Additional Q&A arising from Senior Management internal staff briefing
As outlined on page 10 of the consultation document 'Protecting our Seas and Shores in the 21st Century' the MCA has undertaken to publish answers to frequently raised queries for clarification during the course of the consultation. The following are questions relating to the modernisation of the Coastguard that have been received and answered during the course of internal management briefings to Agency staff.
The Consultation Process
How will the consultation responses be assessed?
All of the responses will be compiled and ordered by the consultation team and then reviewed by a separate group drawn from the MCA but not members of the consultation team. The rationale for this approach is to provide a review that is looking from outside the proposal team. This is seen as good practice. It is not a question of audit, but of separation of duties.
When will the results of the consultation be available to both staff and public?
The results will be published when the review is completed and the way forward has been decided.
Following the end of the consultation who is making any recommendation(s) to
(a) the MCA Executive Board
The Senior Responsible Owner (Director of Maritime Services) will make recommendations to the Board.
(b) Ministers
The CEO in consultation with DfT will recommend to Minister(s)
And, what is those persons first hand operational experience of civilian maritime SAR, and how recent was this?
These are the senior executives of the Agency and are looking at the totality of current and future work of HM Coastguard and the wider MCA, not just Civil Maritime SAR. They are informed and advised by wider expertise including current serving SAR practitioners.
Who was involved in drafting the proposal, i.e. :-
The proposal is the result of over 3 years of work. The inputs have been from many staff including serving SAR practitioners and others working across the full range of Coastguard activity. This was then compiled and drafted by a team from the MCA and DfT lead by the Chief Coastguard as Senior User of the consultation programme and the Director of Maritime Services. No other organisations or businesses were involved.
What are their interests and experience in civilian maritime SAR and if it goes ahead how will the results of the proposal affect them?
The impact of the proposal on those involved will depend on their role and choices. No-one involved will be achieve any advantage as a result of these proposals.
Where do we send our Petition?
Consultation Team, Zone 2/13, Spring Place.
Decision on sub-Centre locations
What was the 'driving' factor behind the decision on which current MRCC is to close, or to become 'daylight' only?
A basket of factors were taken into account in making proposals for locations of Coastguard coordination centres, as explained on page 20 of the consultation document. An assessment of economic impacts in terms of unemployment rates was also undertaken. We believe that the proposals for sites we have made represent the optimum balance between the advantages they offer, and value for money.
Was the safety of seafarers considered during the decision making process when proposing which MRCC shuts, becomes daylight only (etc)?
The risk to the mariner and coastal user was paramount in the proposals. It is the belief that these proposals do not place people at more risk.
What is the strategy for a ‘day’ station? i.e.;
The strategy for a sub-Centre is that the period of opening would be based around daylight hours but of a duration that was appropriate to operational demand. For example, we might have a longer period of opening in the summer than the winter. Retention of staff ‘on call’ is not envisaged though extension of duty period in the event of an incident at that time has been considered.
This will be the subject of review following consultation and the detail of shift patterns negotiated with unions and staff representatives.
Training
What is the training plan for the proposed new grades
The training plan will be designed to meet the final decided structure. It will be designed to address the requirements of the new roles and the various points of entry:–
The training will be delivered by qualified trainers who are competent in the various components of the new role profiles once agreed with Trade Unions. This will include the development of appropriate assessment processes.
Training for existing CWA grade - will they be entitled to apply for training which would bring them up to the requirements envisaged for the new posts?
The MCA is keen to retain skills and experience and every opportunity will provided for staff with willingness and aptitude to seek development into the new roles.
Will a watchkeeping endorsement be required for the whole of the UK?
Levels of qualification in relation to the new operating model have yet to be determined.
Will CSOs & Team Leaders require SMC qualification?
CSOs and Team Leaders will not require SMC qualification as this is specifically focussed on IAMSAR maritime coordination. What will be developed is an alternative Land Search Managemenmt qualification that addresses the needs of HM Coastguard.
Where will the Training centre be located?
The training Centre will remain where it is for the time being. Once a new structure is established this will be reviewed since the establishment of a training environment may not need a stand-alone centre but could be accommodated by using part of either MOC or indeed a sub-centre as a simulator. Wider training is also currently under review across the wider DfT and indeed the whole Civil service and the way the agency accesses and/or delivers training will undoubtedly change in the coming years.
Will there be plentiful cheap accommodation for trainees?
Wherever MCA staff go for training, they have never had to be out-of-pocket since all accommodation costs are met within current MCA arrangements.
Will there be cliffs in the near vicinity for cliff training ?
The way Coastal Rescue Training is carried out will form part of the new Coastal Rescue Service management structure. The use of suitable locations to carry out realistic training within a safely controlled environment will be paramount in these considerations.
Risk
Has a risk assessment been done for the final future configuration?
What did it find? How resilient is it compared with today?
The final future configuration has not been decided yet. The proposal has been tested against a wide range of workloads, incidents, major events, and technical resilience. It offers greater resilience than today and as stated does not place the ‘customer’ at greater risk.
A document describing the risk evaluation will be published on our website shortly.
