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DRIVING TO AND FROM CREW CHANGE
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The goal of every crew change should be to minimize risk while on the road.
Almost every day of the week there are Higman crew changes underway. Vessel personnel are going to and returning from boats that are stretched out all along the inland waterway system. For our vessel personnel, it can mean hours behind the wheel of a crew change truck. A Higman crew change truck can typically log an average of 55,000 miles per year.
With so much time behind the wheel, there is a heightened exposure to the risk of a traffic accident. Your question should be, "How can that exposure be minimized?"
Has this ever happened to you? While driving through the neighborhood you take a quick look down to change the radio station. It takes only second or two but when you look back up to the road, "Oh ----"; apply the brakes hard, maybe swerve to the shoulder. You just missed hitting the car that suddenly stopped ahead of you. This time you missed a rear end collision; the next time could be different.
Distracted driving is the number one cause of vehicle accidents in the United States today. A distracted driver is a motorist that diverts his or her attention from the road. There are many ways to be distracted while driving but today cell phone operation is the number one reason. Of all cell phone related tasks, texting is by far the most dangerous activity. The National Safety Council estimates that texting while driving raises the likelihood of a crash by eight times, and that crashes involving texting or talking on a cellphone (hands-free or handheld) account for 27 percent of all accidents.
Speeding. Time off from the boat is a precious commodity. The drive from the boat to your crew change office and then to home takes time and that could be better spent doing anything else. It is easy to try and shorten that unproductive time by speeding.
Speeding is the second greatest cause of accidents in the US. It is also a factor in about 30 percent of traffic accidents that result in fatalities. The faster you drive, the slower your reaction time will be if you need to prevent an auto accident. The faster you drive, the tougher it will be to recover control of the vehicle if a dangerous situation or condition arises.
Need a nap?
Another risk to safe driving we can all relate to is that sleepy feeling you get during a monotonous drive. The National Traffic Safety Administration estimates that more than 60 percent of adults reported driving while drowsy in the last year and one in six fatal crashes involves a drowsy driver. With the "round the clock" operation of a towboat, the importance of being well rested before going to or from crew change cannot be under estimated.
If you get that feeling where it is hard to keep your eyes open, pull over and get some rest.
Company Policy. The company policy on operating crew change vehicles is written for a simple reason: to ensure the safety of Company drivers and passengers and the security of Company vehicles. It states that the attitude you take when behind the wheel is the single most important factor in driving safely. - Follow all traffic regulations
- Minimize cell phone use. Common sense says pull over if you need to use it.
- Keep alert
Your family appreciates you getting home safely. Approach your crew change with the same seriousness and dedication you do when operating your tow safely!
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It is time to register! Attendance at a Wheelmen's Seminar is required for all Pilots, Relief Captains and Captains.
Dates for the 2016 Wheelmen's Seminars are shown below. These dates were selected with the best advantage for all Higman crew change schedules. Dates chosen minimize the amount of riding over and maximize the number of wheelmen who can attend.
2016 Wheelmen's Seminars:
April 20-21
May 2-3
May 11-12
To reserve a place, click here to email your information to Austin. Include your name, the vessel name, date for hotel check-in, and guest's name, as well as any special requests. Special requests are handled on a first-come, first-served basis.
The seminars will be held at Cypress Bend Resort located at 2000 Cypress Bend Dr, Many, LA 71449. Phone: 318-590-1500.
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Change in Afloat Personnel and Training Department
We are pleased to announce that Austin Zody joined the Higman Team on January 18. Austin, as many
of you will remember, was an intern with us in the Peninsula and the Post Oak offices last summer. He recently graduated with a degree in Maritime Administration at Texas A&M University, Galveston. Austin is working in the Training Department as Training Coordinator.
We are also pleased to announce Ms. Kelly Cleaver accepted a newly created position as Afloat Personnel Logistics Manager starting February 1. Kelly will be responsible for oversight of the Afloat Logistics Group.
Please note in the future you need to email Austin at AustinZ@higman.com or call him at 281-864-6032 to register for the Wheelmen's Seminar and Radar Renewal, since Kelly is no longer handling this responsibility.
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UPDATE W-4 WITHHOLDING TAX FORM
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To Make a Change
For 2016, if you need or want to update your IRS W-4 Form for Employee's Withholding Allowance, you can find it on www.higmanboats.com in the Miscellaneous section. Click the Office Forms link. Complete the form and return to Mary Kay in the Peninsula office.
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You have probably heard over and over that smoking is extremely harmful to your health. Well it is, and there is no safe way to smoke. Replacing your cigarette with a cigar, pipe, or hookah (a type of water pipe to smoke flavored tobacco) won't help you avoid the health risks associated with tobacco products.
