HSEQ - Observations User Manual

 TM Observation user manual

 Observation module

The Observation module is designed to allow users record any day to day findings or concerns. It is possible to categorize them, record them as non-conformances, risk asses them and follow up on them with a cause analysis, responses and actions.  

The observation overview

The observation overview is the main view for all observations, in the office system all observations made in the entire fleet will be listed in this view, onboard individual only observations created for the specific unit/vessel are available.  

The [Observation Overview] is divided into two panes or sections. The top section shows an overview of all observations, related actions and related Jobs. The lower pane or section will list individual observations, actions or jobs depending in the selections made in the top pane.

The overview grid is divided into 3 main sections on the x axis (horizontally). These main sections are again divided into different single columns representing statuses or types within each main sections Each main section will be discussed in detail later in the document.

The main sections are:

• Observations
• Actions
• Jobs

The Y axis (vertically) is in your office system by default populated with all units (vessels etc.). Each row will then show Observation details linked to the unit, named on the row.

If you are using the onboard version, the y axis is populated with the main “Observation Categories”, so each row will list details for each of the observation category named on the row.

The office system has a drop down in the top menu allowing users to switch the details on the Y axis, and thus allowing users to switch the details to be displayed “By Unit” or “By Observation Category” There are two dropdown filter functions available in this overview:

Open Observation filter: Which affects the “Open” observations in the overview. This will allow you to limit the observations listed in the grid based on the “submit date”. You can limit them to observations submitted within the 7, 14 and 30 last days. Default choice is to Show all.

Closed Observation filter: Affects how many of the closed & cancelled observations are listed in the overview. Default value in this filter is to only show observations that have been closed within 30 days, but you can select to show observations closed within: 7, 14, 30, 90 days, this and last year.

Within every intersection between the rows and the columns, numbers may appear, these numbers represent the amount of “entities” belonging the to the “unit” or “inspection type” on the rows, the column type and status. (Entities in this case can be “Observations”, ”Actions” and “Jobs”) Clicking in one of these intersections will list the entities in the grid section below.  Selecting the “unit name” or “inspection type name” will list all entities belonging to the selected “unit” or “Observation Category”, the different entities are listed on individual tabs.

Observation Overview – “Observations” section

The “Observations” section lists all observations, the different columns within this sections represent different workflow statuses an observation can have.

                    Drafts: This column will show all observations drafted but not yet submitted.

      Submitted: This column will show all Observations that have been committed and are being processed.

    Cancelled: This column lists all submitted observations, that have been cancelled.                Closed: This column will list all closed observations.

Observation Overview – “Actions” section

The action section will list all the actions that have been added to the system in relation to any of the findings linked to any of the inspections. The section consists of the following columns

                Open (Due): This column will list all “Due” actions.

                Open (Overdue): This column lists all the overdue actions 

                Closed: This column will list all actions that have been signed out.

Observation Overview – “Jobs” section

               Scheduled corrective jobs: This column will list all jobs linked to any of the actions.

      Overdue scheduled corrective jobs: This column lists all the overdue jobs linked to any of the actions. 

    Signed out corrective jobs: This column will list all job history linked to any of the actions               for corrective jobs that have been signed out.

Observations in the personal overview.

To simplify each user’s interactions with Observations we have added a section under each users personal dashboard, where they can report their observations and keep track of any observation they may have recorded earlier.  

The personal dashboard can be found following this procedure:

1. Start and log on TM Master v2
2. Click [“User Name” place] à [Overview]  

The section shows each individual user’s name in the module group name.

1. On the lower right hand side of the dashboard, you will find a section called “Observations” 4. By clicking any of the observation headings will show a list of the user’s observations.

The observation workflow

The workflow for observations is a rather simple one. The user submitting the Observation can fill in all details for an observation including causes, actions and responses.

How to create an observation?

To start recording an observation can be done from multiple locations in TM Master v2, however the procedure to record it is the same regardless of the starting point.

