NAVSEA 009-04: Have you thought you impacts shipyards? For an industry that does not change often, the Navy announced new regulations that will require shipyards to alter their current standard operating procedures in a relatively drastic way.
In October 2019, the Navy announced changes as to how they would accept data and information related to their systems starting FY21. As an industry filled with necessary and abundant regulations already, adding new steps has left many contractors scrambling to ensure their government work is as accurate as it is efficient.
NAVSEA 009-04-04: The Changes
While some of the changes about NAVSEA 009-04, are relatively small and routine (section 3.3 states that the 009-04 will use some clearer language, changing “all” to “any”), others have much larger implications to the normal work processes for shipyards and ship repair companies.
The biggest change from NAVSEA 009-04, affecting each person who conducts work with the Navy, will require the use of the Navy Maintenance Database (NMD) or approved web interface for all Test Inspection Plan (TIP) functions (3.10.1.1).
In short, this now requires a full reporting system change. What worked well before—namely a Microsoft Excel sheet serving as the “one legible copy”—is no longer compliant. Now, systems must interact with the TIP through the NMD. On top of that, contractors may additionally be asked at any time to still provide an Excel copy, leading yards without integrated systems to maintain their TIP in multiple locations (per 3.10.1.3).
The Solution
oxalis.io, seeing and understanding the need for submitting quick and accurate reports, developed a TIP integration to Oxalis Ship Repair System (OSRS) to address the extra requirements. When Oxalis saw the regulations coming down the pike, they recognized the need for a system that makes them a part of your daily tasks. Now with physical demos out of the way, Oxalis is getting ready to go live with this feature nationwide (stay tuned for the official release).
“Yards we’ve worked with are saving money, improving margins and getting commendations for how smoothly their repair reporting goes,” said Micah Waldstein, Oxalis Director of Product. “The benefits extend beyond Navy and public sector customers to commercial work as well.”
OSRS with TIP integration utilizes tools like form validation for required information, location mapping for effortless selection of involved locations, and full NMD integration for both Condition Found Reports and Test Inspection Plans.
The Process
The Oxalis team created OSRS to save shipyards precious time and money. The TIP integration came after learning the FY21 regulations, understanding that each error in reporting and process the Navy sends Corrective Action Requests, creating cost directly and indirectly to the yard and potentially damaging future work through reputation. Standardizing and optimize the system was the best way to address the future needs while enhancing current processes.
And, when it comes down to your yard vs your competition, the last thing you want is for the Navy to pass over your team in favor of another yard with fewer Corrective Action Requests.
Compare the updated NAVSEA versions here:
FY21
FY20
And, while this blog post is specifically related to work in the public sector, these tools are all applied to commercial projects as well! Read the general overview of OSRS, or reach out to Oxalis about your upcoming projects. Learn more about the Navsea standard items fy 21 here.
About Oxalis: oxalis.io specializes in compliant technology solutions for the highly-regulated Maritime, Healthcare, and Government-adjacent industries. With over four years of experience navigating the unique challenges surrounding compliance technology, Oxalis’s team of experts consistently explores and develops elegant solutions for modern complications.