Why weren't the Risk Assessment (RA) documents made public until almost two months after the MCA announced their proposals on the 16th December 2010
The consideration of risk was an integral part of the planning process and this will continue throughout the consultation and beyond. The question was asked with regard to risk assessments and these were duly published. Ths has been true for all other questions, FOI requests etc.
How much consideration has been given during the RA process to future (known) events? For example new deepwater oilfields being developed around Shetland, some of which are deeper and in more exposed locations than the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico.
Risk analysis included examining trends in activity (industrial, energy and social), environmental changes and major events e.g. Olympics.
Local Knowledge
The proposal has scant regard for operations room Coastguard officers, requiring local knowledge in future; in light of the fact that HMCG work instructions, CG3, takes pages to detail the high level of local knowledge required by current officers, and the requirement complete a local knowledge ‘exam’ every 2 years. The first few minutes of an incident can be vital, phoning colleagues on the coast for local knowledge (assuming the MOC operator has enough knowledge to contact the correct colleague), as proposed, is a flawed and dangerous concept.
We do not accept this is a flawed or dangerous concept and would not be proposing it if we did think so. When the present MRCC coordination system was established in the 1970s, the only information resources available to Coastguard were charts and local knowledge (often augmented by written information in books, files or card indexes), search planning involved lengthy manual calculation.
Our 'customers' only had access to radio, distress flares, telephones at home or call boxes. Therefore, Coastguard officers' 'local knowledge' had great importance as one of a limited number of sources of information for managing incident response.
Local knowledge exams still take the form of learning by heart the names and locations of rivers, headlands, harbours, search and rescue units etc. Historically this was appropriate as Coastguards did not have the current instant access to mapping and databases that will allow a much more rapid assessment which is available to all on duty and not held at variable levels dependent on currency of the duty officers recall.
In the past 40 years the operating environment of UK Search and Rescue has changed, as will the future operational practice for the Coastguard coordination service. Today MRCCs already have at their disposal a range of digital information and communications systems and the requirement for detailed local knowledge to be held in the heads of our staff has been increasingly replaced by the need for other technical skills.
Coordination officers can use the data presented on receipt of a call to situate their incident management system map to the location of the caller. This is done almost automatically as a call is answered. The coordination officer’s map provides them with a geographical picture of the area from where the call originated and emergency response resource information to enable an appropriate response to be made.
On land, if necessary, Coastguard coordination officers can still draw on detailed local knowledge by contacting a wide selection of coastal community based resources, especially our own Coastguard Volunteer Rescue Service, which we are planning to develop further as these proposals are progressively implemented. This local knowledge represents the current information specific to the communities in which our colleagues and other sources reside. It will give the details of local conditions, at the time of the call for instance, not a view based on the conditions at the MRCC 10, 20, 30, 100 …..miles away.
For seaborne incidents, the plotting and situational awareness are based on technical knowledge and an understanding of the maritime environment.
Some Coastguard already co-ordinate incidents at remote locations in different parts of the world, with no specific local knowledge of those places.
Explain why local knowledge will not be an issue?As previous answer
Technology
Is it planned to use BT’s X21 "kilostream" product as the method to provide connectivity between "Remote Radio Stations" (RRS) and the new MOCs (and to any of the new "daytime sub-stations")?
Yes – however it is not planned to link any Remote Radio Stations to ‘daytime sub-stations’ as the ICCS infrastructure will only exist at the MOCs.
Given the isolated position of Shetland particularly - what fault diversity, redundancy and backup capacity exists in BT’s network - carrying the MCA’s kilostreams between the RRSs and the MOCs - such that traffic can be re-routed around any radio link or other equipment faults if necessary?
The position with the connectivity
between RRS and MOC will be subject to the same risk impact and likelihood factors as the existing connections
between RRSs and Shetland MRCC – in that all Kilostreams are subject to failures in the BT infrastructure.
BT have confirmed that RRS circuit connections for the Island sites are routed via the mainland, so there is anticipated to be no change to the current diversity, redundancy, resilience or backup capacity in a move to hosting the centralised technical equipment on the mainland.
Currently Shetland is served by two separate microwave radio paths to the Scottish mainland, and then onward into BT’s Core network via either fibre or a separate radio/fibre route to enhance service resilience.
Assuming a high-order fault which affects multiple circuits, how many sites can expect to be off-the air at the same time?
This fundamentally depends on which circuits are affected. MCA already utilise the two existing diversely routed microwave links to the Shetland Islands and this currently serves to limit the impact of a major network outage on one or other of the links.
In respect of the MOCs and connecting all RRSs to them, in addition to connecting all hilltops to their relevant MOC, it is proposed to also connect a single VHF R/T base station from each hilltop fitted with DSC to the opposite MOC, enabling continued (although reduced) service for the whole of the UK if one of the MOCs is ‘down’ due to a catastrophic technical failure.
What are the Single Points of Failure in BT's network, as it affects connectivity of Remote Radio Sites (VHF, DSC and MF) and how are the effects of such failures mitigated, both within BT and within the planned-for MCA system?
BT have advised MCA that work is in progress to upgrade the BT Network serving Shetland by providing a third route. MCA understand that this work will provide a fibre route to the mainland, separate from the existing microwave radio paths, which should improve both system capacity and network resilience. Installation of new high capacity equipment on the subsea cables and on associated mainland routes is expected to complete in 2011.