Cigarettes contain about 600 ingredients. When they burn, they generate more than 7,000 chemicals, according to the American Lung Association. Many of those chemicals are poisonous and at least 69 of them can cause cancer. Many of the same ingredients are found in cigars and in tobacco used in pipes and hookahs. According to the National Cancer Institute, cigars have a higher level of carcinogens, toxins and tar than cigarettes.
When using a hookah pipe, you're likely to inhale more smoke than you would from a cigarette. Hookah smoke has many toxic compounds and exposes you to more carbon monoxide than cigarettes. Hookahs also produce more secondhand smoke.
In the United States, the mortality (death) rate for smokers is three times that of people who never smoked, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's one of the leading causes of preventable death.
Now here is the good news! Let's look at the benefits of quitting smoking over time: - 20 minutes after quitting - Your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
- 12 hours after quitting - The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops.
- 2 weeks after quitting - Your circulation improves/lung function increases.
- 1 to 9 months after quitting - Coughing/shortness of breath decreases; lungs start to cleanse
- 1 year after quitting - The risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker.
- 5 years after quitting - Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in half. Stroke risk falls to that of a non-smoker.
- 10 years after quitting - The risk of dying from lung cancer is about half of a person who still smokes.
- 15 years after quitting - The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker.
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For the next few months, the Higman Training Newsletter will highlight the products carried aboard Higman Barges. The information below is general and is not meant to replace the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). For detailed product safety and health information, be sure to read the most current MSDS for the product you are interested in.
Today's Chemical is:
Vacuum Gas Oil - VGO
What is it?
VGO, also called Straight Run Fuel Oil or Heavy Vacuum Gas Oil, is produced in a Vacuum Distillation Unit, through the separation of the heaviest fraction from the atmospheric distillation column. It is a heavy and viscous product and is only used as an intermediary feed stock.
Vacuum Gas Oil or VGO is used in the production of:
- Gasoline - The Fluidized Catalytic Cracker is a refining unit that cracks the HVGO in the presence of a catalyst, to produce a gasoline rich mix of products.
- Diesel / Kerosene - The Hydrocracker is a refining unit that cracks the HVGO using hydrogen, to produce a mixture of products rich in middle distillate.
VGO is a black, viscous liquid at room temperature. It has a hydrocarbon-asphaltic odor. The color is brown, black or dark green opaque.
How is it shipped?
VGO is primarily shipped by barge or ship as a refinery feedstock.
What are my concerns?
H2S: Product may contain or release hydrogen sulfide. H2S is a highly toxic, highly flammable gas, which can be fatal if inhaled at certain concentrations.
Eye Protection - Keep away from eyes. Eye contact can be avoided by wearing safety glasses or chemical splash goggles. A source of clean water should be available in the work area for flushing eyes.
Eye Contact - Flush immediately with large amounts of water for at least 15 minutes. Eyelids should be held away from the eyeball to ensure thorough rinsing. Seek medical advice if pain or redness continues.
Skin Protection - Keep away from skin. Skin contact can be minimized by wearing protective gloves such as neoprene, nitrile-butadiene rubber, etc. and, where necessary, impervious clothing and boots. Where potential exists for exposure to a product and water mixture (e.g., hydroblasting exchanger tubes or vessel bottoms), a face shield as well as appropriate barrier creams should be used to prevent face and neck contact. Leather goods contaminated with this product should be discarded. A source of clean water should be available in the work area for flushing skin.
Skin Contact - Immediately contact physician for thermal burns. In case of skin contact with hot product, immediately immerse or drench the affected are in water to assist cooling. Get medical attention. Remove contaminated clothing promptly and launder before reuse. Contaminated leather goods should be discarded. If irritation persists or symptoms described in the MSDS develop, seek medical attention. High pressure skin injections are SERIOUS MEDICAL EMERGENCIES. Get
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DOT Classification:
Class 3, Flammable Liquid
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immediate medical attention.
Respiratory Protection: If workplace exposure limits for product or components are exceeded, NIOSH equipment should be worn. Proper respirator selection should be determined by adequately trained personnel, based on the contaminants, the degree of potential exposure and published respiratory protection factors. This equipment should be
available for non-routine and emergency use.
Slight Inhalation: Remove to fresh air. If breathing is difficult, ensure clear airway and administer oxygen. If not breathing, apply artificial respiration or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Keep person warm, quiet and get medical attention.
Avoid breathing mists and vapor. Use in well ventilated area. In confined space, mechanical ventilation may be necessary to reduce vapor concentrations to levels below the allowable exposure limits.
