The Warm Fuzzies it Ain't

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JK
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The Warm Fuzzies it Ain't

Post by JK »

I know this is TC Air, but this is where they want to go with marine. Quite frankly the idea doesn't give me the warm fuzzies, even though anyone who deals with TC Marine knows it is a PITA. Decisions and requirements for the same piece of equipment change from region to region and surveyor to surveyor. Sometimes it is hell to get a ship to sea with their "help". Which they never are eager to give. They have their problems with an aging workforce, retirements causing a loss of experience, lack of an adequate training budget and most important, too low wages. No Chief will work for a third less of their wages (minimum) unless they can't go to sea anymore.

It is not good..
Inspectors: Airline safety at risk


By STEPHEN THORNE The Canadian Press


OTTAWA — An Air Canada jet refuelled with its engines running and more than 100 passengers aboard, then took off with its wings sheathed in ice, a House of Commons committee heard Monday.

The Airbus had been diverted on a flight to Winnipeg from Toronto and landed in Grand Forks, N.D., without the necessary equipment to restart its engines, the Canadian Federal Pilots Association told the transport committee.

Association officials, who represent licensed pilot aviation inspectors, warned of problems with new federal rules requiring airlines to do their own safety monitoring. They called for a public inquiry into aviation safety.

They came armed with a litany of horror stories, including planes patched together with duct tape and illegal parts as well as improperly trained pilots and pilots flying without licences.

In the Grand Forks incident, the Airbus landed late at night. The airport was all but closed, including customs offices, which prevented passengers from leaving the plane, the officials said.

They said the plane left without de-icing, even after a veteran Air Canada captain who was a passenger, repeatedly warned crew that the wings were covered in potentially lethal ice.

"That (Airbus) pilot decided to become a test pilot with 100 passengers and crew aboard," said union spokesman Jim Thompson. "It is very dangerous."

Both Oct. 9 incidents involving the same flight violated Canadian law, the union said, and are part of a body of evidence that the new regime, Safety Management Systems (SMS), is not working.

Air Canada issued a news release calling the union’s allegations "false and misleading." It said the flight crew did a visual inspection of the wings before takeoff and saw no icing.

As for refuelling under power with passengers aboard: "While Air Canada is not certified by the regulator for this procedure, the aircraft manufacturer’s specifications allow fueling with the engines running. As an additional safeguard emergency vehicles were present."

Capt. Daniel Slunder, the union’s national chairman, said the passenger-pilot filed an incident report to Transport Canada, which handed it to Air Canada. No action has been taken, he said.

"Compare this to the recent destination over-flight incident in the U.S. where the FAA took action against the pilots within five days," Slunder said.

"The difference between the two countries is Transport Canada’s version of SMS and the degree to which it has weakened safety oversight in Canada."

Transport Canada issued a response late Monday, stating that the department "continues to have full responsibility for aviation safety oversight and continues to conduct and take enforcement action when necessary."

In fact, said Slunder, there has not been a single enforcement action against a large commercial carrier in two years, despite the fact Transport Canada is aware of serious safety violations.

The inspectors back a federal government decision to stall self-monitoring in the industry, but they fear a partially implemented regime has compromised safety.

Delaying SMS roll-out to aircraft manufacturers, helicopter companies and smaller airlines is a good idea, said the group.

But it added that the federal decision, which aims to give the industry more time to prepare and provide more training to frontline workers, is undermining safety at air carriers such as Air Canada and Westjet.

Transport Canada imposed the self-inspection and enforcement regime on the big airlines in 2005.

The SMS allows them to self-monitor and self-enforce compliance with safety regulations, with little intervention from the regulator.
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Re: The Warm Fuzzies it Ain't

Post by Big Pete »

Sounds familiar.
Make the Poachers act as Gamekeepers, employ the cheapest 3rd World Poachers/crew you can find, and then stand back and look surprised when the accidents happen.
Oh Hell it's only the insurance companies money anyway, doesn't cost the airline / shipowner anything when it all blows up.
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Re: The Warm Fuzzies it Ain't

Post by JK »

TC is looking to divest themselves of all marine inspection requirements by 2011.
What is the most interesting of all of this is that the head guy from TC who started this trend in marine, is now working for Lloyds in a pretty senior postion.
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Re: The Warm Fuzzies it Ain't

Post by Big Pete »

