WorldWide Drilling Resource

10 MAY 2014 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Importance of Continuing Education by Scott Cosby This month’s focus is Education & Careers in our industry, so I decided to discuss the importance of continuing education by examining a basic defini- tion, methods, and credit. Continuing education is an all-encompassing term within a broad spectrum of additional learning activities and programs. This term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Within the drilling indus- try, continuing education is imperative to maintain safe and efficient operations. There are a variety of methods to obtain continuing education, including independent study through various mediums, conferences (see my May 2010 WWDR article Training Through Associations ), or studies at facilities (e.g. vo-tech, business, or university). A combination of traditional, distance, and conference-type study, or two of these three methods, may be used for a particular continuing education course or program. Some continuing education opportunities may also offer hands-on and/or fieldwork activities. Professional continuing education is generally characterized by the issuance of a certificate or continuing education unit (CEU) for the purpose of document- ing attendance at a designated seminar or course of instruction. Some licensing bodies in a number of fields expect con- tinuing education. These requirements are intended to encourage knowledge expansion and staying up-to-date on new developments. Depending on the field, these requirements may be satis- fied through college or university course- work, extension courses, or attending conferences and/or seminars. Many con- tinuing education programs make heavy use of distance learning, which not only includes independent study, but can also include videotaped/CD-ROM material, broadcast programming, or online edu- cation - which has recently become popular for working professionals. Consult internet search engines for more information on this topic. WWDR is a good source on this topic, as well. Do the research and decide on the best continuing education for your firm and/ or agency. The key is to keep your crews up-to-date on technology, methods, and safety! Scott Scott Cosby may be contacted via e-mail at admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com &% ! "" * "(%$ ))) (" $( ' & $ %# # " (" $( $ ( " !" !! ! &% ! % ! (" $( & $ $ $ " ! $ $ ! ! $ ! $ # $ $ $ DFI Announces New Members to Board of Trustees Adapted from Information by the Deep Foundations Institute DFI (Deep Foundations Institute) has elected the following new members to its Board of Trustees, and expanded the membership to include DFI’s three region- al chapter chairs. The Executive Committee of the DFI Board of Trustees has also changed. Patrick Bermingham has moved from vice president to trustee. The new vice president is John Wolosick, who had been treasurer. The new treasurer is Dan Brown, who had been a trustee. WorldWide Drilling Resource ® con- gratulates these leaders on their con- tinued success. Frank Haehnig, Dipl. Ing. , has been chair of DFI Europe since 2012. J. Erik Loehr, P.E. , was chair of DFI’s Committee on Deep Foundations for L a n d s l i d e s / S l o p e Stabilization before be- coming a trustee. Marine Lasne was chair of DFI’s Sustainability Committee before being elected to the board. Before being elected to the board, Gerry Houlahan, P.E. , was chair of DFI’s Marine Foundations Committee. Dr. K.S. Rama Krishna is chair of DFI of India. Khaldoun Fahoum, Ph.D., P.E., serves as the chair for DFI Middle East.