b'on what occurred, what should have occurred, and what isWendella Sightseeing Boatsbeing done about it when. Our transition was easy because we didnt try to swallow the elephant. We had already been using some of the same pro-What was the transition like to using an SMS and whatcesses that are required by Flagship. We knew that crew buy-are some of the steps you took to successfully implementin would be the most difficult goal to accomplish, so a quick it? Were employees encouraged to offer feedback alongglobal change to our procedures and processes would fail. the way to reduce their objections and make them feelWe decided in the first wave to align our incident reporting integrated into the process?and work order documents with how they would be used in a safety management system. The big shift was adding what Blue & Gold Fleet was being done about what was being reported, whether The transition was completed in a few steps. First, we need- that be corrective action of root cause investigations. Prior ed to review all policies and ensure they were still relevant.to SMS this didnt happen. The information went into a pile These policies were then developed in a standardized form,of other information. We werent really learning or adapting. broken out into different chapters for the manual beforeThe feedback loop was never established.the manual was rolled out to the employees. The roll out wasdoneallatonce.TopmanagementmetwitheveryOnce the feedback loop was established and the crew began employee. This was done over a week, and it took approx- to see follow up on every item, they began to see the benefit imately ten meetings to do this. The QMS was built toofreporting.Thefollow-upandacknowledgmentfrom improve our operations by monitoring, measuring, analyz- management on items reported went a long way. I think ing, and implementing effective corrective measures thatthe greatest buy-in occurred when we asked our captains are provided by the crews input. Therefore, there was littleand crew to help us write our procedures. This came in the objection since the crews felt their input was valued. SeastreakThe transition was smoother than expected. Our captains had full buy-in from the start and worked with their on-board crews to implement. We held regular meetings and discussions with crew and captains after development of each section. After a few months we were utilizing the whole system. Yes, employees were encouraged to offer feedback, and they did make suggestions, some of which are still in operation ten years later.Staten Island Ferry LET ASSUREDPARTNERS MCM MANAGEAn initial gap analysis was performed to identify existingYOUR INSURANCE SO YOU CANFOCUS ON YOUR VOYAGEprocedures, policies, and best practices in place and the AssuredPartners MCM is a leading independent additional needs that were required to ensure ISM codeinsurance brokerage based in the Pacic Northwest. Our compliance. Implementation started with procedures for pilothouse operations and from there continued with im- combined experience placing insurance and managing plementing deck and engine room procedures. Input fromthe marine industrys unique risks.employees was strongly solicited and encouraged. Recom- Whether were working with vessel operators, builders, mendations from employees in various titles were utilized PHOTO: JAKE LEONARD/UNSPLASHto develop vessel operations procedures at all levels. Pro-AssuredPartners MCMcedures developed at initial implementation did requireContact: Damon L. Nasmanperiodicrevisionsidentifiedthrougheventreporting,Direct Line: 206.262.6375captains reviews, and other continual improvement pro- Damon.Nasman@assuredpartners.comcesses. Current revisions are less frequent now compared to when initially implemented.www.assuredpartnersmcm.com27 AUGUST 2024'