1. The following starting point can be used to create a new observation.
   1. Click [My place] à [Overview] à Click “Observation” heading in dashboard àClick

[Add Observation]

1. Click [HSSEQ] à [Observations Overview] à Click [New] in the top menu on the far left hand side
2. Click [HSSEQ] à [Observations Overview] àClick [Add Observation] in the menu on the lower tab.
3. If you create an observation from the office system, you are asked to select which vessel to create it for. Onboard it will always be for the vessel you are on.
4. Fill in the details: (Please note that it is not required to fill in all details prior to a submittal, please refer to internal procedures on what you should fill in)

1. Title: This is the name or short description for the observation
2. Category: Select the main category for the observation, the choice made in this drop down will affect the choices available in the next field “Sub Category”
3. Sub Category: Select the sub category for the observation.
4. Reporting party: This should reflect where the observation comes from if more than one party of crew can be found onboard. Example values can be “Own Crew” or “Contractors crew”.
5. Reported by: Will by default pick the name of the user creating the observation, but if the user recording the observation is doing it for someone else, that may not have access to do it himself/herself, a different crew, contact or TM Master user can be selected by clicking the […] button next to the field. If the person is a member of the crew, it is possible to just start typing the crew name and suggestions from the crew list will appear.
6. Responsible party: The options available in this list is the same as for the “Reporting party” field. It’s used to say something about who will follow up on the observation.
7. Follow up by: Here it is possible to assign the follow up responsibility to a certain crew, contact or TM Master v2 user, by clicking the […] button.
8. Observation number: This is not possible to edit directly, but the Observation number will appear here once the observation is submitted
9. NC Rating: If this Observation is considered a non-conformance, it is possible to assign an NC rating. By default it is set to “Not applicable”
10. Risk: This field is not possible to edit directly, but will be filled out based on the selections done in the two following fields “Severity rating” and “Probability” the value, will be retrieved from the risk matrix found under [System] à [Settings]

à”Incident settings”. For more details on the Risk matrix please refer to ……

1. Severity rating: This will allow users to set a rating of the observations severity
2. Probability: This will allow the users to set a rating for the observations probability to result in a risk.
3. Submitted by: Is not possible to set directly but it will record the name from the user who submits the observation. The date when submitted will be recorded next to it.
4. Closed by: Will be set once the observation is closed along with the close date.
5. Description: This is where the description of the observation is filled in.

The lower sections have a range of tabs, that allows entry to details such as Causes, Actions, Response and a Closing comment, again you will need to confer to internal procedures on which of these details that you are to provide before submitting. This user manual will describe how to fill in these details at this stage, but it can also be done after submittal.

1. Causes: Initially it is only possible to record an “Initial Cause” by clicking the [Add

Initial cause]. Once you have created an initial cause you may select it and add a “System cause” (also refered to as “Underlying cause”). More details on the adding of causes, can be found : *****

1. Actions: If something is required to be done in relation to this observation, this can be recorded in the action tab. You add and action by clicking the [Add Action] button, you can add as many actions needed to one observation. More details on how to add actions and function relating to actions can be found in chapter: How to add an action to an Observation?

1. With some observations, an initial response may be needed. In some cases an action could be made to reflect any immediate action taken, if any. In some cases a short description or response description can be enough.  
2. If a follow up response is needed, this can be put in the subsequent response field, this may be a summary of the action taken in relation to the observation.

1. Closing comment: This field is not open for edit before the observation has been submitted. Once submitted it will be possible to start editing this field. When attempt to close the observation is done, the text here will be presented for the user closing the observation, and a final edit is possible.  

You may at any time [Save and Close] the observation, it will then be saved as a “Draft”, and you will be able continue adding details to it later.

How to submit an observation?

Once the required fields have been filled in (ref internal procedures for what is required to fill in before submitting) you will be able to submit the observation.  

1. Locate and double click the Observation you wish to submit. They can be found one of these locations
   1. [My place] à [Overview] à “Observation” section (click heading)
   2. [Observation Overview] à Click “Draft” column à Locate the draft in list.
2. Click the [Submit] button  

How to submit an observation anonymously?