Shetland
have 22 circuits serving the radio sites, and an IP clear service connecting Shetland to the MCAs wide
area network (WAN). The IP clear service has been very resilient with very little downtime. PSTN
and ISDN (‘standard’ telephony) services to the Island have also been good.
It
is certainly the case that the BT core network radio infrastructure has been prone to lightning strikes,
power issues and other interference due to weather conditions; However once the subsea cable link to
the mainland is in use BT advise MCA that they expect resilience to improve significantly.
As ever with the more remote sites that MCA operate radio services from, despite best endeavours to respond quickly to any service outages and individual line faults there are very rare occasions when weather conditions prevent flights and ferries travelling from the Shetland mainland to the islands. These scenarios will continue to occur and be responded to with the dedication and application of effort that they always have.
What agreement is in place with BT to require them to segregate and route MCA kilostream traffic, from the various RRSs, onto diverse paths to mitigate the affects of high order multiplex faults?
MCA and BT have worked together over the years to produce a common understanding of the links off of the Islands, and have explored routing different Kilostreams over separate microwave links. We hope to be able to progress this approach further with the introduction of the third link later in 2011.
Will any backup connectivity for the RRSs be provided in the event of a loss of kilostream connection?
No, not for failure of the ‘B-end’ (local to the RRS). However added resilience over and above the current configuration is being introduced through the additional Kilostreams running to the opposite MOC will prevent total loss of service from RRS in the event of a failure at the A-end (MOC). Owing to the nature of the remoteness of MCA hilltop sites, there will always be a requirement for ‘manning the hilltops’ in the event of a kilostream failure.
When a fault occurs, and given that many times a high-order BT network fault will often also affect normal telephone lines (land lines, mobiles and 999), what contingencies are in place to provide a suitable Distress Watch - and what will allow such a watch to be capable of co-ordinating the necessary rescue resources?
MCA have no knowledge of situations where coincident failures of BT Kilostreams and land lines, mobiles and 999 services have occurred.
The consultation document has an emphasis on technology. How will this technology assist SAR for poorly equipped leisure craft?
The provision of SAR for the small leisure craft user will be no different than it is at present. There will be no change to the coordination activities undertaken, likewise the assets tasked to the role will be chosen and despatched as now. The technology, used properly, will allow staff in all locations to access the information they require from national databases that are shared. Use of CLI and EISEC (where available) from telephone calls, or identifying the aerial that has received a radio call will assist the coastguard coordinators in understanding the gross location, while additional 'finer' location based technologies such as GPS that may be available to the casualty coupled with professional questioning techniques to elicit factual information such as last known location will, as now, enable the most appropriate rescue assets to be alerted and deployed.
Why is the RER programme continuing at stations that are earmarked to close?
The RER programme is a national programme that will be rolled out to all MRCCs as part of a standard programmed replacement to update critical communications systems that are approaching, or are now already, past their designed operational life; this includes Digital Selective Calling and Medium Frequency radio capabilities. Until a decision for the final new structure is taken we will continue to maintain all of our existing declared infrastructure. Any equipment installed is capable of being re-deployed in alternative configurations if and when required.
What technical and technological resilience will be embedded in the new infrastructure to ensure that the fully integrated and networked system actually doesn't fail?
See document "2011011FCG Tech Overview -v1.pdf" published on 11 February 2011 as one of the documents relating to risk.
What are the Single Points of Failure in BT's network, as it affects connectivity of Remote Radio Sites (VHF, DSC and MF) and how are the effects of such failures mitigated, both within BT and within the planned-for MCA system?
BT have advised MCA that work is in progress to upgrade the BT Network serving Shetland by providing a third route. MCA understand that this work will provide a fibre route to the mainland, separate from the existing microwave radio paths, which should improve both system capacity and network resilience. Installation of new high capacity equipment on the sub sea cables and on associated mainland routes is expected to complete in 2011.Shetland have 22 circuits serving the radio sites, and an IP clear service connecting Shetland to the MCAs wide area network (WAN). The IP clear service has been very resilient with very little downtime. PSTN and ISDN (‘standard’ telephony) services to the Island have also been good. It is certainly the case that the BT core network radio infrastructure has been prone to lightning strikes, power issues and other interference due to weather conditions; However once the subsea cable link to the mainland is in use BT advise MCA that they expect resilience to improve significant
What agreement is in place with BT to require them to segregate and route MCA kilostream traffic, from the various RRSs, onto diverse paths to mitigate the affects of high order multiplex faults?
MCA and BT have worked together over the years to produce a common understanding of the links off of the Islands, and have explored routing different Kilostreams over separate microwave links. We hope to be able to progress this approach further with the introduction of the third link later in 2011.
Will any backup connectivity for the RRSs be provided in the event of a loss of kilostream connection?
No, not for failure of the ‘B-end’ (local to the RRS). However added resilience over and above the current configuration is being introduced through the additional Kilostreams running to the opposite MOC will prevent total loss of service from RRS in the event of a failure at the A-end (MOC). Owing to the nature of the remoteness of MCA hilltop sites, there will always be a requirement for ‘manning the hilltops’ in the event of a kilostream failure.
