|
1.10 CREW RELIEF PROCEDURES
One area where management practices can have a significant impact
on safety and high crew performance is the way in which they schedule
and conduct crew reliefs. While recognising the economies available
through transporting relief and off-going crews en-block, good management
will weigh the potential gains of replacing the entire crew in one day
against the possible losses caused by crew unfamiliarity with ship systems
or conditions.
Even when the relieving personnel are familiar with the vessel, it is
strongly recommended that the following crew relief guidelines be followed:
No more than one-half of the crew is relieved at any port call.
The top two personnel in each department are relieved on separate occasions,
ie. if the chief engineer is to be relieved, the First-Assistant Engineer
remains aboard.
If the vessel is preparing to carry, or is carrying special cargo, the
chief officer and master are not relieved until the cargo discharge is
completed.
Crew reliefs travelling more than six hours (door to gangway), to reach
their ship are permitted eight hours of rest ashore or on board before
relieving.
Officers are permitted six hours of handover time between the relieving
officer reporting for duty and the departing officer surrendering his
duties.
Unlicensed personnel are permitted two hours of turnover time.
Departing officers are strictly instructed to refuse to surrender their
duties if they are not satisfied that their relief is competent and capable
of assuming them.
The final point is closely linked with the concepts of effective followership
and crew-management teamwork previously discussed. Unless the officer
is convinced that management is depending on him to be the final guardian
of the ship's safety, he will accept without demur the person sent to
relieve him. 'The company picked this person, so it's their problem!'
would be the attitude of many officers in a highly directive organization.
Faced with handing over to a relief who clearly lacks the experience
or confidence for the responsibilities of the job, they will do so.
With today's manning procedures and problems, incompetent crew members
will from time to time arrive at the top of the gangway to confront
an unfamiliar ship or ship type. The master, department head and officer
being relieved are the last line of defence against the ship sailing
with this problem person on board.
1.10.1 Inexperienced personnel
On occasion, a shipping company knowingly hires inexperienced personnel.
As one example, a major oil company ran a portion of its fleet from
1955 through 1968 without needing to hire a single officer. In 1967
the number of ships stabilised after years of reductions, several officers
announced their retirements and the company found itself replacing men
of 15 years experience with a dozen maritime school graduates who were
absolutely unfamiliar with company procedures and in some cases had
no experience on tankers. With some intelligence and foresight, the
company assigned these officers to ships for as much as one month's
training on watch with a senior, highly professional officer. Only after
this officer was satisfied with their performance were the new employees
allowed to stand watch unassisted.
Even when the officer has considerable experience, if he is new to the
company or ship-type and is relieving as a department head, he should
complete one voyage or cargo cycle with the departing officer before
relieving. The extra costs of this practice can be insignificant compared
with the costs and penalties of a cargo contamination or ship casualty.
The sign prominently displayed in a chemical tanker's cargo office applies:
If you're not worried, it's because you don't understand what is going
on here!
An effective crew relief procedure ensures that there are always key
people on board who know what is going on and who are concerned (rather
than worried), about the safety of their ship and its crew.
|
