Even a 1% improvement in offshore crew scheduling efficiency can save hundreds of thousands of dollars per vessel per year. Many EPC teams continue to use familiar spreadsheet-based processes, which can make it harder to manage credentials efficiently and maintain compliance, potentially leading to avoidable delays. A modern system like Propeople Crew Management software centralises crew competency and certification tracking, integrates with HRIS and LMS, and delivers real-time dashboards. Keep reading to discover how it streamlines planning, ensures compliance, and saves on costs.
A competency management system (CMS) is a centralised platform that captures, validates, and manages every crew member’s skills, certifications, and training records. It ensures real-time visibility into workforce readiness and enforces compliance-driven scheduling rules so that only qualified personnel fill specialised or high-risk roles.
“The aim of a Competency Management System (CMS) is to provide a consistent, comprehensive, safe, and structured process, by which an individual's competence to carry out or impact “Safety Related Systems” and “Safety Critical Tasks” is assured.”
Unlike traditional tools like spreadsheets and siloed databases, a modern, digital competency management system automates validation, offers live dashboards, and integrates seamlessly with HRIS, LMS, and scheduling software. It transforms reactive, error-prone processes into proactive, efficient workforce planning.
Scheduling unqualified personnel for offshore oil and gas operations can lead to serious legal, financial, and operational consequences. Across jurisdictions, the risks include:
Most countries enforce offshore crew compliance through national legislation aligned with international conventions such as the STCW Convention (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers) and the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). These frameworks require that all crew members hold valid, role-specific certifications and undergo regular training.
Failure to comply can result in:
Regulators may issue formal notices or compliance orders when safety standards are breached. These can escalate to:
Repeated violations often trigger more severe enforcement actions, including reputational damage and loss of contracts.
Under international maritime law, employers are legally obligated to provide a safe working environment. If an unqualified crew member causes an incident, the company may face:
In severe cases, regulators can shut down entire offshore facilities until compliance is restored, leading to millions in lost production and delays.
Implementing a modern competency management system like Propeople Crew Management Software revolutionises offshore crew scheduling by delivering real-time visibility into qualifications, robust certification tracking, and comprehensive crew competency tracking.
The key benefits include:
Propeople’s requirement module enables team members to map role, project, and regional standards within a unified dashboard, giving planners a clear operational view of each crew member’s competencies. Planners can instantly search for suitable candidates for upcoming assignments and identify competency gaps tied to planned activities. This live insight replaces manual lookups and supports informed offshore crew scheduling decisions, ensuring they are always based on accurate, up-to-date data.
With Propeople’s LMS integration, completed trainings are recorded in the system, and any missing or expiring credentials are flagged without manual input. This gives managers a clear view of compliance gaps in advance, while self-service portals allow crew members to update their records directly. This results in fewer last-minute staffing issues and less reliance on spreadsheets to track training status.
Propeople maintains a digital audit trail through its detailed change log, recording who made each update and when. Its hierarchical requirement matrix lets you group standards by position, project, or region, while centralised records support POB (Persons on Board) reports and requirement analyses. Auditors gain instant access to proof of compliance with ISO, IADC, or custom standards, minimising the risk of fines or reputational damage.
By linking competency data to planning tools like Mpower and HRIS, Propeople enforces scheduling restrictions based on live qualifications. Graphical forecasting dashboards highlight vacancies and forecast skill shortages, enabling you to schedule training alongside assignments in the same calendar. The result is fewer assignment conflicts, lower stand-by costs, and smoother project progression.
Successfully deploying a competency management system requires thoughtful integration and user engagement. By aligning the platform with existing HR and project tools and following structured onboarding practices, EPC teams can unlock real-time insights and drive seamless offshore crew scheduling.
Keep crew data consistent by syncing from your source system directly into Propeople: no manual imports, no duplication. We integrate with the platforms you rely on to keep data accurate and up to date.
Link your LMS to flow completed courses directly into Propeople. Credentials update instantly, and expiry alerts trigger without spreadsheets.
Plan smarter and control costs by connecting Propeople and Mpower; align labour planning, timesheets, and budget impact in one view
Use Propeople’s requirement module to map role-, project-, and region-specific standards. Involve operations, HR, and safety teams to confirm criteria and alert thresholds.
Start with one crew or small project team. Appoint “power users” to test alerts, dashboards and self-service portals, then capture feedback for tweaks.
Host short workshops on searching for qualified candidates, interpreting forecasting dashboards and acting on automated notifications.
Review usage metrics monthly. Refine requirement hierarchies as project scopes change and encourage crew to update their own records via mobile or web self-service.
In offshore EPC projects, unpredictability, compliance demands, and tight deadlines leave no room for guesswork. Propeople Crew Management Software centralises crew qualification data, automates certification tracking and enforces compliance, and transforms reactive scheduling into proactive planning. By integrating seamlessly with HRIS, LMS and planning tools, it minimises downtime, prevents audit failures and keeps projects on track.
Want to learn more about how Propeople aids competency management? Download our brochure today for more information on our crew management solution.