UNOLS Quality
of Service
revised: 7/1/2002
1. Why are we concerned with
improving quality of service?
Academic Fleet Review recommendations.
Assessment reports and anecdotal reports to funding agency representatives indicate need for improvements.
Increased complexity and cost of providing facility support to marine science.
The UNOLS organization has always been concerned with
quality of service.
2. What does UNOLS do to help improve
quality of service from the Academic Research (UNOLS) fleet and other sea going
research facilities?
Post Cruise Assessment Reports
Ship Operations Committees and other direct feed back to operators
RVOC collaboration on safety standards, equipment and operating procedures
RVTEC collaboration on equipment, data standards and technical services
Scheduling Committee and UNOLS office efforts to improve scheduling
DESSC input and collaboration with WHOI and other operators to improve ALVIN and ROV operations.
AICC input and collaboration with USCG to improve icebreaker operations
FIC and Council efforts to plan for improved research vessel capabilities.
Funding agency efforts to fund improved equipment,
training and technical services within the UNOLS fleet.
3.
How can UNOLS improve its efforts to improve the quality of service to science?
Update the Post Cruise Assessment (feedback) form and system.
Utilize feedback as part of a more formal quality improvement program with over sight by the UNOLS Council.
Define the benchmark levels of services and equipment.
Refine the feedback, response and decision making processes used in making improvements.
Secure support for making and sustaining improvements.
Post Cruise Assessments (go to PCA form)
One of the most fundamental
objectives of UNOLS and the UNOLS fleet is to provide safe, effective,
sea-going platforms for ocean research. To this end, vessels operators and
their technical staffs operate within their budgetary frameworks and levels of
technical expertise to meet the needs of the vessel users. At the same time the
operators and supporting funding agencies are always looking for ways to
improve the facilities and service that they are providing. Getting honest and
constructive feedback from the scientists who conduct research from the vessels
in the academic fleet on the effectiveness of those vessels in the form of
post-cruise assessments is a crucial element.
These assessments of research
cruises that you participate in are part of a program to evaluate how well the vessels
and personnel of the academic research fleet are supporting the scientific
objectives of the research community. It will be used by the operating
institutions to make improvements to equipment and procedures on their vessels
and by UNOLS and the funding agencies to assess areas that require more
attention. It can be used by you to make constructive suggestions for
improvement that will benefit future research projects for yourself and your
colleagues and to let ship operators know what they are doing well. This
form will also be used by ship's crew and technical support personnel to
evaluate how well the project was supported. The organization and contributions
of the scientific party are part of the evaluation in order to identify areas
that may need better support or guidance to improve the success of future
projects. This means that some self-evaluation will be needed, depending on who
is completing the form.
The completed forms will be
sent by email to the UNOLS office, to the Marine Office of the ship being
evaluated, to the PI for the project (if email is entered in block 11a) and to
Facilities Program Managers at the Federal Funding Agencies. You will
also receive a copy of the completed evaluation by email. Data entered on
the form is not saved on the server once the emails are submitted. If you
need to create a draft version(s) of your comments, we recommend creating a
text file, and pasting into the text boxes on this form.
You should receive feedback
from the operators regarding any suggestions that you make. Following up with the management at the
operating institution is a good way to ensure that your concerns and suggestions
are addressed.
Return to Post Cruise Assessment Form
The report of the Academic
Fleet Review (AFR) Committee was delivered to the National Science Foundation
in May of 1999 and ever since the issues of quality control and quality
improvement have been on the agenda of UNOLS and the funding agencies.
These are not new issues for
UNOLS, but the exact words that generated the need for a renewed and more
focused approach were these recommendations taken from the AFR report. (Bold
emphasis is added)
Recommendations in the Executive Summary:
4. The funding agencies and UNOLS need to support fleet improvements by enhancing
quality control, expanding
training of personnel in technical and safety procedures, and developing even
higher standards for shared use facilities.
7. There is a need for a strong, continuing
program of new technology
introduction; steady improvement of existing facilities and technologies; greater,
continuing attention to quality control and safety; and a more systematic, standard approach to
maintenance, renovation, upgrading, and replacement
From the body of the text (Page 28 - section
4C)
C. QUALITY CONTROL, SHIPBOARD EQUIPMENT, AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT
The reliability of shared-use shipboard systems emerged as a major concern through
the review of user responses, discussions with UNOLS operators, and NSF
management. This seems to be the result of the increasing technological complexity
and quantity of shipboard systems, which has increased the potential for
problems, as well as limits to both funding and berths for the number of
technical personnel who can sail on a cruise. The continued trend toward
increased complexity of systems has a clear impact on the need for shore-side
and onboard technical help with increasing skills. The community relies heavily
upon this pool of expertise and shared-use equipment, and major cruise goals
can be lost when crucial systems fail without adequate backup.
The Committee feels that NSF and UNOLS should
examine equipment issues to see if a list of shared-use equipment for each
vessel and class can be identified and a quality-based system adopted fleet-wide
to ensure that this equipment gets proper logistical and technical support at each operating institution. While adequate
funding to optimize repairs and technician performance and availability are
part of this problem, the Committee discussed the possible fleet-wide adoption
of modern quality control efforts, including increased education and training
of personnel and rigorous evaluations. The Committee feels that the NSF budget
should support this program and evaluate operator performance on a regular
basis as part of the quality program. UNOLS appears to be a well-suited vehicle
to institute and evaluate such an effort in conjunction with the federal
agencies. It is clear,
however, that accommodation will need to be made to address employment
contracts, state and federal workplace regulations, and similar unique employee
factors at the various private and public institutions involved in vessel
operation.
For
some time, the UNOLS Council, RVOC and RVTEC, as well as NSF, have looked at
and discussed ways in which to address the recommendations expressed in the
AFR. Among the tentative conclusions reached to date is that the UNOLS
system is, to some extent, a formal quality improvement program. We have
had in place a method for user feedback to operators and UNOLS but it needed
some improvement to make it more useful as a tool of fleet wide quality
improvement. Although the use of a Post Cruise Assessment (PCA) in no
ways constitutes a complete formal quality control and improvement program it
is an important element. A committee appointed by the UNOLS Council last
June has been reviewing the format of this PCA with input from Funding Agency
program managers and ship operators. A number of revisions and changes
have been made. Although this new version incorporates some compromises and
will most likely need refinement, the committee and the UNOLS Council think
that the new version is an improvement over the current online form and previous
paper forms. It will help address community wide concerns while at the
same time retaining the ability to make specific written comments to the ship
operators. It also addresses a requirement that NSF and other funding
agencies have, which is to receive direct feedback on the quality of fleet
operations.
UNOLS
is initiating the use of the revised Post Cruise Assessment as of July, 2002
and is asking that all sea going scientists using research vessels in the UNOLS
fleet utilize this online method for providing constructive feedback.
To see the full text of the Academic Fleet Review go to:
NSF Academic Fleet Review Report PDF Files: http://www.geo.nsf.gov/oce/pubs/fleetrev.html
NSF Ocean Sciences Reports: http://www.geo.nsf.gov/oce/ocepubs.htm
Please use the UNOLS Feedback form or send an email with suggestions for improving the way we address quality and improvement issues.