensen, Royal Danish Navy
• “A very worthwhile format and the right players in the room”
  Allen G. Munroe, Hydrographic Services Office, Canada
• “Excellent service, excellent program, both conference related and social events, I will surely attend the next conference.”
  Lt Cdr Marius Schønberg, Norwegian Navy
• “Great Conference, much food for thought and very useful forum”
  Lt Cdr Michael Wood, Royal Navy

After the dust settled, Offshore Systems has had the chance to reflect on the goals for the first ECPINS Super-User conference. In a nutshell, we felt it was a great success and that it will go a long way in planning for new business while further cementing our relationships with customers.

Thank you to everyone who made the 2007 ECPINS Super User Conference a great success!

The next Super-User Conference is tentatively scheduled for the Fall of 2008 or the winter of 2009. We will keep you posted.

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