Insurance and the author of "The Engineer"
Insurance and the author of "The Engineer"
"A thing providing protection against a possible event" or "money paid to insure against something or by an insurance company in the event of damage, injury, etc." are the definitions given by the dictionary when considering insurance. While it may be perplexing, at least it tells us something.
"A person qualified in Engineering" and "a person who controls an Engine or a Machine" are the two definitions of an engineer that we find in the dictionary. Well, that wraps it up. I wish there was a simple way to find out more about this by searching for "Insurance Engineer" or "Engineering Insurance," but alas, that is no longer the case.
What unfortunate and unintentionally set off this whole thing was something an Engineering Superintendent said to a Ships Engineer when they were drinking beer in a bar one night. As one would expect from an engineer, he was griping about the ships' limited access to spare parts. Please note that this is a common complaint among engineers and likely has global significance; no business wants to part with costly spare parts if they can avoid it. In any case, the Superintendent, in keeping with his normal pattern, concurred with the ship's engineer and placed the blame on the paper-pusher supervisors upstairs, the ship's current budget, and the economy. Unfortunately, the superintendent drank too much beer and, failing to remember that he had long since crossed over from the Ships' staff to the Office staff, let slip a fragment of speech to which he had either been privy or to which his large ears had unintentionally listened.
It is not our strategy to buy vessel spare parts; instead, we prefer to wait for equipment failure before claiming insurance on them. That is how the comment was reported.
Astonished best describes how I feel. Outrage, shock, and disbelief might come next. Before going to bed and forgetting about it all, the Engineer and the Superintendent naturally moved on to other subjects, including critiquing other engineers and their shortcomings. The Engineer, on the other hand, just could not seem to get the Superintendent's "slip" out of his head. Who would have blamed him, anyway?
Engineers routinely face challenging situations and strict deadlines, but when provided with the necessary resources, they consistently deliver excellent work that meets or exceeds expectations in terms of both performance and safety. Engineering is defined as the "competent care of machinery" according to the dictionary. Engineers and sufficient replacement parts are essential for machinery in order to maintain a safe workplace and ensure that all equipment is in good functioning condition. Waiting for an insurance claim to be filed means the machine or engine is not safe to operate on, and the engineer has not done his job. In the eyes of insurance companies, the "things" that offer protection against potential events are engineers and necessary spares.
It is not usual practice to accumulate significant quantities of spare parts on ships because of contemporary communication systems and the availability of supplies in most ports worldwide. Everyone in the office and the engineers themselves assume that the engineer has a genuine need for extra parts when he places an order for them. With the assurance that they will reach the next port of call, or at the very latest, within a month or two, he places spare parts orders with the company. Additionally, the Engineer anticipates a purpose for them, which is why he orders them. Even though he may not realize it, he is effectively purchasing insurance for the machinery for which he has placed the order for spare parts. As part of his job as an engineer, he must ensure that the machine or engine is always in a safe and operational state, and he does this by purchasing insurance to cover any potential losses.
To review in a nutshell: the Engineer ensures the proper functioning and safety of his apparatus by changing worn or used parts as he deems appropriate.
By withholding the components that the Engineer considers essential for carrying out his work, the Company has breached its obligation to the Engineer.
The complexity and scope of what is involved make insurance a pricey business, whether it is contributions or money paid to an insurer. The idea of waiting for equipment to break in order to save money on replacement parts, having the cost of repairs covered by the insurance company, and then having the ship's owner or manager approve must seem "great" to them. The people who sucked the lifeblood out of his budget are now giving it back to him, and the insurance company is footing the bill for any damages caused by the equipment failure, downtime, and replacement.
When working on a ship that cannot receive requested spare parts, an engineer's skills are rendered useless. Now more appropriately referred to as a Caretaker who lacks the knowledge, motivation, or resources to insure his property. Having the right parts on hand is the one condition under which an engineer's insurance policy against equipment failure remains in effect; in the absence of these, the policy becomes null and void. In order to become Insured (the "thing"), he needs the appropriate support from land, even though he is competent to repair and care for engines and equipment. Eliminating that backup leaves us with an engineer who is competent but does not have insurance. In any way, shape, or form, he is unable to carry out his responsibilities to everyone's satisfaction, and he certainly cannot guarantee the proper and secure operation of his machinery while he is in charge.
We can not use the words "engineer" and "insurance" together because, for reasons beyond their control, an engineer is now legally liable to everyone involved in an insurance claim.
Wow, that is cool!
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