Audits, audits, audits. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they are a necessary requirement in many sectors of the modern maritime world, as we all know. We welcomed the four strong UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) External Monitoring team to Murrills House on 2 September for our annual Certifying Authority audit. You may recall that one of the most significant activities we have successfully undertaken this year was to extend our DNV ISO 9001:2015 scope to bring the IIMS Certifying Authority into certification – yes, yet another audit! The day long audit passed without incident, and I am delighted to say we have been given a clean bill of health by the MCA with no major findings to report and only a handful of minor administrative findings that are easily fixed.
Last month, I finally managed to catch up with John Heath HonFIIMS to meet him in-person and present him with his richly deserved Lifetime Achievement Award. John’s experience spans 50 years plus as a marine surveyor and this award is recognition, not only for the remarkable work he has done throughout his career, but also for the staunch and unstinting service he has given to the Institute over many years as a director and technical lead. There are more details about this story and a photograph elsewhere in this bulletin.
In mid-September, the IIMS HQ secretariat headed to the New Forest for our annual overnight team building event. The two days proved to be highly beneficial, enjoyable and educational. Day one was very much about physically challenging the group as we took to the water in Canadian kayaks in small groups at Christchurch Harbour, the highlight of which involved capsizing the vessel I was in not once, but twice! The evening was spent enjoying a convivial, self-cooked BBQ around an open campfire as we shared some personal stories and participated in several quiz-based activities. Some chose to sleep outside in hammocks under the stars while others preferred the comfort of old shepherd huts. The second day dawned bright and sunny with the first 90 minutes being set aside to consider and discuss business aspects of IIMS and our near future plans as the Institute continues to evolve. What followed thereafter was an exposure to the world of foraging for food under the guidance of local expert Jen Williams. The scepticism beforehand was evident, but the culmination was a delicious luncheon prepared and cooked onsite using ingredients that most of us would have thought unimaginable! A more detailed review of our activities is included elsewhere in this bulletin.
Murrills House, our historic heritage headquarters building, unexpectedly sprung a leak earlier in the year! One moment I was sitting in my chair at my desk, engrossed in a report I was compiling, the next, there was a mysterious drip drip drip beside me. Looking upwards to the ceiling, I was horrified to see the water coming through the light fitting. The source of the problem turned out to be a degraded flat roof, now repaired. The one thing I have learnt is that whilst owning a valuable old heritage building is desirable and wonderful asset, it certainly comes with some maintenance challenges.
In terms of training, we have a handful of excellent events, open to all, coming up in the run up to the end of the year. Once again, our Practical Surveying Course in early October has proven to be much in demand and is now sold out. But we still have spaces available for the Practical Boat Building 5-day residential programme we have planned for December at Lyme Regis. For operational reasons, I have decided to cancel this year’s Scotland training seminar, scheduled for November. My apologies for that. The final report writing online seminar takes place on 27 October. Check the IIMS website for more details.
And finally, a shout out for the first IIMS Türkiye training seminar to be held in Bodrum on 5 November. If you are unable to make it in person, please consider joining us online via Zoom. More details about the event and how to book your place can be found here.
Survey well
Mike Schwarz