procedures during a maintenance action that will not be corrected before the ship gets underway. 2.   There is a lack of compliance wit specifications for “as found” conditions during maintenance action for which no prior action is held (such as a  shipyard  waiver),  which  will  not  be  corrected prior  to  the  ship  getting  underway. 3.  There  is  a  lack  of  compliance  with  a specification  discovered  and  no  corrective action  is  planned. A departure from specification is not required for nonconforming conditions discovered and not caused by maintenance or a maintenance attempt. Specifically, for items that routinely fail and for which corrective action  is  planned  only  a  CSMP  entry  is  made.  A departure from specification should not be generated. A SUPERVISOR’S LINK TO REPORTING PROCEDURES Why  do  we  report  and  ensure  that  our  workers report  all  departures  from  specifications?  Is  it  because we  need  more  paperwork?  You  and  your  workers  who perform maintenance have an obligation to perform every   repair   according   to   specifications.   When   a departure is discovered, it is the responsibility of the person(s) finding it to report it. However, since you cannot be everywhere, how can you make sure your workers report the departure? As you will see, your supervisory role plays a big part in ensuring that workers always  comply. There are several reasons why workers may fail to report departures from specifications. Some workers feel  that  specifications  are  only  objectives rather than minimum  requirements  for  acceptability.  You  must stress to all of your workers that any deviation from specifications   must   be   recorded,   reviewed,   and approved by the proper authority. Another reason, which has a direct link to supervisors, is lack of adequate inspection,  quality  control,  and  management  of  the process for determining compliance with specifications. Sometimes  workers  simply  do  not  understand  the specification  requirements.  Do  they  really  understand what is expected on the job? Another reason is a lack of training  in  the  skills  necessary  to  meet  specifications. Do you have the right person on the job? Was the job a rush job? A lack of time for adequate planning and parts procurement,  thereby  requiring  an  emergency temporary repair in lieu of a permanent repair, is another reason  why  workers  may  fail  to  comply  with specifications. From this discussion, you can see the role you  as  a  supervisor  must  play  during  this  all-important process. TYPES OF DEPARTURES FROM SPECIFICATIONS There are two types of departures that affect you and the  reporting  procedure–major  and  minor.  We  will briefly discuss each of them in the following paragraphs. Major Departures from Specifications A  major  departure  from  specifications  is  any departure  from  specifications  that  affects  the  reliability of the ship’s control systems, watertight integrity, or personnel  safety.  Major  departures  from  specifications require approval from higher authority. If you have a departure from specifications that falls into any of the following categories, consider it a major departure: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Any departure that directly involves the safety of the ship or personnel Any  departure  that  reduces  the  integrity  or operability  of  equipment  essential  to  the  ship’s mission  (for  example,  installation  of  parts  that do not meet all applicable material certification requirements) Failure  to  complete  any  required  retest  of  a component  or  subsystem  that,  if  defective,  could cause  flooding Any  nonconformance  to  plan  specifications resulting   in   a   change   of   configuration considered  to  be  a  permanent  repair Failure  to  meet  all  applicable  standards  for major  repairs  unless  other  alternatives  are authorized  by  the  QA  manual  (in  other  words, failed  strength  test) Minor  Departure  from  Specifications This includes all departures that are not determined to be major. Minor departures may be permanent or temporary and are approved by the RO. REPORTING  PROCEDURES Who reports a departure from specifications? Do you as the supervisor? Only if you are the one finding or causing the departure. As stated in the QA manual, the person  discovering or causing the  departure  must initiate the departure from specifications. However, does this mean that each time we cause a departure we 6-12