MAYPORT NAVAL STATION, Fla. –
To evaluate the diving safety program at Southeast Regional Maintenance Center (SERMC) in Mayport, Fla., Naval Safety Center (NSC) inspectors visited August 29th through the 30th to conduct a Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) diving safety assessment.
"The safety assessment is a vital tool that ensures dive programs throughout the fleet are following all directives and procedures," said Senior Chief Navy Diver Richard Stafford, the Master Diver at SERMC. “The inspectors from the Safety Center provide an outside look at our administrative practices, planned maintenance program and material condition of all dive gear,” Stafford said.
"The SERMC Dive Locker performed superbly during their diving safety assessment," said Chief Warrant Officer Toby Turner, Expeditionary Warfare Safety Programs Directorate at NSC. "We conducted 267 separate line-item checks, and we found zero discrepancies. The dive locker at SERMC is very well organized, and all of their gear is in good shape. The divers are doing great work and have a lot to be proud of.”
Zero discrepancies is a rare occurrence with regard to the safety assessments. According to the most recent data available, NSC assessed 36 diving commands over a six-month period, and nearly half of the lockers did not properly label secondary containers for hazardous material, and about a quarter of the lockers were not conducting the minimum number of dives to maintain diver qualifications.
Not only did the SERMC Dive Locker complete the assessment with no discrepancies, the initiative and professionalism of the divers at SERMC created an easy, common-sense method to address another common problem at many dive lockers throughout the fleet.
“We’ve found make-up training, when conducted, is rarely documented for those who missed the original training topic,” said Turner. “The training muster and monitoring form used at SERMC can help other dive programs fix a common problem.” Turner said.
Turner plans to share the training muster and monitoring form with the fleet.
A major part of the diving mission at SERMC is inspecting and repairing naval vessels to minimize downtime and the need for dry-docking.
For more information about SERMC, visit: http://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/RMC/SERMC.aspx