JUNE 2018 • FOGHORN 15 FOGHORNFOCUS: OPERATIONS About the Author A self-taught mariner, Brock Gilman has spent more than two decades with Argosy Cruises working as captain, lead captain, vessel team manager, and general manager of a dinner ship, as well as company security officer and represented the passenger vessel industry on the Puget Sound Harbor Safety Committee. He has sailed extensively through the Caribbean, Panama and Hawaii. He currently serves as Assistant Port Captain. being asked, she brought out the tools and skills she had learned, sanding and painting the scuff as though it never happened. In addition to the mundane skills sometimes involved in maintenance, many of our crew have taken this op- portunity to grow professionally. We have had people take the initiative to lead the charge on safety training. This has spilled over into the formation of a safety committee that meets quarterly. Since then, we have experienced a measurable decrease in both crew and passenger injuries. This outcome can definitively be traced back to the formation of this safety committee. Other crew have learned to think and operate as project managers, co- ordinating all the variables required behind the scenes to ensure that every member of the team has the right tool, the right supplies, and a plan to keep the job moving ahead. As part of acknowledging all the hard work and dedication the mainte- nance staff put into these three months, the owners of Argosy have created a tradition of entertaining the whole team with an evening out together at the end of the season. At dinner, the crew are all recognized, both individu- ally and as a team, for what they have accomplished. Our Chief Engineer is in charge of designing a one-of-a- kind tee shirt for the year; these have managed to become collector’s items for those involved. The humor and camaraderie that develops by March of every year is just one more perk of this program. The “10 Weeks – 10 Boats” system benefits all of us here at Argosy. While some of the tasks may be more cost effective to have done by profession- als at the shipyards, we’ve found that the investment into our crews’ skills and talents pays dividends all year long. It’s gratifying to everyone when we reach the end of the maintenance program, knowing that the boats and the crew are fully prepared to head into a busy and successful tourist season here in Seattle. n