HRO6 Rest of the Story-Shipboard Fire Safety System

In tough cases (the topic of a future post-stay tuned) when the class leader describes the decisions of the protagonist of the story, it is called “The Rest of the Story.” This post describing a possible design of a fire safety system aboard U.S. Navy ships is not a description of the system currently in use by the U.S. Navy (at least not totally). It is an illustration of one way to apply HRO design principles, provided in the post titled “2 Introduction to HRO.”

• P1: senior leaders engagement in details, shaping and maintaining a culture that prioritizes reliability and safety,

• P2: centralized control of technical design and management practices,

• P3: decentralized decision-making for operations, and

• P4: processes of personnel development that emphasize organizational learning from experience, training and development.

Recall that the decision exercise from Decision Exercise-Shipboard Fire Safety was:

Design the organization, technology, training, staffing, and resources to manage the risk of fire aboard U.S. Navy ships based on High Reliability Organizing (HRO) design principles denoted by “P” and the number from the list above.

One set of features of a fire safety system is shown below. I organized the design around these categories:

• Prevention (not letting fires start),

• Preparation (being ready to fight the fire), and

• Response (actually fighting the fire).

Prevention (not letting fires start)

• Limit the quantity of inflammable material authorized for storage aboard ship. Have a list of what is authorized tailored for each ship class. Do not allow ships to order anything in excess of their allowance with permission from their Immediate Superior in Command (ISIC). P2

• Require monthly checks of all installed fire suppression (piping, controls, fire plugs, etc.) or automatic fire safety systems (sensors, alarms, sprinklers, etc.) by personnel qualified in writing by the Damage Control Officer (DCO). Document all inspections and deficiencies noted in writing. P2

• Require annual (or more frequently during periods of intense maintenance) inspections of each habitable space (including ventilation spaces) for fire hazards, unauthorized storage (especially inflammable material. P2

• Confine smoking to authorized areas. P2

• Assign a supervisor the responsibility for day-to-day fire safety. This position is called “Fire Marshall” on Navy ships. His responsibility includes authorizing in writing all hot work (welding, arc cutting, pipe brazing), conducting safety inspections before and during hot work, and managing the assignment of fire safety watches for all hot work. P2

• Ensure that all inspections, maintenance, and equipment checks are done only by personnel qualified to do them. “Qualified” means each person has a training record that shows documented training on and off ship and a qualification standard issued from a central authority that specifies a combination of theory, practical knowledge, and practical demonstrations for each person. The competence of each person doing this kind of work would be checked periodically through actual observation of the work by independent observers. P2 P4

Preparation (being ready to fight the fire)

• Create an organization of people on every ship to supervise the readiness of personnel, equipment, and procedures for fighting fires. The organization will be led by a single person responsible for fire response and limiting the impact of damage that results during a fire. On Navy ships, this is the Damage Control Assistant (DCA), a direct report to the Damage Control Officer. The organization will include personnel assigned to fire teams to fight fires in port, at sea, and after normal working hours. The organization should be the same on every ship with the option for expanding it to address unique circumstances of different ship classes (i.e., aircraft carriers vs. submarines). P1 P2 P3

• Create a standard set of written role descriptions, duties, and standards for qualification for personnel assigned to fire teams. The standard will apply to all U.S. Navy ships. All role qualifications and training will be documented in writing and receive final approval from the DCO. P1 P2

• Create a fire team and support personnel whose duty is to respond to requests for backup from other ships. Conduct monthly training exercises to verify the team is capable of carrying out its duties. P3 P4

• Have sufficient personnel assigned to fire teams so that there are at least two reliefs for every role. This provides backup for fatigue and in the event a fire team is decimated by an explosion like on the USS FORRESTAL. P4

• Create a team of personnel comprised of experienced crew members with appropriate written qualification standards combined with off-ship training whose duty it is to train and evaluate the performance of each fire team. On Navy ships, this is called the Damage Control Training Team (DCCT). P3 P4