It is possible to submit an observation anonymously, with no reference to the submitting user. This option is available for users with the user right to submit anonymously. To submit anonymously the same procedure as described above is followed, but instead of clicking [Submit] the [Submit anonymously] button is used. When this option is used you will not find the observation under your personal dashboard as the connection to your user has been severed. Any “Change log” entries from before submittal made anonymous also.  

Please note: If you save an Observation as a Draft, prior to submitting it anonymously, it is possible that some users have seen the draft observation with your name on it, as some users may have access to read and see all draft observations. To avoid this do not save it as a draft prior to submittal.

How to cancel an observation?

If an observation has not been submitted and it is still considered a “Draft” it can be deleted. But once an observation has submitted and received a running number, it is no longer possible to delete it. However it is still possible to [Cancel] the observation. To cancel and observation select it and click the  [Cancel] button. The cancelled observations can be found under the [Cancelled] column in the overview.  

How to close an observation?

To close an Observation, you need to locate and double click the observation you wish to close. Then click the  [Close Observation] button. TM Master will check for any open Actions linked to the Observation and if any are found you will be notified. It is possible to still close the observation, any open actions will remain open. You will then be asked to add a closing comment, which is not required.

How to reopen a closed observation?

Once an Observation has been closed, it is no longer possible to edit the observation. However it is possible to reopen a closed observation, and then make the alterations. This function is protected by a user right and may not be available for all users. To reopen a closed observation click the  [Reopen] button

How to add actions to an Observation?

Once you have analyzed the finding with its cause, somebody will most likely need to do something to correct and/or prevent this becoming an issue in the future. Distributing such tasks or “actions” can be managed by adding actions directly to the finding. Here is how it is done.  

1. Click [HSSEQ] à [Observation Overview]
2. Locate and double click (open) the Observation with the you wish to add an action.
3. Click the “Actions” tab
4. Click the [Add action] button.
5. Fill in the details in the action form. (ref image below)
   1. Name:   This is for a name or short description for the action  
   2. Department: The “Department” that will be responsible for the action. All crew members with a crew type linked to this department will be able to see this action in their personal “Dashboard” if you will as actions assigned to their department.
   3. Crew Type: The assigned crew type that should perform the action, all crew members of this type will be able to see this action in their personal “Dashboard”, as actions assigned to their crew type.
   4. Crew: This will be the specific crew member, user (or contact) that will be responsible for this action. Users or Crew member selected will see this action in their personal “Dashboard” as assigned specifically to him or her.  
   5. Category: Assign a category for this action
   6. Type: Is this considered a “Preventive” or “Corrective” action?
   7. Priority: Assign the appropriate priority  
   8. Deadline: Assign a deadline/ due date for this action.
   9. Action Task: Enter the description for the action to be performed

The remaining fields can’t be altered in this form and serve only as additional information:

1. Due Status: All actions are considered “Due”, until they are considered “Overdue”
2. Done Status: When a user starts signing out the action, he/she may indicate their progress as percent done, and it will show in this field.
3. Unit: Is of course the unit/vessel the action is to be performed, which will of course be the same unit that has performed the inspection.
4. Source type: Actions can so far be linked to either “Inspections”, “Incidents” or “Observations”. This field will show which of the tree the action stems from.
5. Source: Will show the number for the exact “inspection”, “Observation” or “Incident, that this action stems from. The […] button at the end will open the source Incident, Inspection or Observation.
6. The Action form also has a document tab, so if any additional document or files are relevant to the action, this can be attached here.
7. By clicking the [Send notification] button in the top of the action form will allow you to send an email with the action details to whoever you require to notify. (This function does require TM Master v2 to be configured to connect to a mail server, if it should send external emails, otherwise it will only be sent as an internal TM Master email.  

Action form

How can a user assigned an action find it and sign it out?

