Do vessel compliance activities tie your stomach in knots?
Compliance is a grind and performing vessel audits and surveys is a grind. Let’s face it, vessel compliance is a constant obligation that’s time-consuming, frustrating for both the auditor and the auditee, and stressful for all parties involved. Most compliance managers are just trying to survive the process, handle stress, and stay out in front of the demands of the Subchapter to the best of his/her ability.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Vessel audits and surveys can not only be painless but also educational for vessel crews and even lighten your workload. Instead of bringing stress, a good vessel compliance activity can take it away. A clean audit or survey process is a vessel and her crew’s version of seeing a doctor for an evaluation. Bollard believes that all inland towing companies deserve a thorough evaluation. It is an absolute requirement for measuring how well your organization's safety management system is functioning.
There’s Nothing Like A Good Audit:
Not just an auditor —
a trusted guide
With the implementation of Sub-M, maintaining compliance will continue to be an ongoing challenge facing our industry. These regulations are, in fact, leading to a safer industry, but meeting and maintaining these standards are not easily achieved.
Being an auditor means much more than being a “cop.” It means creating a partnership and working together towards achieving a healthy management system through education and respect.
The Bollard Difference:
Don’t be complacent about compliance.
Regulatory creep is not going to get any easier—it’s only going to get more involved. The only way out is to go through the process and adapt. And yes, audits and surveys are a necessary part of that process.
But what if your business didn’t just survive an audit, but actually thrived as a result of it?
Your compliance is only as good as your last audit. If you continue to squeak by meeting compliance requirements, an 835V could be just around the corner. At best, you’ll only feel the sting of a non-conformity. At worst, the lives of your crew are at stake.
