About project

Period: March through April 2020

Subject: Safety Manuals for compliance with US Coast Guard inspection

After constructing one of the largest vessels of its kind in the United States, a maritime company was tasked by the US Coast Guard to prepare three additional documents to comply with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): a training manual for lifesaving equipment, a maintenance and inspection manual, and a garbage management plan.  

The situation was complicated by much of the safety equipment still being in the final stages of procurement and not readily on hand, a dispersion of their workforce due to the Coronavirus outbreak, and an impending inspection date for the vessel only weeks away.  

Our Task Was

Shea was brought on to build resources critical for protecting crewmembers’ safety and health, developing three documents to comply with 46CFR199.180, 46CFR199.190, and 33CFR151.55 through 33CFR151.65  .

Process

To support this company and ensure a timely launch of their newest vessel, we needed to act quickly establish a team capable of researching the cited regulations, cement conventions for consistency early on in the project, and adapt to versatile means of communication for working remotely with each other and the client company. With our project team in place, we:

  • Studied the specific regulations to form an understanding of the scope and information needed.
  • Gathered all existing information including vendor manuals, drawings, and specifications to conduct a gap analysis against the requirements.  
  • Provided a template to use in developing the documents for maintaining formatting consistency and readability. 
  • Developed the sections as identified in the gap analysis including:  
    • Missing procedures
    • References to vendor manuals 
    • Checklists and other tools, as needed 
  • Maintained consistent, open communication with the client company to report on progress, gather information, and facilitate comment resolution meetings. 

Result

Within three weeks, Shea developed two manuals and a plan compliant with the federal regulations. These materials were approved on the first review by the US Coast Guard inspector, allowing the client to launch their vessel and begin operations on schedule.

Conclusion

Despite a challenging production environment with an extremely urgent deadline, our team organized to cope with a rapid influx of information and coordinate remote interviews with client subject matter experts. We formed an immediate and effective pattern of interaction between the parties, helping our client meet their goals, and setting the foundations of a relationship for continued work with them.