When a fault occurs, and given that many times a high-order BT network fault will often also affect normal telephone lines (land lines, mobiles and 999), what contingencies are in place to provide a suitable Distress Watch - and what will allow such a watch to be capable of co-ordinating the necessary rescue resources?
The contingency arrangements will be similar to now - the centre with an outage decides which radio site(s) to man up and we send CROsand or Coastguard Officers to the key sites which have the most coverage. DSC sites can simply be subject of a navigation warning (WZ) alerting ships to the fact that there is a DSC outage in a particular area. This is allowed by the IMO agreed procedures and protocols. We can alose ask all ships to maintain a careful watch on DSC when passing therough the outage area and report any alerts, by whatever means we want (satcom phone call, VHF Radio Call) to the nominated centre who is covering the outage are.
Telephone calls which are not able to be made because the BT network is down cannot be fixed by the MCA, if the public telephone network is down then the public within the failed area will not beable to dial 999 calls. Other 999 calls, from outside the failed area, which would nornally be directed to the failed centre, will be diverted to a centre which is on-line.
The proposed future system allows for greater technical and operational flexibility than we currently have. Supervisors and system managers will be able to redirect traffic/workload routinely or in an outage situation. As there will be on-duty managers at MOCs, this arrangement of workloads will be quicker that the current system where managers might have to be paged then respond.
It has already been acknowledged that ‘pairing’ has not worked as intended, what makes the MCA Team think that channelling a higher number of communications into the MOCs will work any better?
Pairing has worked as intended as part of operational requirements from the late 1990s and the technology available at the time, but it is recognised that the current pairing arrangements will not meet future operational needs and current technology capability.
It is claimed that the repair of MCA circuits between their Coastguard stations and their aerial sites is prioritised by BT in event of failure; In such an event do the MCA know the minimum guaranteed response time from BT?
MCA do not have a minimum response time service level agreement (SLA) with BT, but a time to repair SLA which is 4 hours.
Decision on MOC Locations
Why Aberdeen and South coast for the MOCs? Both highly expensive areas for existing staff to move to. Spring Place could maintain any necessary links with industry on the south coast as it does now?
Aberdeen was selected because of its size and suitability as a site and from a financial perspective, the existing lease agreements make this the best value for the taxpayer.
New Operating Model
How will monitoring of aerials be achieved at the MOC? How many per person?
The monitoring or aerials at a MOC will be achieved by speaker watch only as declared on both MCA and RCA websites since 2004. The number of aerials covered by any one desk will be dependent on time of day/year and traffic density.
How will those at day stations have improved quality of work? Especially if they will be requested to look after aerials or telephones.
The staff at sub-Centres will be exposed to the full range of duties as experienced at the MOCs. During what are currently quiet periods, Coastguard will have the opportunity to become involved in a range of incident and other working without the current geographical limitations
How will the coast be split up in to Sectors, will Sector Managers have to move location?
The locations of sectors will form part of the planning for the new structure if agreed. It is not envisaged that there will be any significant changes to the locations of existing sector managers, however there will be additions and co-locations possible utilising existing MCA estate.
Where will new coastal team leaders be based? What will there role entail? What grade will they be?
The new team leaders will be based on the coast as best suits the operational needs. This will vary accoring to operational demand, geography and wider needs. The grades of all new posts will be subject to pay and grading reviews as well as negotiations with the trade unions.
How will incidents be recorded when for instance it is passed to the coast for local coordination (tape archive). Will SM’s have to maintain notebooks during incident working? “If its not written down it didn’t happen”
A range of options for SM incident working will be considered including portable IT and the use of notebooks as required. On scene coordination of land incidents is a skill practiced by many organisations including the other 3 emergency services. We will be guided by best practice.
Are Ops room staff considered to be call takers by ministers and has the Minister been well informed of what we actually do in the operations rooms?
Is it the ministers view (or has the minister been given a view) that MRCC staff are not front line staff and only the volunteers and Coastal staff are frontline?
Why does the Minister refer to Operations Room Staff as “call handlers” when their role is significantly different to the land based emergency response operations’ room staff?
There has been no Ministerial briefing which refers to operations room staff in this way. We are confident that the Minister did not mean his comments in such a way as to say that MRCCs are call centres. He is very experienced in the work of the emergency services and has a good grasp of the way that all emergency services are coordinated. However, he was probably trying to explain things to an audience that was unfamiliar with our work and he needed to draw a graphic distinction between our Rescue Centre co-ordination work and the actual work involved in the physical rescue effort
Have any simulation trials been carried out on this new process and if so what were the results?
Any new operating model will be subject to extensive testing
Please explain annualised hours and how will this be organised, ie how much forward thinking and planning will there be? How much notice will staff have regarding planning days on/off? How flexible will this system be for short notice absence?
Annulaised hours is a proposal where the number of hours worked across a year is adjusted to a varied pattern rather than a fixed one.It has a variety of potential applications such as varying the working week or shift length according to season (one Police force uses a 35 hour working week in the winter quarter, 39 in Summer and 37 in Spring and Autumn) to more complex variations. It is normal however for these variations to have been agreed as a pattern with unions and them planned in with the staff working well in advance. It is envisaged that if any such system were to be introduced it would be with the desire to improve flexibility for all.
