Can anyone recommend a good book or manual that explains the practical implementation and utilization of the ISM code for US tugs?
My guess is that the market for such a book would be so small and the value of that information is so high that it would not be found in book form.
I’ve been thinking about taking a class.
I’ve considered the classs, if nothing else to help get an office job should i ever need one. a lot of this stuff is written into the manual itself; if you got your hands on however many thousand pages mine is there is a huge emphasis on intended implementation, goals, monitoring progress, etc.
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;168605]My guess is that the market for such a book would be so small and the value of that information is so high that it would not be found in book form.
I’ve been thinking about taking a class.[/QUOTE]
More tug companies are talking about ISM. The big companies have implemented it and expect anyone they hire to already be familiar with it. I’m not sure who actually is. The small companies are adopting it, but at many companies nobody knows anything about it. I can see that I also have huge ISM knowledge gap that I need to plug.
What good ISM classes are available?
Are these classes primarily for big foreign going ships, or smaller Jones Act vessels.
[QUOTE=tugsailor;168598]Can anyone recommend a good book or manual that explains the practical implementation and utilization of the ISM code for US tugs?[/QUOTE]
There is more information published about the implementation of the ISM Code than most boats can carry. If the tug is required to hold an ISM document of compliance then the question is moot … it must already have one. If it is under construction now, there are many companies that specialize in preparing ISM documentation.
If you want to learn more in depth about ISM, take an auditor’s class. If you are interested in the practical side of writing a safety manual for boats that are not required to hold a DOC then take a look at the “Mini ISM” that was developed(and now required by the MCA)for the commercial yachting industry.
MITAGS has an auditor or whatever class regularly and they mention it’s not necessarily just for auditors but those who want to know ISM inside and out. That’s the one that caught my interest. Part of our ISM is that you’re considered to be constantly learning more about it, so with that said there’s no expectation to be an expert.
There is some excellent satisfaction in knowing the manual better than the office though!
[QUOTE=tugsailor;168620]More tug companies are talking about ISM. The big companies have implemented it and expect anyone they hire to already be familiar with it. I’m not sure who actually is. The small companies are adopting it, but at many companies nobody knows anything about it. I can see that I also have huge ISM knowledge gap that I need to plug.
What good ISM classes are available?
Are these classes primarily for big foreign going ships, or smaller Jones Act vessels.[/QUOTE]
The auditors class is what I am looking at.
Best explanation I heard for ISM/SMS was it that it was the written procedures of a well run ship. It’s probably similar in some ways to the instructions used to run a franchise.
An example of the practical use of a SMS is crew familiarization. There is a written procedure. A new crew member is told what the various alamrs mean, where his muster point is, where is PFD is and so forth. The person doing the familiarization uses a check list from the procedures manual. That check list is signed by both people and gets filed so the vessel can show an auditor that familiarization are in fact being done. Furthmore the checklist can be modified if it is found lacking in some way.
At first it’s a pain but once it’s up and running it saves the senior officers having to explain the same things over and over. A third mate can join at 8 a.m. and by noon time he will be able to follow the procedures and use the forms to do the initial familization for joining crew. That way the C/M is not wasting his time showing joiners the basics and new crew are turned from liabilities to assets quickly with minimum time and effort.
What auditors classes are available? What do they cost? Which one is the best?
Has anyone taken the $400 “mini-ISM” courses at MPT or International Crew Training?