TWENTY-EIGHT THE WATERWAYS JOURNAL May 18, 2020
J. RUSSELL FLOWERS, INC
Financing and Leasing Marine Industry Financing and Leasing for the Marine Industry
J. RUSSELL FLOWERS, INC .
Jill P. Flowers Chairman/CEO 560 South Main Street Greenville, MS 38701 662-378-4000, Fax 662-378-4001
Barker Price
President barkerprice@jrussellflowersinc.com 502-415-5444
Virtual Audits
(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26) performance afterward indicate this was successful, it does make it a lot more pal- atable," she said. Foret added that she's recommend- ing that all audits and surveys conducted virtually should be clearly labeled as such for future reference. "I think it's incumbent upon all parties to ensure that, if we're ever looking back on this document, we know the context in which it was prepared," she said. So far, Foret said Turn Services has been the exception rather than the rule with regard to clients conducting virtual activities. Of the COVID-19-related re- quests TVIB has fielded so far, only 18 percent have been requests to conduct virtual activities. Conversely, 82 percent have been extension requests.
AWO Hosts Webinar On Remote Audits
By Frank McCormack
The American Waterways Operators (AWO), as part of its monthly webinar se- ries addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on the maritime industry, hosted a panel of experts May 12 that focused on con- ducting remote or virtual audits and in- spections during travel restrictions put in place to combat the novel coronavirus. The webinar featured Marcia Macone, director of quality assurance programs and performance for Crowley Maritime; Tava Foret, executive vice president of the Tow- ing Vessel Inspection Bureau (TVIB); Paul Hite, towing vessel operations and senior surveyor and lead auditor for the Ameri- can Bureau of Shipping (ABS); Ric Sing- ley, president of S&L Maritime Consult- ing; and Cmdr. Andrew Bender, supervisor with the U.S. Coast Guard Towing Vessel National Center of Expertise. Brian Bailey, director of safety & envi- ronmental stewardship for AWO, moder- ated the panel and set the tone early on by emphasizing that, regardless the medi- um used to conduct audits or surveys, the result should be the same: safe operations on the nation's waterways. "As the tools we use to conduct audits and surveys change, it's important that our longstanding commitment to using audits and surveys to maintain and im- prove safe operations remains the same," Bailey said. Front and center during the webinar was the fact that, in spite of COVID-19 restrictions, companies are still sup- posed to achieve certificates of inspec- tions (COIs) for 50 percent of their fleet of towboats by July 20, according to the four-year phase-in period for Subchapter M. Currently, about 32 percent of indus- try towboats have received COIs.When COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, led to the shutdown of much of the country and to strict social distancing measures aimed at slowing the spread of the disease, the Coast Guard is- sued MSIB 09-20, which includes guide- lines for how towing companies can continue pursuing Subchapter M compli- ance. Options include conducting virtual activities in place of in-person audits and surveys or deferring a required inspection or exam for up to 90 days. Some towing companies, in partnership with third-par- ty organizations (TPOs), are using mo- bile apps like FaceTime, Google Duo or Zoom to connect shoreside compliance staff members and vessel crews. Bender said the Coast Guard would like to see companies lean toward virtual activities in order to stay on schedule with audits and surveys. "Under the circumstances, we highly encourage remote activities over exten- sions," Bender said. "Extensions are just that. You aren't exempt from the com- pliance activity. It will actually compress the timeline of the extended activity and the following required compliance activ- ity. And this, of course, can make things more difficult for you." Macone said incorporating virtual ac- tivities into Crowley's compliance program has been a learning experience, which has benefitted from constant improvement. She shared some of the ways Crowley has had success with virtual activities, includ- ing gathering required documents ahead of time and holding tabletop safety drills. Macone said a challenge has been spotty cell coverage for vessels underway. "It's been a really challenging and ex- citing time to overcome this," Macone said. "The crews have been on board with it. I think they're learning a lot and it's been a good learning experience with the audit process." Singley added that, for the virtual au- dits his company has been a part of, his auditors have conducted both phone in- terviews and vessel walkthroughs via ei- ther Google Duo or FaceTime. Besides required annual audits, some companies are moving forward with COI inspections virtually. Foret described one such virtual inspection that was conduct- ed earlier this month in New Orleans. "The Coast Guard inspectors came in and using Google Duo directed the cap- tain on the items to look at and survey," Foret said. "Later in the day, they went out on a crew boat to observe, at an ap- propriate distance, fire drill, fire pump and so forth. I've seen it now from both sides, and it seems to be working well." Thus far, Foret said COVID-19-relat- ed requests have leaned more toward ex- tensions rather than virtual activities. Of 116 requests submitted to TVIB since April 1, 78 percent have been requests for extensions, while 22 percent were for virtual activities. When asked if virtual activities are here to stay, Bender said Subchapter M never prohibited or specifically endorsed remote work. "For the most part, remote work isn't prohibited, but it's yet to prove itself as an equivalent to physical presence when it comes to compliance oversight activities," Bender said. "From our perspective, we plan to leverage what we learn from us- ing remote work techniques to minimize boots-on-deck time, but we don't see re- mote work replacing physical presence for the foreseeable future." Hite agreed with that assessment. "You're never going to get a one for one replacement with an actual person going on board conducting these audits, whether internally or externally, or sur- veys as well," he said.
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