Channel 16 what is the future, will it still be monitored? A large number of leisure vessels do not have DSC.
The status of Channel 16 is established internationally and we will continue to maintain our declared level of cover.
Incident workload discussed in detail but has routine working been taken into account – weather calls phone/vhf, comms checks with lifeboats, tidal enquiries, TR, etc ?
Yes
Why do we not close the quieter stations and leave the busy stations open and update them?
As stated in the consultation document (page 20), in theory a national networked system could be run from a single site. The addition of sub-Centres was primarily to provide a distributed geographical presence and allow flexible resilience. It is not a question of how busy.
I was asked whether we would make last year's table-top exercise output available?
The table-top exercise was designed to be a test of the MOC/Day sub-centre concept. It was carried out without prejudice and examined the working of a single MOC with three sub-centres covering England and Wales only. It was measured against the busiest day on recorn and had an additional major incident and a complete power failure added in for good measure. The exercise showed that at the peak hour, 1 MOC and 3 sub-centres were strained for a short period of time. It did not examine was the capacity that would have been available with a second MOC for that day plus sub-centres in Scotland and/or Northern Ireland. The loading for the day in question for those areas was not significant. It is worth noting that the concept had no major issues.
Where is the Southern MOC going to be ? If this has not been decided what are the options/shortlist?
As stated in the consultation document, the southern MOC is proposed for the Southampton/Portsmouth area. A number of options are being considered including the new MRCC build planned at Daedalus or a number of other government sites. Until a definite way forward has been decided, these must remain confidential due to commercial sensitivity considerations.
Will it (the Southern MOC) be purpose built?
The new MOC, whether in a new build, or housed in an existing property, will be purpose designed for HM Coastguard operations.
Will the equipment installed be designed specifically for the Coastguard or adapted from other Emergency Services?
Newer versions of current equipment will be used so that we have improved systems better able to support the future concept of operations. Mapping in Vision will be Ordnance Survey standard and will be to the level that is currently provided i.e. down to street-level mapping (including footpaths, etc).
For instance will mapping in our computers include the Ordnance Survey Explorer 1:25 000 showing footpaths, coastal features and contours (As used by walkers) and Admiralty large scale Chart overlays concurrently?
Charting will be on both paper charts and electronic charts within C-Scope. Displaying Ordnance Survey (OS) and chart overlays at the same time in one system may be problematic but users will be able to view OS mapping on Vision and have charting on C-Scope terminals on their workstation
Why is the proposed set up ( ie Two MOCs, Dover and Day time stations) better than any other option available?
The proposed set-up, represents what is believed to be a balance between national structure, operational staffing and technological resilience and flexibility. It also achieves this in a manner that represents value for money to the taxpayer. The consultation period is precisely so that as wide an audience as possible can have the opportunity to review, comment and offer alternatives.
How do you intend to achieve this modernisation with no budget?
Funds will be allocated within overall project costing, once a way forward is agreed. These will be projected to work within overall spend profile.
How is the MOC going to work? What area will it cover? Will this be for 24 hours? If so what role will the day stations play?
The concept of operations is that the MOC will operate 24/7 with overall responsibility for approx half of the UK including a number of sub-centres. The distribution of work across the operational area for any period will be based on the predicted activity (intelligence), historical data (analysis), environmental data (Weather, tides), available staffing (numbers and skills), status of resources (Search and Rescue Units etc.) A risk analysis will allow the shift manager to distribute work including the assignment of geographical areas, radio and telephone coverage, VTM, MSI and other duties accordingly across the full complement of staff in both MOC and sub-centre.
Will the MOC only deal with sea incidents and the new Coastal Safety Organisation deal with incidents on the coast?
In the proposal the MOC or sub-centre would be the initial action station for any incident. Where an incident was determined to be wholly based on the land, the proposition is that the CRS would manage the coordination of that incident – working in partnership with other emergency services as required. The CRS would use the MOC/sub-Centre as a comms link and a source for additional resources as required. Where an incident involved assets afloat or was mariritme in part or whole, coordination would remain with the MOC/SC as it would where doubt existed. This proposition is a medium to long term goal and would not be implemented until both the final MOC/MSC final structure was complete and operational.
Will the MOC be split into sections to deal with different areas?
Not exactly. MOC staff will work in operational teams that will be flexible and cover either specific tasks or multiple tasks over an assigned geographical area. The area of work that is handled by an operational team for a particular day will change as required based on predicted activity and workload and to unsure that work remains interesting and varied. Similarly the size of a team will be appropriate to the demand at any one time.
How is it intended for the MOC to locate an incident and assign the correct/ appropriate resource?
Staff will be trained to be familiar with the area of coast for which they have co-ordination responsibility. Also by fully utilising the Geographical Information System functionality within Vision and C-Scope: both systems maps/charts can be annotated with large amounts of location-specific data and information e.g. location of lifeboats and other resources e.g. harbours, ports, NCI stations, etc. Attached to such data can be textual information which provides geographical spatial awareness and information relevant to decision making. EISEC, ALSEC and CLI systems enable our Vision (and, in the future, possibly C-Scope) mapping to be automatically situated to the callers location. This means that coordinators will be able to interpret the map/chart to determine where the nearest resource is (including AIS targets) and to call up paging and contact information for those resources. This will ensure that coordinators can locate, alert and task resources to incidents.Where a call is from a mobile phone, the inher
How will the UK coast be split into areas of responsibility (sections) within the MOC? (a) by day (b) by night?
