Current Status of Shipyard Competent Person Programs in Louisiana and Texas

Current Status of Shipyard Current Status of Shipyard Competent Person Programs in Competent Person Programs in Louisiana and TexasLouisiana and Texas

Laura Hartline WeemsLaura Hartline Weems

United States Coast GuardUnited States Coast Guard

Safety and Environmental Health Safety and Environmental Health OfficerOfficer

What do you think of when you What do you think of when you think of the South?think of the South?

Perhaps...Perhaps...

POPEYES

Fried

Chicken

Winn-Dixie Supermarket

Drive through Package Stores

Or maybe you think of the Or maybe you think of the boats...boats...

Objective of researchObjective of research

Evaluate Shipyard Competent Person programs and facility safety programs

Background- Marine InspectorsBackground- Marine Inspectors

Coast Guard has Marine Inspector program for commercial vessels

Inspectors often conduct inspections on vessels in shipyards

Principle hazard- confined space entry on vessels (fuel tanks, cargo tanks, voids)

Background- confined spacesBackground- confined spaces

Confined space entry is serious hazard• CG definition: Limited openings,

unfavorable ventilation, & not designed for continuous human occupancy

• Ships have many confined spaces • Ships also carry many hazardous

chemicals -cargoes, fuel, cleaners

Background- confined spacesBackground- confined spaces

Confined space are normally first verified as “Safe for Workers” by Marine Chemist

OSHA allows Shipyard Competent Person to recheck spaces to maintain MC Certificate

Safety is rarely their primary duty

Background- SCPsBackground- SCPs

OSHA only requires that SCPs know how to do their job, does not require formal training

SCPs are usually the new employees at a facility. Receive little training on instruments & recognizing hazardous conditions

There is no formal audit program in place to evaluate SCPs

Background- CG’s positionBackground- CG’s position

Coast Guard safety policies are more stringent than OSHA’s

OSHA’s regulations -29 CFR 1915-Safety standards for shipyard employment

OSHA allows for:• Oxygen 19.5% - 22.0%• 10% of Lower Explosive Limit• Toxic vapors/gasses < PEL

Background- CG’s positionBackground- CG’s position

Coast Guard Marine Safety Offices usually add more restrictions to CG safety policies

Policies for each MSO may differ Shipyards are expected to abide by all

policies when CG inspectors are at their facility

Background- Why District 8?Background- Why District 8?


Total Marine Inspection Cases 1993-1998

D839%

Coast Guard61%


Tank Ship Inspections 1993-1998

36%

64% District 8Other CG


Tank Barge Inspections 1993-1998

34%

66%

District 8Other CG

Background continued

Examples of common shipyards in Examples of common shipyards in Louisiana and Texas...Louisiana and Texas...

Description of researchDescription of research

Survey tool was designed to gather info• shipyard competent persons• facilities policies and procedures

Planned visits to shipyards in Louisiana and Texas to conduct survey

Research MethodsResearch Methods

Questionnaire used to survey SCPs and facilities

3 main sections • Background Information (6 questions)• Basic Knowledge (15 questions)• Facility policies and procedures (17

questions)

Example QuestionsExample Questions

9. Define LEL (Lower Explosive Limit): _________________

16. What is the normal atmospheric level of oxygen? _______%

20. What does it mean to visually inspect a space? _____________

30. How often do you zero your instrument(s)? ______________


Pilot administration in Rhode Island• 2 SCPs at 2 shipyards

Revisions made Over 3 weeks, visited 46 SCPs in 24

shipyards in New Orleans, Morgan City and Houston


Port No. No.

SCPs Shipyards

New Orleans 22 10

Morgan City 17 9

Houston 7 5

Research ResultsResearch Results

35 of the questions had point values of 0-4 pts for total possible score of 140 pts.• Lowest: 55 pts• Highest: 125 pts• Mean: 95 pts

Very broad distribution of scores

Comparison of zone scoresComparison of zone scores

119

9488

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Morgan City New Orleans Houston

DISTRICT EIGHT ZONES

AV

ER

AG

E P

OIN

TS

(14

0 P

OS

SIB

LE

)

Project Results- DistributionProject Results- Distribution

The distribution of scores was determined. Surprising results:• 40% knew term Lower Explosive Limit• 30% knew term Adjacent Space• 75% knew what normal atmospheric level

of oxygen was• 65% knew what results constituted safe

oxygen levels and Lower Explosive Limits

Project Results- Summed ScoreProject Results- Summed Score

Tests were performed to compare scores between different groups of SCPs

Chose the 95% confidence interval as significant


Not significant:• High school graduate vs. not a high school

graduate• More than 3 years on the job vs. less than 3

years Significant:

• NFPA 3-day course vs. other courses• Large (>200) shipyards vs. small (1-99) or

medium (100-199)


Significant: • NFPA 3-day vs. Marine Chemist course

&/or in-house training programs Not significant:

• Marine Chemist course vs. in-house training

ConclusionsConclusions

Questionnaire is good survey tool SCPs & facilities are not up to regulatory

standards• Average score for basic knowledge: 70%• For facility practices and procedures: 75%

The Coast Guard should continue to set stringent safety guidelines for its personnel

ConclusionsConclusions

Inadequate evidence that CG inspectors can uniformly rely on SCPs & facilities

Training appears to have strong influence on SCP competency

Larger shipyards had better programs in place than the smaller ones

RecommendationsRecommendations

Surveys should be done of SCPs & facilities by CG units every 12-18 months

Coast Guard should make policies even more conservative to match needs of units

RecommendationsRecommendations

OSHA should require that SCPs be trained in a course similar to NFPA’s• “empowerment” education • 3 days versus 1 or 2 days• professional instructors

Biannual refresher training should also be required

With a little help, we can be like-

Thank you...

Any Questions?Any Questions?

Current Status of Shipyard Competent Person Programs in Louisiana and Texas

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