Why we established Bricks Training Solution for the transportation sector – Emmanuel Maiguwa
Leading Service Company in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, Bricks Mursten Mattoni Limited, has said that the lack of a simulator-based training centre led the company to establish Bricks Training Solution (BTS) in Lagos.
The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Emmanuel Maiguwa, said that the BTS is a simulator-based training hub designed to offer various courses that cut across the entire Nigerian transportation sector: maritime, aviation, land, and rail transportation, embedded with carefully thought course modules aimed at giving learners an empirical knowledge.
He said that BTS is currently running some simulator training courses, such as a Car Driving Simulator, but with an option to open it up to cover the entire spectrum of the transport sector, covering land, air, sea, and rail, providing simulator-based training for majorly equipment handling. He also noted that BTS is currently running ISPS courses as approved by NIMASA and other ship management courses, and it is about to premier its Drone Pilot Training (DPT) in the 4th quarter of 2024.
Maiguwa said: “Bricks Mursten Mattoni Limited (Bricks) is a company registered to provide services, originally in the maritime industry, such as vessel support services, maritime security, and offshore logistics support. However, over time, we have evolved to cover other aspects of the transportation sector, including logistics support, journey management, and personnel management on land and in the aviation sector.
“And that necessitated the rebranding from Britanic Maritime Limited to Bricks in 2019, instead of the company having a name indicating that our operations are exclusively for maritime. So currently, we have built significant strength in vessel management, especially for the offshore oil and gas sector, through the International Safety Management Code with a Document of Compliance (DOC) issued by Bureau Veritas. We have built the strength and capacity to manage offshore support vessels, which has given us an indelible footprint in the sector. We have also strengthened our Crew Management Services and evolved into providing Unmanned Technological Systems that cut across the mobilization of remotely piloted vehicles such as drones and underwater vehicles.
“We also provide various offshore support services to the oil and gas sector within our project management service structure.
Furthermore, we have established an appropriate structure to take advantage of the opportunities in the rail industry once the Nigerian Railway Act, which is currently exclusive to the government, opens up to private sector participation. As you may be aware, private sector participation in the rail industry is limited by the Act in such a way that even if there is an opportunity for private company participation, it will require some approval from the railway corporation with some waivers. So once that Act has been reenacted, it will allow companies or the private sector to participate.
Our company focuses on human capacity development, covered under our training division (BTS). The BTC concept was born out of the need to incorporate technology into training solutions in the transportation sector. The need for adequate simulator-based training centres in Nigeria to meet the industry’s needs motivated us in this direction.
Maiguwa expressed concerns over the challenges of doing business in Nigeria. He said that the ease of doing business affects many companies in the country. He identified the issue of naval approval as one of the challenges affecting the oil and gas industry. “The issue of naval approval has continued to be a nightmare towards successfully operating vessels. Aside from the logistics, there is a bottleneck in obtaining naval approval each time you need to do so for your vessel to take materials and provisions.
“Just imagine you want to refuel your car, and you’re told to get approval from the police just because someone is stealing oil. I don’t think that is the mindset of today’s world. There are so many technologies and options the government can deploy to take away this military style of regulating businesses; companies should be able to purchase bunkers and other supplies without going through military administrative procedures. That interface created between a pure transport business and the military counters the growth and overall success of the sector.
“How those bunkers enter the field should be where the government should focus on preventing. However, once they are in the field, companies should be allowed access routes, just like you have in other sectors. I do not think the Air Force gives permits every single time food and fuel are to be supplied to aircraft in the aviation industry, nor are cars taking approval from the police each time they approach a gas station for refueling. It’s a huge headache for anyone who operates a vessel, to be very honest. I believe it is time for us to look into this and abolish the idea of naval approval for each bunkering operation. I believe that will address and ease the stress in the maritime space.”
According to him, the company’s target (Bricks) is to be the major supplier of offshore vessels to the major IOCs in Nigeria, a leader in providing technology-based training solutions, and have a business relationship across West Africa in the next five to ten years. “Well, I think I will summarise it this way: currently, there are two to three IOCs that Bricks is servicing actively at the moment in Nigeria and one outside Nigeria, but in five to 10 years, I want to believe that with the strategy we have in place and where we are driving the organisation, with the young team that we have, you will come back to seeing Bricks as a significant provider of vessels to almost all the major IOCs in Nigeria, and having a robust relationship across West Africa, not just in Nigeria.
“In five to 10 years, Bricks is also expected to be the leading company in the provision of surveillance technology systems for the maritime space, so these two key areas are the areas to look out our footprint in the next five to 10 years, dominating the key projects in Nigeria.
“Currently, we are running service boats, but there is also a plan to start developing tankers and a general cargo fleet from 2025 to take advantage of the international opportunities. This will all most likely be developed through our international subsidiaries. That is all I would want to say for now.”