During the day it is currently envisaged that the MOCs and sub Centres will be assigned geographical areas of the UK Search and Rescue Region (UKSRR). The Operational Teams within MOCs and SCs will provide search and rescue, counter pollution, radio monitoring (DSC and voice radio), Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Maritime Safety Information to those areas.At night the two MOCs will take over responsibility for the entire UK SRR and the Operational Teams within the MOCs will provide all of the the services as during the day time.The sub-division of areas will be proportional to the forecast levels of activity, staffing and appropriate RISK ANALYSIS
How is the rundown of stations and changeover to MOC going to be achieved?
The sub-division of areas will be proportional to the forecast levels of activity, staffing and appropriate risk analysis. A detailed transition plan will be developed following the end of the consultation process and the final decision by the Minister as to the choice of operational model to be implemented.
There are currently 19 PVLOs ( Passenger Ship Liaison Officers). How is this going to be covered in the MOC?
PVLOs were appointed at each MRCC to provide a point of contact for the passenger vessel industry for the purposes of ensuring appropriate emergency response advice and understanding and to ensure that passenger vessels abided by the requirements of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 to provide Search and Rescue Cooperation Plans to the Coastguard. In the future, PVLOs may continue to be necessary and appropriate officers will be appointed in the SCs and MOCs. Also, Sector management staff may provide some PVLO presence and capability
What about the other liaison duties? Sector Managers cannot cover them all ie Police, Fire, Ambulance, Environment Agency? There are many groups other than LRFs How will this be managed?
Most of the inter-agency and inter-service liaison will be carried out by the expanded Coastal Rescue Service management team. Other liaison will be carried out by senior officers from the MOCs.
How will the noise level be dealt with? Many large control rooms are largely silent i.e. The Operators respond to flashing lights, not audible alarms.
Technology and design of work stations and work environments will play a significant part in ensuring that noise levels in the MOCs is kept to a minimum. Also, staff will be trained to ensure that noise levels are not a significant problem.Radio-monitoring noise levels might be dealt with by using ‘shower’ or ‘directed’ speakers which focus sound into narrow beams. Such technology would mean that only the operator would hear radio traffic and others outside of their immediate location would not. However, all work environments where radios and telephones are used have a certain level of noise that cannot be prevented – it is a factor of the type of work that these centres undertake.
How do you plan to respond to boats bought on e – Bay or Tescos and all the other thousands of craft that do not have a jot of Modern Technology? Or the Sunseekers with the technology, but with occupants who do not know how to use it?
The MCA continues to try to educate the boating public. There is no specific legislation in the UK to prevent people from buying boats without training or licensing and we cannot provide a perfect solution for every unthinking person who purchases a boat and takes to the water. There is a clear responsibility on individuals to prepare themselves for activities and the environments they will be in, and we will continue to respond to persons in distress or needing assistance at sea and on the coast. The future operational concept will still deliver the same service to the mariner and public as it does now.
Will there be 24 Hour on station technical support? At what extra cost?
Yes at MOCs, costs are forecasted to remain within the current on-call provision to 19 sites.
What is the job description for the new grades?
The new roles have been ouitlined in the proposal document. Further development of these grades needs to be part of joint work with the trade union and staff once the final decision on future proposals have been made.
What are the new pay scales?
Subject to the outcome of the consultation exercise, the MCA will be discussing the whole pay and reward package with the Trade Unions as soon as possible after a way forward is published.
Will day Stations get shift allowance or will the new pay scales incorporate this?
Subject to the outcome of the consultation exercise, the MCA will be discussing the whole pay and reward package with the Trade Unions as soon as possible after a way forward is published. This will include shift systems and how these are recognised/rewarded.
Can we apply for more than one job?
Once a way forward is agreed, all staff will have the opportunity to discuss opportunities and choices on a one to one basis. This will include discussing the range of posts which may be available and, how they might best apply for one or more of them.
What happens if you are not accepted for the new job
The opportunities for staff as they currently stand are set out on page 29 of the Consultation document. If unsuccessful in securing a job in the Future Coastguard structure the choices would be employment opportunities elsewhere in the MCA, the Department or wider Civil Service.
What are the arrangements for Voluntary Redundancy? Or retirement?
Details of the current Civil Service Compensation schemes are available at http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/my-civil-service/pensions/compensation-scheme.aspx. How these will be applied to any reorganisation within the MCA will be subject to the outcome of the Consultation exercise and subsequent discussions with the TUS.
What assistance will there be for relocation?
Subject to the normal caveats, the Agency are currently working with its relocation company to draw a MCA employee's specific package to assist disadvantaged staff and their families to move, this will include both financial and non financial benefits to try and make the moving house process as smooth as possible. The details will be defined once the way forward is agreed.
Will there be opportunity for detached duty? Will there be a time limit on it?
