the  individual  can  qualify  as  an  engineroom watchstander on your ship. No two enginerooms are precisely alike in all details, and no two main engines  that  appear  to  be  identical  behave  in precisely the same way under all conditions. Each engine has its own individuality, and operating personnel must adjust to the engine in order to obtain the best results. Practically all Enginemen learn this sooner or later; you can speed up the learning  process  by  encouraging  engineroom  per- sonnel to notice and to discuss differences between engines. Because of the necessity for strict observance of safety precautions, all engineroom operational training must be rigidly controlled and supervised. On-the-job  training  is  necessary  if  an  individual is to acquire the actual skills needed for main engine  operation;  however,  the  person  must  not be allowed to learn by trial and error, since er- rors could be too dangerous and too costly. Safety precautions should be taught from the very begin- ning  and  should  be  emphasized  constantly throughout the training program. TRAINING  PROGRAMS As  an  EN1  or  ENC  you  are  required  to establish or maintain a training program for your work center personnel. In this program you are required to teach the proper methods of equip- ment operation, repair, and safety. You should use all the materials available to you including teaching aids (manufacturer’s technical manuals, instructions, or rate training manuals). In addi- tion, you should know what schools are available to your workers and should try to get quotas for them  (i.e.,  EN  “A”  or  “C”,  or  A/C&R). In recent years, one of the best ways to check on how well personnel retain the information be- ing taught in your training program has been the use  of  the  Personnel  Qualification  Standard PQS). A PQS is a written list of knowledge and skills that are required to qualify for a specific watch- station, maintain a specific equipment or system, or perform as a team member within an assigned unit. The PQS program is a method for qualify- ing personnel to perform their assigned duties. Most Standards are divided into four sections: Fundamentals,  Systems,  Watchstations,  and  a Qualification Card. The Fundamentals section contains the facts, principles, and fundamentals concerning the subject for which a person is quali- fying. The Systems section deals with the major working parts of the installation, organization, or  equipment  with  which  the  PQS  is  concerned. The  Watchstation  section  defines  the  actual duties,  assignments,  and  responsibilities  needed for  qualification.  The  Qualification  Card  has questions that match those in the Watchstation section and provides a space for the supervisor’s or the qualifying officer’s signature. Not only your work center personnel must qualify  under  PQS  but  also  you  must  qualify  on all  equipment  under  your  control,  in  addition  to the  Maintenance  and  Material  Management  (3-M) System, and General Damage Control. Let’s look at one of the requirements for an EN1 or ENC under  PQS  and  the  Engineman  Occupational Standards,  NAVPERS  18068-D.  The  requirement calls  for  you  to  supervise  a  damage  control party.  As  an  engineer  you  will  probably  be assigned  to  Repair  5  (propulsion  repair)  for  a general  quarters  station.  Repair  5  usually  has  an engineering department officer or the chief petty officer in charge. The damage control party you must  supervise  is  composed  of  an  electrical officer (or senior Electrician’s Mate) and a broad cross section of engineering ratings. Emphasis on assignment of personnel to Repair 5 is placed on fireroom and engineroom takeover qualifications rather  than  damage  control  qualifications.  On larger ships, Repair 5 may be split. Each half of the party is assigned one-half of the engineering plant  so  that  maximum  use  of  manpower  and equipment, and greater dispersal of personnel may be realized. Each section of the repair party is assigned sufficiently qualified engineering casualty control and damage control personnel. Although   your   main   function   is   for engineroom and fireroom takeover, your repair party must still be able to function as a damage control repair party if the need arises. Being the leader, you must be familiar with all the equip- ment used and the function of each. You must train your personnel in the use of the equipment and the functions of a repair party. Following is ENGINEMAN  1  &  C 2-26