As I walked into the Safety and Security area at the Ferries Division I came across an in-and-out board with the names of the employees. Next to Manny Perez’s name tag is a little note saying “On-call Safety Dude.” Manny is currently assigned the 24/7 on-call coverage for all safety issues; if something happens for example on the graveyard shift Seattle-Bremerton he is the one to be called and who will go there if needed.
Manny Perez is the Fleet Safety Coordinator at the Washington State Ferries. He started his career at Ferries in October 1997; he heard of the opportunity just prior to being released from active duty from U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in June 1997. After he left active duty, he joined the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. While serving in the Coast Guard, he gained experience as commercial vessel safety inspector, marine investigator, hazardous materials transportation, and occupational health and safety, skills that would prove invaluable while working for Washington State Ferries.
Shortly after he started at the Ferries, WSF was mandated by the Coast Guard to adopt a Safety Management System (SMS) in order to keep its international run to Sidney, BC. This would ensure compliance with International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention, known as the ISM Code. Manny got heavily involved with the review of the SMS manuals and was chosen to be an internal auditor of the SMS for which he had to take and pass an approved course as an internal auditor; he took the course given by the American Bureau of Shipping in December 1997 at their headquarters office in Houston, TX. The initial audits he and other members of WSF conducted were the first step in certification of WSF to operate a passenger carrying vessel on its international route.
Manny’s service at WSF was interrupted, when after September 11, 2001, he was recalled to active duty with the USCG. He was involved in the increased security that took place after 9/11, was one of the Command Duty Officers and the Command Representative at Marine Safety Office Puget Sound (now Sector Puget Sound) to address anything that happened within the MSO’s Area of Responsibility (all of Puget Sound to the Canadian-Alaska border [if the matter involved a U.S. Flag vessel], and east to Wyoming). He later moved into Marine Investigations Department and became the Assistant Senior Investigator. His duties included investigating marine casualties involving oil spills, collisions, allisions, vessel groundings, injuries to passengers and crewmembers of commercial vessels, and events on cruise ships that occurred in the Puget Sound (he was involved in the arrest of a cruise ship Master who was intoxicated while serving as the Master of the vessel).
On August 31, 2006, he retired from active duty and returned to his job at the WSF. He encountered a lot of changes that happened in the wake of the attacks on 9/11. WSF Safety and Security were working much closer together, and the team had grown by two more safety officers. Also, the SMS, the Safety Management System, had gone from the international run only to cover all of WSF’s domestic fleet and routes. He assists in security issues and has conducted internal audits of WSF’s SMS on vessels, terminals, and of WSF’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility.
There is no typical day at his office; he may be required to address issues ranging from hazardous materials transport on a vessel to addressing a medical fitness for duty question regarding one of our vessel crewmembers; one never knows what the day may bring. He frequently is tasked with questions and issues related to WSF’s hearing conservation and respiratory protection programs, overseeing the maintenance and certification by one of his staff of WSF’s owned SCBAs (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus), conducts investigations of injuries, and working closely with WSF’s Environmental Program Manager on waste disposal and other environmental issues. He and his team are responsible for ensuring WSF’s lifesaving, fire fighting, and medical equipment on our vessels are maintained and ready for use. As the primary responder to L&I, he works on the complaints and investigations. He cooperates with the WSDOT ergonomist, and he is heavily involved in writing, reviewing, and revising SMS procedures related to occupational safety and health.
Once at home, Manny enjoys time with his lovely wife whom he met on his first day at WSF in 1997. It took them two years to start dating and they were married in 2000. Together they collect gem stones and often times his wife gets a pretty piece of new jewelry made from their finds. Manny also is avid collector fine writing pens and other items of interest.
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