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Beyond Simulation: How VASCO’s Evaluation Data Drives Safer, Smarter Bridge Teams

In a world of high-stakes maritime navigation, knowing who’s truly competent on the bridge can’t be left to chance. That’s where VASCO comes in — not just as a state-of-the-art VR training environment, but as a continuous performance monitoring system.

At Kilo, we believe that training is only half the story. The real value lies in what happens after the headset comes off — when performance is evaluated, trends are tracked, and strategic decisions targeted interventions are made.


The Power of Competency-Based Evaluation


Every VASCO scenario ends with an objective evaluation, where each participant is scored across seven critical competencies, including:


  • Situational Awareness

  • Teamwork

  • Communication

  • Application of ColRegs

  • Contribution to Debriefs


Scores range from 1 (critical concern) to 4 (exceptional), creating a transparent record of learner performance over time.


Spotting the Signals in the Data


Training programmes run through VASCO don’t just deliver moment-in-time evaluations — they offer deep, longitudinal insight into how individuals perform across multiple sessions and scenarios.


Over time, this data helps organisations identify patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. For example:


  • A participant who begins with solid performance but gradually declines could be signalling fatigue, confidence loss, or skill fade. This would justify a targeted intervention — such as additional coaching or a reassignment to a less critical role while development continues.


  • Another learner might plateau despite repeated training. This may highlight the need to adapt the coaching approach, or to assess whether the individual is suited to the responsibilities assigned.


Meanwhile, those who consistently improve across sessions — gaining confidence in communication, decision-making and situational awareness — emerge as strong candidates for promotion or greater operational responsibility.


By tracking performance over time, organisations can move beyond reactive training to proactive crew development and risk management.


What Does This Mean for Leaders?


VASCO evaluation data provides bridge officers, safety leaders and operational managers with more than just feedback — it provides real-time data on competence and operational risk.


With this intelligence, you can:


  • Identify high performers

  • Intervene early when standards slip

  • Tailor development programmes

  • Support promotion decisions with objective evidence

  • Mitigate operational risk at its root

  • Ensure people are in roles consistent with their capability


Why This Matters


Seafarers operate in environments where poor decisions can have catastrophic outcomes. Traditional one-off simulator sessions or subjective performance reviews simply don’t cut it anymore.


Statutory Maritime Standards talk about ensuring Seafarers receive ‘adequate education and practical experience’. ‘Adequate’ does not cut it in any professional capacity and this baseline should be subject to an ethos of continuous improvement.


With VASCO, your crew are continuously advanced and evaluated. That’s how innovative leaders are turning ‘adequate’ and ‘compliant’ into competent and confident Seafarers who consistently achieve safe operating standards.


Interested in implementing VASCO with performance tracking in your fleet?


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