YDSA June 2023 Newsletter

We have just introduced the exam for Accredited Membership to an online exam format that can be taken monthly rather than the annual paper exam as in the past. We would therefore like to encourage all Affiliate members who feel that they have gained enough experience to take the upgrade exam. This is a first step towards Accredited Membership.  The second step following passing the exam is to provide a current full pre-purchase survey for review and evidence of competency in any other materials (i.e. wood, steel), that you wish to be added to your surveying matrix.  Please bear in mind that Affiliate Membership has a five-year term and now that covid has finished and things are back to normal, we will be enforcing this rule more rigorously from now onwards so those members that have reached the term of membership must at least start the upgrade process before the membership renewals in January 2024.

To all coding surveyors, I would like to draw your attention to the MCA’s : MSN 1874 (M+F) Amendment 7 and the requirement for all safety equipment fitted to UK flagged vessels to be equipped with UKCA approved safety equipment. In brief all safety equipment purchased after 1st January 2023 and placed on a UK Flagged commercial vessel must be UKCA approved and carry the Red Ensign symbol. There are a few exceptions as indicated in the MSN. Which allows for spares and existing in date equipment to remain onboard for their service life. However, please make all your clients away of this change when undertaking a mid-term or full-term coding survey that any new equipment purchased must be UKCA approved from now on, as there is still a lot of stock in the chandlers and supply lines that do not conform and are not marked correctly.

We have been working with the associations solicitors and insurers working through and updating The YDSA Terms & Conditions (March 2010) which as a member, you should be working under and referring to in your commissioning contracts with your clients.  Whilst we are not aware of these T&C’s being used against a surveyor to date, they needed updating to meet today's needs. These T&C’s are nearly ready for publication but have to be approved by the Committee at our next meeting before publication. Please download them as soon as they are available.

We have been made aware by both our insurers and solicitors that some of our Members do not use a Commissioning Contract when engaging work from a clients. This has put some of our members at risk in claims being made against them unnecessary. We are therefore going to be shortly releasing a YDSA Commissioning Contract, clearly laying out the information you need to provide and collect from your clients. I.e. Scope of the survey being undertaken, price for the work commissioned to be done, payment terms, and any ongoing work and the limitations of the survey etc. Whilst we are not expecting members to use this in place of their own, we do ask that members collect and provide the right information before undertaking any work.

Tim Barker
YDSA Chair