To help make the job of supervision and training easier and more effective, and enhance the operational capability of shipboard engineering personnel, the Navy has developed a system known as the Engineering Operational Sequencing System (EOSS). Essentially, the EOSS is to the operator what the PMS is to the maintainer.

OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS.The main propulsion plants in the ships of the modern day Navy are becoming more technically complex as each class of ship is built and joins the fleet. Increased complexity requires increased engineering skills for proper operation. Ships that lack the required experienced personnel have had material casualties which jeopardized their operational readiness. In addition, the rapid turnover of the engineering personnel who man and operate the ships further compounds the problem of developing and maintaining a high level of operator and operating efficiency.

The Navy has been increasingly aware of these problems and has undertaken studies to evaluate the methods and procedures presently used in operating complex engineering plants. The results

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of these studies have shown that in many instances sound operating techniques were not followed.

Some of the circumstances found to be prevailing in engineering plants are described below:

The information needed by the watch-stander was usually scattered throughout publications which were generally 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. They were costly and resulted in non-standard operating procedures not only between adjoining spaces but also between watch sections within the same space.

The posted operating instructions often do not apply to the installed equipment. They were conflicting or incorrect. No procedures were pro-vided for aligning the various systems with other systems.

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 system values and did not include shifts between all the existing modes of operation.

Following these studies, NAVSEA developed the EOSS, designed to help eliminate operational problems. EOSS involves the participation of all personnel from the department head to the watch-stander on watch. The EOSS consists of a set of systematic and detailed written procedures which utilize charts, instructions, and diagrams developed specifically for the operational and casualty control function of a specific ships engineering plant and configuration.