The Small Boat Product Line was introduced here earlier this year. Here is a guest blog by LCDR Matt Lake, Small Boat Product Line Engineering Section Chief, sharing how it is already showing its value to the operators.
On January 16, 2009, CGC SEQUOIA identified a critical safety issue while inspecting lifting gear provided with their recently delivered 24' Cutter Boat - Large (CB-L). During the inspection, SEQUOIA's crew found that the lifting ring, which holds the boat slings and supports the weight of the boat, was stamped with a load rating less than the operating weight of the boat! The crew immediately notified the Contracting Officer Technical Representative in the CG Office of Boat Forces (CG-731), who also notified the Small Boat Product Line (SBPL) and the boat manufacturer. A cursory investigation revealed that the supplier of the lifting gear inadvertently shipped the wrong lift rings to the boat manufacturer.
Within four hours of notification (on a Friday afternoon), the SBPL had released a Message Time Compliance Technical Order (TCTO), mandating inspection of all lifting rings in the fleet delivered with the new 24' CB-Ls. Four cutters reported discrepancies. The SBPL and CG-731 immediately worked together to get replacement lift rings (free of charge from the manufacturer) to these cutters to minimize impact to their operational availability. The astute observations of the CGC SEQUOIA crew, teamwork between CG-731 and the SBPL, and the Message TCTO process averted potentially grave injury to personnel, damage to equipment, and maximized fleet readiness.
As demonstrated in this case, teamwork and strong partnerships among the Office of Boat Forces, Fleet, and Product Line is an important aspect of the Coast Guard's modernization efforts that can be realized even by units that have not yet undergone full Logistics Modernization. Furthermore, the Message TCTO, one of many tools associated with Logistics Modernization, may be applied to all CG units with significant positive impact to safety and mission execution.
