Development of a Corrosion Course for Managers of Maintenance
Richard D. Hedelund
This paper reviews the process used to establish the Corrosion training requirements, and then implement a Corrosion training course for U.S. Navy Surface Ship Maintenance Managers, primarily the USN Port Engineers. The U.S. Navy Port Engineer is a middle manager responsible for making Maintenance decisions including prioritizing, scheduling, and budgeting Corrosion repairs. A multi-year review of the Corrosion knowledge and training requirements resulted in a list of specific knowledge and practical subjects that were approved for training. A review of the commercially available Corrosion training courses only met 40% of the approved training requirement. Specifically, missing was material related to the knowledge requirements to effectively manage Corrosion Maintenance, while the commercial courses were aimed at qualifying a candidate only as a Coating Quality Assurance Technician or Corrosion Surveyor (Assessor). The approved training requirement was used to establish a list of subjects and practical goals, and implement a tailored Corrosion Course offered by the Surface Type Commanders Maintenance University for Staff, Maintenance Managers, and Ship’s Force. This Course has been delivered to Fleet Maintenance Managers for the past 4 years with consistent 95% feedback that it was an excellent course and they would recommend it for all their peers.