Subject to the normal caveats. As per the consultation exercise we plan on carrying out an early expressions of interest from which we will start to put some more detail on the implementation plan. Detached Duty will be one tool which we can use during the implementation phase. The time limits currently imposed are all related to Inland revenue and Cabinet Office guidance, whether there can be any variation on these will be subject to further investigation.
What will the MOC watch system look like?
No decisions have been made. A variety of options would need to be discussed with the Trade union in order to derive a system that met the needs of the organisation in terms of operations and also works for staff.
There appears to be no place for the CWA grade. Will you train CWAs to WO level to allow fair access to the MOC?
The new grades will be at higher levels of competency and all staff will be able to apply and the requisite training will be designed and made available.
Flexible working. Will there be part time jobs available at the MOC?
The MCA current policy on part time working which is available in the staff handbook part b working in the MCA guide to flexible working will apply to all positions within the MOC.
What help will there be for resettlement? ( Difficulties in selling house etc) ?
Subject to the normal caveats, the Agency are currently working with its relocation company to draw a MCA specific package to assist staff and their families to move, this will include both financial and non financial benefits to try and make the moving house process as smooth as possible. The details will be defined once the way forward is agreed.
What will the the Recruitment Process be? By competencies? By previous experience? How will it be coordinated with Station closures bearing in mind the timeline 2011 – 2012 for Solent and Forth? How will all current Coastguards have fair access to the recruitment process with this in mind?
Subject to the normal caveats the recruitment process will be as set out on pages 28 & 29 of the Consultation document. All Coastguards will have an equal opportunity to apply for positions at the future MOCs, start dates for successful applicants will be dovetailed in with the implementation plan for the overall Programme to ensure operational integrity is maintained whilst trying to meet individual employees preferences. The MCA will ensure that no staff are discadvantaged by either their location, or their place in the change process.
Grades. Will the MOC grades apply elsewhere?
The grading structures for the new Operational delivery model are outlined in the Consultation exercise. Staff at equivalent grades will have the same skills and competencies irrespective of location.
What will happen to training in 2011/2012? Will the current SMC course (6 planned for 2011) be relevant to the new breed of SMCs?
The training planned for the coming year will progress as planned. There are no skills that staff are currently training in that are not valid. SMC training is aligned with the requirements of IAMSAR and whilst in the future it will undoubtedly change, as it has done over recent years, the concepts and principles of Search and Rescue Mission Coordination remain the same.
Why is it necessary to change the shift pattern?
No decisions have been made with regard to the shift pattern. It is fair to say that the existing 12 hours shift rotations may not be the most flexible nor beneficial for staff working in safety critical roles. Again this will be part of discussions once the way forward is finalised.
If it becomes apparent that personnel will not be able to move to the new MOC will there be assistance to move to another Government Department or to retrain for another job?
The MCA will work with staff to provide assistance with redeployment both inside and outside the Civil Service.
CRS
How will SM workload be improved on the East Coast? Most sectors already have 5 teams. An additional line manager will enable better micro management of the sector but not help the SM workload. It will be of greater benefit to the CSM who has difficulty to maintain a strategic overview as well as deal with hands on aspects of the job. A SM and deputy system would provide better resilience and career structure.
The Consultation document proposes an additional 32 officers into the CRS structure including Team Leaders who will also be operational. This will help ensure a better division of workload some secdtors have 3 CRTs one has 17.
Where will the new sector managers be located?
The new team leaders will be based on the coast as best suits the operational needs. This will vary accoring to operational demand, geography and wider needs.
What role are sector managers expected to undertake in support of the CSM when they are the 24/7 response (are they expected to attend dry incidents)?
The consultation document contains proposals for enhancement to the CRS. Exactly how this impacts of the role of and location of Sector Managers has yet to be decided and will depend in part on the outcome of this consultation.
Has the cost of additional equipment (vehicles, radios etc.) for the enhanced CRS been built into the proposals?
Yes, some working assumptions have been made. The final requirements will not be known until the outcome of the consultation exercise.
The intent is that Civil Resilience duties will form part of the coastal safety remit. Liaison duties will be considered on a case by case basis.
With an on call system what area will a Sector Manager cover?
The on-call area will vary depending on location, geography and operational assessment.
What watch system will be employed to cover 24 Hours
The watch system will be the subject of negotiation with staff and trade unions.
How many SMs will be part of the “ on call hub” and how often will they be on call ? What time will be apportioned to them to develop a comprehensive knowledge of their ‘hub’ area?
Nationally it is proposed that there will be a minimum of 18 officers on call 24/7 with many more on duty during times of high activity. The time apportioned to allow good knowledge of their area will be dependent on the scope and complexity of the location and work. In any one area it is envisaged that typically 5 or 6 officers will form the on-call rota.
What I.T. improvements are planned to assist SMs cope with additional Command and Control Responsibilities.
The IT requirements have not been defined yet but it is recognised that there will be a need for some additional facilities and training. We will look at the provision to other services both in the UK and elsewhere that deliver similar roles. The intent is to develop the structure and role then supply the required tools.
If you apply for a Team leader job will you be allowed to stay in your geographical location?
All roles will be subject to fair and open competition but the location of the team leader within the team area will be examined on a case by case basis with flexibility be a prime consideration.