• Provide a combination of off-ship facilities and classrooms in all Navy bases for classroom training by full-time instructors and hands-on training for fighting actual fires. P1 P2

• Store all the equipment needed to support fire teams in several locations throughout the ships. Having multiple locations minimizing travel distance from the storage areas to the fire and provides backup in case one of the storage areas is inaccessible due to fire or damage. P4

• Inventory, check, and document the operation of all equipment in the storage locations at least quarterly. Equipment that is of central importance to fighting fires (temporary ventilation, infrared fire detection devices, air quality testing kits, portable water pumps, etc.) should be checked monthly. “Checked” means operated so actual performance can be validated. P1 P2

• Require every ship to conduct daily fire team training, which would entail fighting a fire simulated as realistically as possible (no flames, no spraying water inside the ship). P2 P3 P4

• Fireteams must be responsible for self-critiques of their performance after drills, backed by up the DCCT. P3 P4

• Document and grade all training. Keep records of corrective actions taken to address deficiencies. P4

• The DCO, his direct reports, and the CO/XO will be regular observers (and evaluators) of fire drills and other training related to fire. P1

• The DCO will send observers to other ships and document what they found and whether it could be applied on his ship. P1 P4

• The DCO will invite observers from other commands (ships and training commands) to observe and evaluate training (in writing). All observers will be paired with a ship’s force monitor so their findings could be compared (training for the monitors). P1 P4

• All findings from observers must be reported to the DCO with written responses by the chain of command and a final review by the DCO. P1 P3 P4

• All deficiencies identified by evaluators must begin with the text “Contrary to [reference], …” Deficiencies must be based on the official requirements and not personal opinion. P1 P2

• Require each ship to have a system for managing the roles and personnel assigned to them for fire fighting so people can go on leave, transfer, or attend training without compromising the effectiveness of the teams. P4

• Require monthly training for fires in areas with high concentrations of fuel (flight decks, main engineering spaces, fuel pump rooms, etc.). P2 P4

• Require annual mass conflagration (fires that grow out of control) training that simulates widespread fire in multiple areas of the ship. This training should require integration with fire teams from other ships and the base fire department. P2 P4

• Require training every six months that involves assistance from local fire departments outside the Navy base. This doesn’t have to be done on every ship, however. P4

• Require every member of the crew to have a basic knowledge of fire fighting and participate periodically in the daily training even if not assigned to a fire team. P2 P4

• Require quarterly inspections of all equipment located throughout the ship whose purpose is to fight fires (portable CO2 bottles, fire stations, fire hoses, all fire station fittings, etc.) or respond to damage created by a fire (“extension cords” for jumpering around damaged electrical wiring, communications that connect personnel fighting fires to the “nerve center” for controlling fire and damage response throughout the ship). P2

• In addition to the quarterly inspections of fire fighting equipment, conduct a 100% check of all damage control fittings after maintenances period, the most common time they get disturbed. P2

• Conduct audits of all facets of the fire safety program and readiness to respond to fires. This would include operating equipment, observing maintenance that someone certified previously complete, observing and grading some number of fire-fighting drills, checking the level of knowledge of a sample of qualified personnel, and checking all records. All audit results will be personally reviewed by the DCO. P1 P2

• Use a written system to share problems and best practices with other ships of the class. P4

Response (actually fighting the fire)

• Control all fire fighting and damage control from a central location equipped and staffed for that purpose. P3 P4

• Assign personnel to coordinate support received from the base fire department and nearby ships. They should know their counterparts from off-ship by name and conduct monthly “tabletop” exercises (to be explained in a future post) related to fire response. P3 P4

Scoring the Decision Exercise

• If your list included at least 5 of the items above - Average

• If your list included at least 7 of the items above - Above Average

• If all 10 items on your list were in the list above - Excellent

Give yourself a bonus point for every item on your list that is a really good idea but not included in this list. Justify why you think you deserve bonus points in the Comments section at the bottom of the blog. My next HRO post will return to the topic of High Reliability Organizing in General, beginning with an overview of Normal Accident Theory (NAT), the chief counterpoint to HRO.