of this responsibility should not be underestimated.
to the nearest naval records management center. All
Engineering personnel will base their determinations in
reports sent to, and received from, NAVSEA or another
r e g a r d to the condition of the equipment on the
superior command may be destroyed when they are 2
information contained in these logs and records.
years old, if they are no longer required.
To control the volume of paper work, reports should
Verification Procedures
be kept on board only if they are
1. required,
As you advance in the GSE rating, you will be
required to verify many of the engineering logs and
2. serve a specific purpose, or
records. In fact, you may be required to review many
3. provide repair personnel with information not
logs and records on a daily basis. In reviewing logs and
found in other available publications or manuals.
records, there are certain details you should look for and
take note of. Although each situation or type of log or
As you assume more extensive administrative
record may have its own set of required procedures, the
r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , you will be required to become
following list contains a few of the most important basic
increasingly aware of the retention, disposal, and
details for which you should check:
maintenance procedures required for your department.
All readings and entries must be legible.
FILES AND TICKLER SYSTEMS
All entries must be placed in the proper location
in each log.
As a second class GSE, you will be required to learn
how to maintain correspondence files, messages, and
Out-of-limits entries must be circled in RED and
t i c k l e r systems. You will need to determine the
explained in the REMARKS section of the logs.
requirements of your division. You should know how to
All required initials and signatures must be
set up the files, what to file, and how to use the files to
present.
gather necessary information. You will also need to
make sure that information your division develops is
All logs and records must be free of erasures.
sent to higher authority in the proper form of reports or
packages.
All required logs and records must be present.
The accuracy of a filing system and the ease in
As stated earlier, the verification process is one of
retrieving information is extremely important if the
the most important responsibilities you will face as you
s y s t e m is to be effective. Administration of the
advance in the GSE rating. Another important part of
engineering department requires easy access to previous
your increasing administrative duties will involve
information either received or sent out. Efficiently
learning the correct disposal procedures for the records
m a n a g e d files contribute directly to the overall
your department will no longer need to keep.
effectiveness of the engineering department.
Disposal Procedures
Each month the engineering department should
close out the files, logs, and records of the previous
Before destroying any engineering department
month. This means a new set is needed for each new
records, study the Disposal of Navy and Marine Corps
month. When starting up a new month's logs, records,
Records, USN and USNS Vessels, S E C N A V I N S T
and files, always take a look at last month's logs,
P5212.5 (revised). This publication provides the official
records, and files. Determine which logs, records, or
procedures for disposing of records. For each
files were bulky and which contained only a few pieces
department aboard your ship, these instructions list the
of paper. Use this information to set up your new folders.
permanent records that must be kept. The instructions
Some files may have to broken down to make them
also list the temporary records that maybe disposed of
quicker to find. Some files may be combined to save
according to schedule.
space.
At regular intervals, such as each quarter, records
One final decision to make when setting up files is
that are more than 3 years old are usually destroyed.
how to keep your logs, records, and files centralized.
W h e n a ship that is less than 3 years old is
This step will help you prevent a backlog of requests for
i n f o r m a t i o n or delays when you must produce a
decommissioned, the current books are retained on
board. If a ship is scrapped, the current books are sent
particular log or record.
1-20