What scares me is that I have recently come off a ship with all Polish Engine room crew on both "shifts" apart from myself and although they all had valid STCW certificates they thought that they could run all the machinery by "Voodoo & Black magic" none of them would read the Instruction manual to find the correct operating procedures for the equipment, they had no diagnostic skills, and none of them had any idea about Marpol, Solas or any other regulation. They had all signed the company's operating manual but then totally ignored it.
I am certain that they were not carrying out a lot of the planned maintenance, just recording it as done without leaving the control room.
I am still finding a lot of Chiefs and Seconds out there who will not do planned maintenance on the basis that if it aint broke, don't fix it. However, they record it as dome to keep the Super happy.
I have had a Chief Engineer argueing with me that they must call in an Electrician to Fix the AVR on a D/A because the frequency was fluctuating, he had no idea that the frequency was a function of the RPM. As fas as he was concerned, the frequency meter was on the switchboard therefore it must be something to do with the Alternator, not the engine.
On my last ship all the other engineers insisted that the expansion valves on the AC should be adjusted until the evap iced up, that was pragmatic they said, if the Vap was covered in ice it must be working well!!!!
I showed them the manual where it explained superheat and the correct way to adjust the system. They just insisted that the instruction manual was theoretical rubbish and they were experienced engineers who new better ways of doing things than the manual. They then accused me of being arrogant and not respecting their great knowledge and experience.
Later the cylinder head valves on the compressor smashed up, surprise, surprise!!!
They had never tested the engine room telegraphs. I showed them the SOLAS and company manual required the Telegraphs to be tested at every standby and the test to be recorded in the Deck & Engine Logs. All the engineers insisted that operating the telegraphs would cause the engines to manoevre and was dangerous. When we did eventually test them, we found the fuses had been pulled, apparently "for safety" so that the engines could not be manoevred accidentallty.
(Off course operating the telegraphs had no effect on the engines)

The ship was diesel electric DP2 class and when I joined I found that the Sea water pumps were running at constant speed. After investigation the ETO and I found that they were variable speed drives connected to temperature sensors in the fresh water outlet from the cooler to give thermostatic control by sea water pump speed. We set these up to maintain the fresh water temp at the maximum permitted by the engine maker. Next trip I found they were on manual again. The Second Engineer insisted that with the pumps operating correctly, too much water was going through yhe coolers and they would get dirty. He wanted to run the pumps manually just below the high fresh water temperature alarm. He said he had a very good motorman on watch with him who would tell him when the temperatures rose so that he could manually increase the pump speed. All this on a DP2 ship!! Some of the engineers out there are bordering on the criminally insane.

ISM and self regulation will only work with the most highly skilled and motivated Deck & Engineer Officers and if there is no financial pressure from the owners.

At present everything is heading in the opposite direction.

BP
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Re: The Warm Fuzzies it Ain't

Post by The Dieselduck »

I know this offloading of responsibilities onto the operators is currently a priority for the government at Transport Canada Marine Safety. The government in all sectors has been doing so for the last fifteen years if not more. I think there is plenty examples of wholesale failure of this model. Look at the financial sector (economic crisis), food safety, health care (mental health), fisheries, and those are the ones that we are aware because of media coverage, because they have major impacts to a wide variety of people.

Yet the level of government bureaucracy increase as does the size of the government, and of course cost... I think we should rethink this policy, nobody likes to be blame for problems, but closing the door on taking decisions and looking the other way, in hope that only a few will be affected and therefore not gain wide coverage that is likely to upset the image of government, is not a solution, nor is it responsible government.
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JK
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Re: The Warm Fuzzies it Ain't

Post by JK »

but closing the door on taking decisions and looking the other way, in hope that only a few will be affected and therefore not gain wide coverage
Good luck with that one, wait til we have a big 'un, on the lakes or the St Lawrence, involving a tanker.
Sometimes I really wonder if the Government just doesn't stick their fingers in their ears and go "LaLaLa" when the topic of risk comes up.

The most infuriating thing is emailing a surveyor in the local office in the "big" city with a question that would have taken a simple yes or no response and having it ignored for weeks, despite 3 attempts to get an answer.
Home, that same answer would have taken me less then 30 minutes.
When I finally got a call back, the conversation was less then 5 minutes and I had the answer and was rather PO'd it had taken so long to get such a straight forward response.
I was rather taken aback. I wonder how they treat ordinary engineers if they treat the managers like that. Client service, it ain't.
I'll have another glass of red wine and rejoice my tickets are all done.
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Re: The Warm Fuzzies it Ain't

Post by Big Pete »

I'll drink to that glass of red wine!! sometimes it is the only thing that helps.

Have you put a new keyboard on your Santa list??

BP
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Re: The Warm Fuzzies it Ain't

Post by JK »

LOL, It is my work laptop, which I am using in the hotel room while I am working away from home.
Every once in a while it throws a wobbler.
But until it up and dies, it is all I have to use.

And I swear it is not the red wine ( or rum) that is making the fingers wonkie...it is the keyboard. Honestly!
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