The Navy has developed a system known as EOSS. Essentially, the EOSS is to the operator as the PMS is to the maintainer.

Main propulsion plants in Navy ships are becoming more technically complex with each new class of ship. Increased complexity requires increased engineering skills for proper operation. Ships that lack experienced personnel have material casualties. These casualties jeopardize operational readiness. Rapid turnover of engineering personnel further compounds the problems of developing and maintaining a high level of operator and operating efficiency.

The Navy has been increasingly aware of these problems. An evaluation of the methods and procedures used in operating engineering plants has been completed. The results of these studies show that sound operating techniques were not always followed. Some unusual circumstances found to be prevailing in engineering plants are as follows:

The information needed by the watch stander was scattered throughout publications that were not readily available.

The bulk of the publications were not systems oriented. Reporting engineering personnel had to learn specific operating procedures from "old hands" presently assigned. Such practices could ultimately lead to misinformation or degradation of the transferred information. These practices were costly and resulted in nonstandard operating procedures, not only between adjoining spaces, but also between watch sections within the same space.

Posted operating instructions often did not apply to the installed equipment. They were conflicting or incorrect. Procedures for aligning the various systems with other systems were not provided.

The light-off and securing schedules were prepared by each ship and were not standardized between ships. The schedules were written for general, rather than specific, equipment or systems. They did not include alternatives between all the existing modes of operation.

Following these studies, NAVSEA developed the EOSS. It is designed to help eliminate operational problems. The EOSS involves the participation of all personnel from the department head to the watch stander. The EOSS is a set of systematic and detailed written procedures. The EOSS uses charts, instructions, and diagrams developed specifically for the operational and casualty control function of a specific ship's engineering plant.

The EOSS is designed to improve the operational readiness of the ship's engineering plant. It does this by increasing its operational efficiency and providing better engineering plant control. It also reduces operational casualties and extends the equipment life. These objectives are accomplished first by defining the levels of control; second, by operating within the engineering plant guidelines; and last, by providing each supervisor and operator with the information needed. This is done by putting these objectives in words they can understand at their watch station.

The EOSS is composed of three basic parts.

The User's Guide

The engineering operational procedures (EOP)

The engineering operational casualty control (EOCC)

EOSS USER'S GUIDE

The User's Guide is a booklet that explains the EOSS package and how to use it to the ship's best advantage. It has document samples and explains how they are used. It provides recommendations for training the ship's personnel using the specified procedures.

The EOSS documentation is developed using work-study techniques. All existing methods and procedures for plant operation and casualty control procedures are documented. These include the actual ship procedures as well as those procedures contained in available reference sources.

Each action is subjected to a serious review to measure the completeness of the present methods. At the completion of this analytic phase, new procedural steps are developed into an operational sequencing system. Step-by-step, time-sequenced procedures and configuration diagrams are prepared to show the plant layout in relation to operational components. The final step in the development phase of an EOSS is a validation on board ship. This is done to verify technical accuracy and adequacy of the prepared sequencing system. All required corrections are made. They are then incorporated into the package before installation aboard ship.

The resulting sequencing system provides the best tailored operating and casualty control procedures available that apply to a particular ship's propulsion plant. Each level is designed with the information required to enable the engineering plant to respond to any demands placed upon it.