Once an action has been assigned to a user he will need to find the action with the system in order to read it and sign it out. As mentioned in item 7. In the last chapter the action form has a [Send Notification] function, which allows for email notification to the assigned users. Users can also find the actions assigned to them using the “Personal Dashboard” found under the [My place] module. Here is how it works:

The “My place” Overview (Dashboard) 

1. Click [“User Name” place] à [Overview]  

The section shows each individual user’s name in the module group name.

1. On the Right hand side in the lower part of the overview the “Action” section can be found.

1. The actions assigned are listed in 4 different groups as can be seen below, the number on the far right indicates the number of actions found within that group. By clicking any of these groups (click the text) a list of the actions within that group will appear below in the form. By clicking the main heading “Actions” all the actions will be listed.

1. In the list section that appear, you will in the belonging menu find the [Action Done] button to start signing the action out. Users can also double click the actions directly in the grid to open them for details. The [Action Done] button can also be found in the action detail form.   
2. In the same menu the [Send Notification] button can also be found and used to notify when action has been done etc.

How to sign out an action?

Once an action has been performed, the action can be signed out, and this is the procedure on how to do it. There is no requirement from the system side that all fields need to be used, and is up to each company’s internal procedure and guidelines. This procedure will describe all fields.

1. Double click the action that is to be signed out.
2. If this action will result in a “Corrective action” added to the TM Master Maintenance module it is possible to add this job from the action form. This can be done on the “Job & Job History” tab. For more details, please see the chapter: How to link jobs & job history to actions?  
3. Click the [Action Done] button found in the top of the “Action” form.

1. Done Status: If the job doing the action has not been completed, this can be indicated by setting a percent done value.
2. Done by: This is should be the user/crew/contact that has actually done the action, by default this is set to the user signing the action out. But by clicking the […] button at the end of the field you can select a different user/crew/contact.
3. Done Date: Should be the date the action was performed, by default it is set to today’s date but can be set to any previous dates if required.
4. Signed out by: Will always be the user signing the action out.  

(The user who will at the end click on the [Sign out button]) 

1. Signed Out date: This will reflect the date when the action is Signed out.

The date the [Signe Out] button was pressed.

1. Action Taken: Here a short description of the action is added.

1. If the Action is not completed, it is possible to [Save] the current entry, and continue the sign out procedure later. Any previous saved information will appear the next time a user clicks the [Action Done] button for this action. This also allows companies to quality assure the action sign out descriptions prior to sign out. This can be done by only given a limited number of people the user right to actually sign out the action, but regular user can still fill in the “Action done” details, set it to 100% Done, and the manager can then review the information, and then sign it out if accepted.
2. To Sign out the action click the [Sign Out] button
3. Confirm the sign out.

How to link jobs & job history to actions?

Some “Actions” created based on observations, Incidents or Inspection findings will also result as a corrective action being added as a Job in the system. By linking the Job to the action, it is possible to keep track of these jobs within the Observation, Incident or Inspection module depending on the source of the action. They will be shown in the top overview grid in these modules in the section “Jobs”. This is the procedure to link a job or a job history record to an action.

1. Open the action in question
2. Click the “Job & Job history” tab.

1. This view is divided into two sections “Jobs” on top and “job history” below.

1. From here you can perform the following actions:
   1.  Create a new “One Off” job which will be linked to the action 
      1. Click the [Create One Off job] button
      2. Select the component you wish to add the One Off job for
      3. Fill in the One Off job details
   2.  Add (Create) a “Service Report” if the job has already been done. 
      1. Click the [Create Service Report] button
      2. Select the component you wish to add the service report for for
      3. Fill in the Service Report details

c.  

d.  Link to an existing job from the due list (One off and regular scheduled jobs)

1. Click [Link to existing job] button
2. Select job from the due list dialog
3. Click [Link Selected]

e. Remove an already linked job or job history.

1. Select the job you wish to remove the link to
2. Click the [Delete link to job] button
3. This will not delete the job in the due list, only the jobs link to the action.

1. The “One off jobs” and “Service Reports” are created as normal maintenance jobs and service reports, the details on the procedure for this can be found in the TM Master User manual.