Title 46

SECTION 10.410

10.410 Quality Standard System (QSS) requirements.

§ 10.410 Quality Standard System (QSS) requirements.

(a) Providers of Coast Guard-approved courses, programs, training, and Coast Guard-accepted training creditable towards an STCW endorsement must establish and maintain a Quality Standard System (QSS), in accordance with Regulation I/8 of the STCW Convention (incorporated by reference, see § 10.103 of this part).

(b) The QSS must be monitored by the Coast Guard or monitored through a third party that is designated as a Coast Guard-accepted QSS organization.

(1) Have a documented quality policy and quality objectives that align with the commitment by the training institution to achieve its missions and goals;

(2) Maintain a manual that documents the objectives, authorities, and responsibilities that are essential controls for the implementation of the QSS, including -

(i) The core procedures required to meet the missions and goals of the institution;

(ii) The documents necessary for effective design, planning, operation, and control for the delivery of courses meeting the regulatory requirements;

(iii) The filing and archiving of records so they are retrievable and legible;

(iv) Action taken to stop recurrence of system, process, and product nonconformity; and

(v) Auditing, reviewing, and improving the performance of the training management system.

(d) Documentation from a nationally recognized academic accreditation body may be accepted by the Coast Guard as meeting one or more of the requirements listed in paragraph (c) of this section. The documentation must be readily available for inspection upon request.

(e) The Coast Guard will accept documentation from a training institution certified under a national or international Quality Management System Standard as meeting one or more of the requirements listed in paragraph (c) of this section. The documentation must be readily available for inspection upon request.

(f) The Coast Guard will accept company ISM documentation as meeting one or more of the requirements listed in paragraph (c) of this section.

(g) Organizations are subject to audits at least twice in a 5-year period. Organizations must cooperate with Coast Guard audits.

[USCG-2004-17914, 78 FR 77903, Dec. 24, 2013, as amended by USCG-2018-0874, 84 FR 30881, June 28, 2019]