The best form of casualty control is prevention. If you do not let a casualty happen, you will not have to fix it.

Preventive maintenance is one of the principal factors of casualty control. Preventive inspections, tests, and maintenance are vital to casualty control. These actions minimize casualties caused by MATERIAL failures. Continuous detailed inspections are necessary to discover worn or partly damaged parts, which may fail at a critical time. These inspections eliminate maladjustments, improper lubrication, corrosion, erosion, and other enemies that could cause early failure of a vital piece of machinery.

The inspections, tests, and maintenance called for in the 3-M systems must be performed conscientiously since they are based on the known requirements of preventive maintenance.

Still, casualties do happen. When they do, the success of the mission, the safety of your ship, and the lives of your shipmates may depend on your ability to handle the situation. That means continuous training and frequent refresher drills to be sure you can do your part, and do it well.

Engineering casualty control is used to prevent, minimize, and correct the effects of operational and battle casualties. These casualties will be on engineering space machinery, related machinery outside of engineering spaces, and the piping installations associated with the various pieces of machinery. The mission of engineering department personnel is to maintain all engineering services in a state of maximum reliability under all conditions. If you cannot provide these services, the ship may not be able to fight.

The use of EOCC procedures was discussed at the beginning of this chapter. These procedures are prepared and approved for your ship.

Steps involved in handling engineering casualties can be divided into three general phases:

1.Immediate action to prevent further damage.

2. Supplementary action to stabilize the plant condition.

3. Restoration action to restore equipment to operation after a casualty. Where equipment damage has occurred, repairs may be necessary to restore machinery, plants, or systems to their original condition.

Communication of accurate information is one of the major problems in casualty control. Be sure you know the names and operations of the equipment at your normal watch station and your battle station. Be sure you know what the casualty is before you take corrective action. If you are reporting a casualty to the bridge or main control, be sure you use the correct terminology and ensure they understand what your casualty is.

The primary sources of instructions used to handle any engineering casualty and to maintain the overall damage resistance to your ship are listed as follows:

l The EOCC procedure

l The ships casualty control manual (for a ship without EOCC)

l The ships damage control manual

l The ships damage control bills

l The ships organization and regulation manual (SORM)