KVH Introduces Videotel Performance Manager, a Breakthrough Solution for Maritime Training

Combines award-winning content and a cutting-edge software platform for transforming a fleet’s training activities

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. and LONDON, Sept. 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To help maritime operators ensure that crew are training and performing at their peak, KVH Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:KVHI) has introduced Videotel Performance Manager^TM, a breakthrough solution for maritime training. The scope of the Videotel Performance Manager offering is unparalleled in the maritime industry, combining the extensive range of award-winning training content from Videotel^TM with the power of web-based data analytics – all from KVH, a technology innovator known for its maritime solutions.

KVH Videotel's new solution for transforming maritime training activities combines award-winning content and an advanced software platform.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9a66ddb7-2593-4c1e-a1b6-f579a5bfed27

By providing maritime managers with actionable insights about their fleets’ training activities, Videotel Performance Manager is designed to help increase operational efficiency, safety, and crew performance. The cloud-based software platform ensures that a crew’s latest training records are accessible from any web-enabled device, and interactive, dynamically rendered reports and dashboards present easy-to-view data about crew performance, skill levels, strengths, weaknesses, and training schedules.

Leading ship management company Thenamaris, one of the early users of Videotel Performance Manager, notes the benefits: “It offers a wide range of sophisticated features and reports enabling our Marine Personnel team to have accurate and timely insight of the training progress per person, per vessel, per title,” says Yannos Koudounas, Performance & Development Supervisor, Thenamaris (Ships Management) Inc. “Consequently, this application becomes a valuable tool in decision-making for our seafarers’ onboard training plans. We like its simplicity and the fact that it is constantly upgraded with new features. Most of all, we have found that it is well-supported by a skillful and fast-responding team.”

At the core of Videotel Performance Manager’s cutting-edge training management tools is the user-friendly web application, which was developed with input from maritime training professionals. Key features include:

• Crew Management – for managing seafarers’ training programmes as they move from vessel to vessel
• Training Reports – for seeing what training is being carried out, where, and by whom, and for generating evidence of compliance required during an external audit or ship inspection
• Schedule Builder – for creating training plans for seafarers based on an established safety management system
• Performance Monitoring – for tracking progress of crew against a recommended schedule of training

“The ability to quickly see the training status of all seafarers in a fleet provides important advantages for a maritime training manager,” says Mark Woodhead, KVH senior vice president, EMEA. “With an easy-to-use dashboard, the manager can assess the precise level of a crew’s training, preparation, and compliance, which ultimately helps to keep operating costs low, and reduce safety and financial risk. This isn’t just recordkeeping, it’s valuable intelligence for maritime training managers.”

Videotel Performance Manager is available in three different packages, called Essential, Professional, and Master, that vary in the number of features and training titles provided. All packages include Crew Management, Training Reports, Schedule Builder, and Performance Monitoring. Additional features will be added over time.

Videotel’s maritime training programmes are in use on more than 12,000 vessels worldwide and cover a wide range of topics related to the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping established by the maritime industry. The extensive selection includes 950 new and updated titles – available in a range of formats including computer-based training, videos, and gamified learning. Videotel’s Practical Engineering Suite includes 100 modules covering topics critical to marine engineers; it was released earlier this year on a variety of platforms, including mobile devices, which was an industry first for maritime eLearning.

Videotel has a 40-year track record of developing training content in partnership with leading industry bodies and organizations, and the company’s videos have received more than 100 awards. The company began creating training materials in 1973 at the request of the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization, the forerunner to the International Maritime Organization, which today oversees standards for maritime training. In 2015, Videotel became part of KVH, a technology company whose maritime products and services include mini-VSAT Broadband^sm global connectivity and the IP-MobileCast^TM service for delivering news, entertainment, chart, and weather content via satellite to vessels at sea.

Note to Editors: For more information, please visit the Videotel Performance Manager website, www.videotel.com/perform. For more information about the entire array of KVH’s maritime solutions, please visit the mini-VSAT Broadband website, www.minivsat.com/one. High-resolution images of products and services are available at the KVH Press Room Image Library, www.kvh.com/press-room/image-library.

About KVH Industries, Inc.
KVH Industries, Inc. is a leading provider of in-motion satellite TV and communications systems, having designed, manufactured, and sold more than 200,000 mobile satellite antennas for applications on vessels, vehicles, and aircraft. KVH is also a leading news, music, and entertainment content provider to many industries including maritime, retail, and leisure. Videotel is a market-leading provider of training films, computer-based training, and eLearning. KVH is based in Middletown, RI, with research, development, and manufacturing operations in Middletown, RI, and Tinley Park, IL. The company’s global presence includes offices in Belgium, Brazil, Cyprus, Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For example, forward-looking statements include statements regarding the functionality, characteristics, quality, and performance of KVH’s products and technology, as well as customer demand, preferences, requirements, and expectations. Actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Factors that might cause these differences include, among others, uncertainties and risks associated with the delivery or performance of critical hardware and technology, including for the Videotel Performance Manager; unanticipated declines or changes in customer demand, due to competitive, economic, seasonal, and other factors; and the need for, or delays in, qualification of products to customer or regulatory standards. These and other risk factors are discussed in more detail in KVH’s most recent Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. KVH does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect new information or developments.

KVH, Videotel Performance Manager, Videotel, and IP-MobileCast are trademarks of KVH Industries, Inc. mini-VSAT Broadband is a service mark of KVH Industries, Inc.

For further information, please contact:
Jill Connors                                       
Media Relations Manager        
KVH Industries, Inc.                
Tel: +1 401-851-3824              
jconnors@kvh.com

Sue Henney
Marketing Manager, Media & Training
KVH Videotel
Tel: +44 (0) 1512 364124
shenney@kvh.com

or
Phil Page, Elaborate Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 1296 682104
ppage@elabor8.co.uk