Slight Ingestion: Never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person. DO NOT induce vomiting. Aspiration of material into the lungs due to vomiting can cause chemical pneumonitis, which can be fatal. Give vegetable oil or charcoal slurry to retard absorption. If spontaneous vomiting occurs, keep head below hips to prevent aspiration of liquid into lungs and monitor for breathing difficulty. SEEK IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION. Keep person warm and quiet.
Fire Fighting Measures: A slight fire hazard
Flash Point: 220-320°F
Autoignition Temperature: >500°F
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CALLING ALL BOAT PERSONNEL
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Best Practices!
Best Practices that boat personnel send to the Training Department contain invaluable knowledge. Please remember to send in your Best Practices you have discovered while working on your boat and barges.
We in the Training Department enjoy the insight and will be able to then pass on your Best Practices to the rest of the fleet. Any photos you can include will be especially helpful to illustrate your ideas. Please email your information to Austin or Janis.
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What the Heck is a "Button" battery and Why is it Dangerous
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More and more household items have button, or lithium, batteries (Picture 1). These items include remote controls, thermometers, games, toys, hearing aids, calculators, bathroom scales, musical greeting cards, key fobs, electronic jewelry, holiday ornaments, cameras and candles. As technology advances, so do the devices and equipment we use every day - and so do the batteries that power many of these items.
These batteries may even be as small as a pill or a coin. Since they are so small, they are easy to swallow or put in the nose or ear. When a button battery is placed in the body, it lets off an electrical current that begins to burn the body. Serious injury can occur in as little as two hours. If the injury is severe major surgery may be necessary. People have died from burns caused by swallowing button batteries.
How Parents Can Safeguard Children from Swallowed Batteries
So what can parents do to prevent these potentially fatal ingestions? The first step is to keep the batteries out of children's reach. Since lithium batteries can be found in laptops, iPads, remote car keys, calculators, cameras, bathroom scales, digital thermometers, talking books, video games and even musical greeting cards, doctors recommend that parents "be vigilant and look at every product at home to see if it has a battery compartment that can be opened by the child and [if so, make sure it is] secured with heavy tape. If not, it needs to be treated like a medication -- up high, out of reach and locked up."
If parents suspect their child has ingested a battery -- or any other object for that matter -- they should immediately take the child to the nearest emergency department. The majority of ingestions are unwitnessed, according to a new study, and the signs of ingestion are not specific to the item ingested.
Some other tips for parents include:
- If you see your child drooling, having difficulty swallowing or vomiting take him or her to the emergency department to get evaluated.
- Do not second guess whether anything was ingested. Leave that to the emergency room doctors to determine. Time is critical!
- Doctors emphasize that if children are not taken to the operating room within two hours, the outcome could be fatal.
Here is a good "family friendly" example of how devastatingly and quickly these batteries burn victims. Two pieces of ham conduct electricity almost exactly the same as human flesh. This battery was left between two slices of lunch meat for two hours and caused this burn.
Dog owners the same warnings go for your fur babies. If they chew up something that had a battery in it -- account for the battery!
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ROSE POINT TIP OF THE WEEK -- KNOW THESE FOUR CONNECTIONS
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Your Rose Point chart plotter computer relies on four connections that make it work:
- First, power to run the RP chart plotter computer.
- Second, a data connection from the AIS system to bring in your navigation information and the AIS information from other boats.
- Third, a VGA cord to feed images to the monitor.
- Fourth, a DC power cord to power the monitor.
First: The Power
The Rose Point computer is contained in the keyboard itself. It gets power from an A/C adapter plugged into the back of the keyboard. The cord leads from underneath the console to a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) where it gets 110V AC. Make sure all cords are plugged in. Since the keyboard computer does not have an internal battery, if AC power is lost, the computer goes down. The UPS should keep it running when generators are switched without interruption.
Second: Your Data Feed
This is data needed to position your vessel and other vessels on the chart. It comes through a two-wire connection from the AIS transponder box located beneath the wheelhouse. It indicates what is happening on your boat: lat/long, speed, course, swing, etc. It also indicates what is happening on other boats surrounding you from their AIS transmissions.
The wire transmission comes out of the AIS box as a "serial" signal. It is plugged into a "serial-to-USB" converter called the "Tripp-Lite Keyspan." The keyspan can be found about a foot behind the Rose Point computer. It is about 3 ½ inches long and is a wedge shape. It has a small green indicator light that shines steadily when data is flowing. If it is blinking, there is something wrong.
If the green light is blinking or out, you can often reset the keyspan by removing the USB plug from the back of the computer and then reinstalling. Also, check the connecting plugs going in and out of the keyspan to make sure they are well seated.