What size of teams ie numbers in total and what will be the geographical area (average) will a Sector Manager be responsible for?
The size of management teams will vary (on average 4-6 officers is expected). The geographical area will vary based on a wide variey of factors including workload, activity, topography, liaison etc. this will be developed once an agreed way forward is decided.
When will the job description be available?
Subject to the outcome of the consultation exercise and the operational delivery model proposed, role profiles will be discussed with the Trade Unions and released to staff at the earliest opportunity.
Will there be a change to the CG allowance to reflect the on call status?
Subject to the outcome of the consultation exercise, the MCA will be discussing the whole pay and reward package with the Trade Unions as soon as possible after a way forward is published.
Staffing
There will be a loss of admin officer for the District where will the admin support for SMs come from? Mail, photocopying, distribution of minutes, OANs OSBs, etc. taking meeting minutes, uniform ordering and returns, stores orders?
These are only proposals and the arrangements for supporting admin functions will be reviewed in relation to the outcome of the consultation exercise location by location.
What are the proposals for London and Dover taking in to consideration that they will remain the same. Will staff elsewhere not be disadvantaged if they want to apply for a job at these stations. Will they have to re-apply for jobs at those stations or will there roles not be enhanced in anyway, and hence no change in current salary?
London is unique and is not a full MRCC. Dover has specific functions which cannot at present be technically be distributed across a network. The usual arrangements for filling vacancies at these location will continue to apply.
What is the future of the RCCM and who will do the day to day business at day stations? Who will look after consistency and standards between the watches? Incident review, multi-agency debriefs, etc
This will in future be the role of a team leader (working title) that will be based at each day station.
What are the specifics of annualised hours?
There have been no specifics decided with regard to annualised hours, they were simply proposed as something that could be an option as a means of helping adjust staffing levels to meet varied workload.
Do the senior managers and proposal authors have an estimate of how many existing, experienced Coastguard professional staff are likely to relocate to their MOCs, and if so, how was that figure arived at.
The numbers prepared to move would be assessed by an expressions of interest exercise once the final laydown has been determined.
Fire service
Has the MCA Team recognised that the Fire Service who tried to move into Regional Centres, announced on 20th December 2010 that the project is to be scrapped?
The Fire Service proposals are a different proposal in that this was an endeavour to merge the collective systems of 46 local fire services onto a single ICT platform. HMCG are already a single national organisation using a common operating system which will be retained.
Costs
If all goes smoothly, how much will the MCA save as a percentage of the current budget? Please include the ETV contract and savings made from removal of this contract.
In cash terms approx £7.5M per annum (22%)
How much will be spent on the building/renting the new MOC
£5M if new build. If rented this has not yet been determined and will depend on location, landlord and market rates
How much will be spent on equipment and commissioning the new building?
IT capital costs = c£18M over 10 years, this will be the minimum investment required in ICT irrespective of whether this programme proceeds. Replacement of current system considerably more expensive
How much will be spent on decommissioning Coastguard stations.
It will depend on the stations selected in final decision.
This ‘ Modernisation’ intends to significantly reduce the numbers of front line Coastguards. How , then, can the MCA justify increasing HQ staff by 154 ( as they did last year)?
It didn’t, total figures for HQ staff including RSS fell 39 fte in the year Dec 2009 to Dec 2010. I am unsure where your figures have come from can you supply further details please.
“FOCUS FOR CHANGE” had some excellent recommendations that were never implemented. What confidence can we have that what is recommended in this review will actually happen?
We are in consultation over these proposals the outcomes are dependent on this process.
Dover is staying open. Can we all apply for their posts or will the present incumbents just slide over to the new posts?
As with all positions within the new structure, any posts at Dover which are not filled during the alignment exercise will be filled in line with the to be agreed recruitment procedures and be available for all staff to apply for.
Resilience
Even without any major failures, during the summer the day stations will regularly be handing over on-going incidents to the MOC at close of business.
Yes this is likely and consideration will be made with regard to managing the end of day working from stations to ensure that the hand-over of incidents is carried out in a manner that addresses the risks and appropriate timing.
The MCA intend to reduce the whole of the UK’s HM Coastguard to two stations (MOCs) at night (not counting London which is not an MRCC anyway and Dover). Has the MCA Team considered the implications of some kind of failure at one of these stations?
Please refer to tech document published as part of the consultation process.
Social implications
If many existing Coastguards decide not to move to the new MOCs, it will take up to a year to recruit, train and qualify new Coastguards. This will leave a very inexperienced Operations Centre.
It is expected that most operations centres will comprise new and existing staff. Currently over 30% of all coastguards were recruited in the last 3 years.
Terms and conditions
Pensions. Will those staff remaining carry over their Pensions as they stand?
Yes
Will a new pension be introduced for staff remaining?
No, All employees of the MCA are civil servants and are covered by Civil Service Pension rules which will not be affected by this Programme. We do not have the authority to do so.
If so will staff be able to preserve their accrued pension rights ?
See answers above, all service pre and post reorganisation will be counted as continuous employment within the MCA.
Leave Allowance. Will this remain unchanged?
Annual leave is applied on a consistent basis throughout the MCA. There are no current plans to change the leave allowance within the MCA.