Download - Royal Australian Navy

68 NAVY ENGINEERING BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 2003
processes and data
management in place to
effectively maintain the technical
integrity of the ADF maritime
materiel for which the
organisation has responsibility.
During the remainder of 2003 the
Project Team and DTR-N will focus
on the following:
a. development of training,
education and awareness
packages for DMO and Navy
personnel;
b. improving the DTR-N website
and its links to associated
documentation and
standards;
c. development and
implementation of strategies
to inculcate the principles of
Navy Technical Regulation into
the culture of both the RAN
and those DMO organisations
responsible for the support of
ADF maritime materiel;
d. improve and automate,
where possible, DTR-N’s
process and practices; and
e. progress the review and
facilitate the upgrading of
associated engineering
documents and instructions
including:
(i) ABR 5230,
(ii) ABR 5454,
(iii) ABR 5225,
(iv) DI(N) LOG 82-3, and
(v) The TM 180 / 181
process and
management.
Delegation of Engineering
Authority
Introduction
The Navy Technical Regulatory
System (NTRS), as you have read
previously, is about controlling
technical risk during design,
construction and maintenance of
ADF maritime materiel. One of the
fundamental principles of the
system is that only competent
and authorised individuals are to
undertake work on ADF maritime
materiel.
Although the principle is simple
and few would disagree with it,
application of the principle
requires a shift in thinking from
associating engineering authority
with position to linking
engineering authority to the
individual. This paradigm shift
may cause confusion among
those setting up engineering
organisations or considering an
engineering organisation
restructure.
The aim of this article is to clarify
the requirements of the NTRS as
they apply to the delegation of
engineering authority. Firstly I will
define engineering authority, then
detail the relationship between
risk and engineering authority
before outlining regulatory
obligations of Authorised
Engineering Organisations (AEO)
and how engineering authority is
applied in the Fleet. Finally, I will
add a short paragraph explaining
the links between engineering
authority and IEAUST
accreditation.
Full details may be found in
Volume 2 Section 5 of ABR
6492.
Definition
Engineering Authority may be
defined as “an individual with
delegated authority, in
accordance with ABR 6492, to
make engineering decisions
concerning ADF maritime materiel
based on competency and the
risk associated with decisions.”
Engineering Authority and the
Individual Vs Organisational
Position
You will note from the definition
that delegation of engineering
authority is related to individual
competency and the risk
associated with decision
making. This is important, as it
must be stressed that
delegation of engineering
authority is linked to the
individual and not the position
the individual fills within an
organisation. Too often in the
past an engineering
organisational structure was
established, individuals were
recruited or posted to fill those
positions, and then some level
of engineering authority was
assigned to the incumbent. For
example, “As Combat System
Engineer for XXXX, you are
authorised to . . . ”. This method
did not, as a general rule, take
into account the actual
competence of the incumbent.
Under the NTRS, when
establishing an engineering
organisational structure,
organisations are encouraged to
firstly list the engineering tasks to
be performed, then determine the
category of technical risk
associated with these tasks. A list
of these risk categories can be
found in ABR 6492 Volume 2
Section 5 Chapter 2 Annex A, and
range from 1 (catastrophic) to 5
(Minor).
Having established the risk
categories associated with the
engineering tasks to be
undertaken by the organisation,
reference can then be made to
Annex B of the same chapter of
ABR 6492 to determine the level
of engineering authority required
to make decisions for each risk