"One Hand" means more than just holding on.

The old seamen's adage, "One hand for yourself, and one hand for the ship" has plenty of wisdom in it. In the deep sea world, a rolling ship is an unsteady platform from which to work. The seaman must always be aware of the unstable conditions and act accordingly. Part of his efforts can be directed to completing a job, and part of his efforts must be directed to keeping himself safe by holding on.  

How does this old adage work in the towboat world? We do not regularly roll in heavy seas; the towboat platform is generally stable. Seas may wash over the bow of a loaded tow when in Mississippi Sounds, but they are generally localized to that area. 

Though our working environment may not be as dramatic as the deep sea evironment, "One hand for yourself" still applies. 

When we use the term "One Hand" let us set it in a broader context. "One Hand" should be defined of as the part of your thought process that is directed to keeping yourself safe. Self protection in a working environment must go much further than just hanging on. "One Hand" thinking is how you can protect yourself from an injury or incident. 

Slips, trips and fall are a major source of injury in our industry. "One Hand" in this context means building a hazard awareness as you go about your day. Watch were you step; look for overhead hazards; monitor your environment. It is a continual process of thinking, planning and awareness of your surrounding throughout the job you are doing and throughout the day. Just as we use our arms and legs to hold on, we use our mind to assess danger and adjust accordingly.

Tankerman William Cummings checks stores on the SEVERN.

To go a step further, making a risk assessment before undertaking a task brings you closer to the spirit of "One Hand".  The job hazard analysis that you do before you begin a job, even if only informal, should sharpen your awareness of possible hazards you could encounter once on deck, in the engine room, etc.

"One Hand" means taking 'seaman-like measures' to ensure your own safety and the safety of others for example by: cleaning up spills as soon as they occur; properly stowing wires and cables; not leaving stores and equipment lying around the decks; using proper PPE whenever anticipating the need; ensuring a new employee understands all the vessel's important safety features and his specific safety duties onboard. This list can be extensive and should cover every activity on the boat.

So take time to perform "One Hand" thinking before you start your next  project or task. 

Take time to plan out each task you have ahead. Communicate all aspects of your plan to the others involved:

• Case in Point: A tankerman decided to service one of the generators without communicating his intentions to the wheelman on watch. During that time the tow was transiting a critical bridge when the running generator starts to act up.

Inspect your work area before starting a project or task:  

• Case in Point: A tankerman received a laceration on his head when an unsecured aluminum step ladder sitting on the deck above blew over the rail and hit him. He was washing the main deck at the time. A thorough of inspection of the area before starting the wash down could have brought up concerns of the unsecured ladder above, especially on a windy day.

Take time to understand all the safety concerns of the product, tools, power sources, etc. that you intend to use. read and understand  Material Safety Data Sheets, instruction manuals and other safety information sources for proper use:

• Case in Point: A tankerman washed down aluminum deck plates using a "Aluminum Bright type product at full strength (did not dilute according to directions) and did not use proper PPE for foot protection. The product soaked through his leather boots and burned his skin. 

Let's use "One Hand" thinking to protect yourself and the crew that you work with throughout the day.

Take a look at your TWIC!

Within the next year almost half of Higman Employees have an expiring TWIC. 

The Houston TWIC office has been experiencing high volumes of renewals. If you can select the La Porte or Beaumont TWIC office this may be a better option at this time.

Don't let your TWIC expire! You will not be able to return to return to the vessel. Check the date!

Recently, one of our boats encountered a rare, but not unheard of problem. As part of every transfer, condensation builds up, either on the cargo tank bulkheads, the sight glass, and even inside the Vapor Recovery Hose (if one is being used). Condensation that builds up in the tank is not a problem. Condensation that forms on the sight glass gets wiped away by the wiper blade. At most docks condensation that forms in the Vapor Hose runs back in to the vapor line and in to the tank.

However, at some facilities, the vapor line is not supported, and the belly that forms when it is left draped on the deck creates a good place for condensation to pool and block the vapor line.

How does condensation form?

Condensation is the result of warm and humid air being cooled. The now cooler air can not hold the moisture and the result is that droplets of water begin to collect. In a Vapor Recovery Load, the Vapor Recovery system is pulling this warmer air out of the tank as the product begins to fill the space. This is a closed system in order to keep harmful vapors out of the air, so the Vapor System helps to keep the tank pressure down. Several products, especially crude oils, contain some amount of water as the liquid is taken directly from the ground and pumped in to our barges.

As the vapors are taken from the barge, they are typically brought to a flare which burns them, rendering them harmless. However, during this transit from the tank to the flare, the vapors can cool, and eventually the condensation begins to runback.

The Vapor Hose

At most docks, the Vapor Hose is held either straight up and down (think about docks you go to on the Mississippi River) or it is supported by a crane with a strap, which keeps the hose from forming a belly where the condensation can pool. In these cases, the condensation that forms harmlessly falls back in to the vapor lines on the barge and eventually finds its way back in to the tanks.

With the ongoing installations of ROSE POINT ECS on Higman vessels, the TNL will highlight operational tips to help you use the software. Consult with your RP ECS manual and the training video to round out your knowledge. 

If you have a software tip or shortcut you find useful, let us know!

 

Using Tracks

When transiting an area you would like to remember, use the Tracks function. A Track is a Navigational Object that shows a line where your boat has been. Tracks work by recording your position at certain intervals and then connecting those positions to make a track line. You can decide to record your track based on a time interval, an amount of distance traveled since the last point or a combination of these.

 

To enable and start tracking:

Right click on your boat and then Enable Tracking command.

Right click on your boat symbol and then on Start New Track.

 

When your tracking is complete, turn it into a Route:

Click the right mouse onto the track.

Select Convert Track to Route

 

Name Your Route:

Position your mouse  pointer on your route and right click.

The properties panel will show on the right side of the screen.

Click in the Name box and name your route.

 

This year 4171 Computer Based Training courses have been completed by our employees. Thank you for keeping your crews current on their training. The 4000th Certificate Award goes to Terrell Swinton on the M/V Kyle A. Shaw.

Terrell will receive a $150 gift certificate to Walmart. Congratulations Terrell! Keep up the hard work and you may be the next award winner.

They are not indestructible!

All Higman Vessels are outfitted with 2 - 350' lengths of sounder cord. These cords are 18 gauge shielded , 2 conductor wire, with a high voltage coating (600v). The wire is designed to stretch rather than pull apart when pulled and the design is to limit the loss of negligible kilohertz traveling through the wire.

The ends are watertight cannon plugs.

Although they are designed to stretch, protection of the sounder cord is still required. When laying it out across the barge it is recommended that they be kept in an area that they will not be trampled on a suggestion would be to string it out along the vapor piping running down the length of the barge.

Don't wait to check your sounder system until you get to the river when getting orders to go North.  Check early in case repairs may be needed!

There are six meetings left in the 2012/13 Tankerman Seminars. These meetings are required by all Tankerman and Steersman. The dates for the meetings are:

• January 22, 2013
• February 6, 2013
• March 25, 2013
• April 11, 2013
• May 14, 2013
• June 5, 2013

Please email or call Kelly to schedule your training.