Third: The VGA Cable
From the back of the Rose Point keyboard computer, a VGA cable leads up to the monitor. Make sure both ends of the cable are securely in place. The VGA cable takes the video from the computer to the monitor.
Fourth: The Monitor Power Cord
The monitor has an independent power supply. Most operate on 12 volt DC power, normally from the 12 volt system located under the console with wires coming from the back of the monitor to the source underneath the console. Some units have a 120 volt AC to 12 volt DC adapter. Check connections if the monitor will not power up.
Note: the Tripp-Lite Keyspan and the keyboard type computer is operating on about 90% of our boats. The latest configuration makes some changes to that we will discuss in future articles.
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Keep up with the latest High Water alerts! It is not over yet!
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USCG RULES OF THE ROAD QUESTIONS
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BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND.....A vessel fishing at night, with gear extending more than 150 meters horizontally outwards, will show in the direction of the gear which light(s)?
A) two vertical yellow lights
B) one white light
C) two vertical white lights
D) one yellow light
BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND.....Two vessels are in an overtaking situation. Which of the lights on the overtaken vessel will the overtaking vessel see?
A) Stern light only
B) One masthead light and a sidelight
C) Both sidelights
D) Two masthead lights
BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND.....Which vessel must show a towing light above the stern light?
A) A vessel with a 150-meter tow astern
B) A vessel pushing three barges ahead
C) A vessel towing alongside
D) None of the above
BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND.....A 49 meter seagoing tug has a tow greater than 200 meters as shown in illustration D024RR below and is severely restricted in her ability to deviate from her course. Which lights would be displayed from the towing vessel?
A) Three white masthead lights, red-white-red all-round lights, sidelights and two towing lights
B) Three white masthead lights, red-white-red all-round lights, sidelights, stern light and a towing light
C) Three white masthead lights, two all-round red lights, sidelights, stern light and a towing light
D) None of the above
BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND In fog you observe your radar and determine that risk of collision exists with a vessel which is 2 miles off your port bow. Which action should you take?
A) sound the danger signal at two-minute intervals
B) take avoiding action as soon as possible
C) stop your engines
D) hold course and speed until the other vessel is sighted
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The Seawise Giant- Longest Ship Ever Built
The Seawise Giant was an Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC) super tanker completed in 1979. This massive ship with a full load had a displacement of 646,642 long tons. Her overall length of 1,504 feet and a maximum draft of 81 feet made her incapable of navigating the English Channel, the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal.
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-Normal Panamax sized vessel on the Left.
-Seawise Giant (ULCC) on the Right.
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The ship was riddled with vibration issues when first built and had to be dry docked immediately to fix this. Her life as the Seawise Giant was short lived when she was sunk in the Iran-Iraq war and declared a total loss. Bought by Norman International, the wreckage of the ship was raised and repaired. She was renamed Happy Giant after the repairs. From 1991 to 2010 she was bought and sold being renamed 3 more times. As time went on it was less realistic to transport such vast amounts of petroleum products by ship. She was intentionally beached and torn apart for scrap in 2010. The largest ship in service in the world is now the Barzan container ship built in 2015, at a length of 1,312 feet.
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Captain Calvin Hatfield is congratulated by Higman's Vice-President, John T. McMahan, at the blessing of the new vessel M/V Calvin Hatfield
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| Calvin's father successfully christened the new vessel!
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Calvin's family was present for this special day
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Sixth Session
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| Complete | Seventh Session
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| February 11
| Eighth Session
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| March 1
| Ninth Session
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| April 7
| Tenth Session
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| May 31
| Eleventh Session
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| June 21
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First Session
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| April 20-21
| Second Session
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| May 2-3
| Third Session
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| May 11-12
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October 10-11
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October 20-21
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October 31-Nov 1
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First Session
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| February 22-23
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Second Session
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| April 28-29 | |
Third Session
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| July 21-22 | |
Fourth Session
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| October 3-4 |
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First Session
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| Complete | |
Second Session
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| Complete | |
Third Session
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| March 21-23 | | Fourth Session |
| July 18-20 | | Fifth Session |
| August 1-3 | | Sixth Session |
| September 12-14
| | Seventh Session |
| Oct 31 - Nov 2 |
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Make sure crewmembers have access to the Training Newsletter
- Print a copy of each issue for the crew.
- You may join our mailing list by clicking below:
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Higman CBT Certificates earned year to date: 440
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Answer to this weeks Nav Gen: B, A, A, B, B
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Sincerely,
GORDIE KEENAN
JANIS ANDERSON
DENNIS ZINK
AUSTIN ZODY
© 2016 HIGMAN MARINE SERVICES, Inc.
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