---
kind: "range"
citation: "46 C.F.R. §§ 160.151-39–160.151-47"
title: "46"
from: "160.151-39"
to: "160.151-47"
count: 5
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/46/160.151-39..160.151-47"
---

# §160.151-39. Training of servicing technicians.

- (a) The training program for certification of servicing technicians must include—
  - (1) Training and practice in packing an inflatable liferaft, repairing buoyancy tubes, repairing inflation-system valves, and other inspections and operations described in the approved servicing manual;
  - (2) An evaluation at the end of the training to determine whether each trainee has successfully completed the training; and
  - (3) **Issuance of a certificate of competence to each technician who successfully completes the training.**
- (b) The manufacturer shall maintain refresher training for recertification of previously trained servicing technicians. This training must include—
  - (1) Checking the performance of the technicians in the inspections and operations described in the manual;
  - (2) Retraining of the technicians in inspections and operations for which they are deficient;
  - (3) Training and practice in new inspections and operations;
  - (4) An evaluation at the end of the training to determine whether or not each trainee has successfully completed the training; and
  - (5) **Issuance of a certificate of competence to each technician who successfully completes the training.**
- (c) Each time the manufacturer holds a course for servicing technicians who will perform servicing on liferafts approved by the Coast Guard, the manufacturer shall notify the cognizant OCMI sufficiently in advance to allow, at the option of the OCMI, for a Coast Guard inspector or inspectors to travel to the site where the training is to occur.

# §160.151-41. Approval of servicing facilities.

- (a) To obtain and maintain Coast Guard approval as an “approved servicing facility” for a particular manufacturer's inflatable liferafts, a facility must meet the requirements, and follow the procedures, of this section.
- (b) The owner or operator of a servicing facility desiring Coast Guard approval shall apply to the cognizant OCMI. The application must include—
  - (1) The name and address of the facility;
  - (2) The name(s) of its competent servicing technician(s);
  - (3) Identification of the manufacturer(s) of the liferafts the facility will service; and
  - (4) **Any limits or special conditions that should apply to the approval of the facility.**
- (c) The owner or operator of the servicing facility shall arrange for an inspection with the OCMI to whom the owner or operator applied under [paragraph (b)](#b) of this section. A currently trained servicing technician shall successfully demonstrate the complete service to each make and type of liferaft for which approval as a servicing facility is sought, in the presence of a Coast Guard inspector or of a third-party inspector accepted by the OCMI, or such technician shall present evidence of having performed such service at the time of initial or refresher training. The service must include:
  - (1) Removing the liferaft from the container for testing without damaging the liferaft or its contents;
  - (2) Examining the liferaft and its container for damage and wear;
  - (3) Determining the need for repairs;
  - (4) Determining whether equipment must be replaced;
  - (5) Conducting the tests required by [§ 160.151-57](/cfr/46/160.151-57.md);
  - (6) Repacking the liferaft;
  - (7) Inflating the fully packed liferaft using its inflation mechanism; and
  - (8) Repairing a leak in a main buoyancy chamber, and subjecting the repaired chamber to the Necessary Additional Pressure test described in [§ 160.151-57(k)](/cfr/46/160.151-57.md?p=k). This repair may be done on a liferaft that actually needs it, on one condemned, or on an inflatable chamber fabricated of liferaft material specifically for this purpose. (An otherwise serviceable liferaft should not be damaged for this purpose.)
- (d) Whenever servicing of liferafts takes place, each servicing facility must allow Coast Guard inspectors or third-party inspectors accepted by the OCMI access to the place where the servicing occurs.
- (e) Each servicing facility must employ at least one servicing technician who has successfully completed the manufacturer's training described in § [160.151-39 (a)](/cfr/46/160.151-39.md?p=a) or [(b)](/cfr/46/160.151-39.md?p=b), including training in the servicing of davit-launched liferafts if the facility will service these. The training must have been completed within the preceding—
  - (1) 12 months for the facility to obtain its approval to service the liferafts of a particular manufacturer; or
  - (2) 36 months for the facility to retain approval to service the liferafts of a particular manufacturer.

# §160.151-43. Conditions at servicing facilities.

- (a) Each facility must maintain a room to service inflatable liferafts that—
  - (1) Is clean;
  - (2) Is fully enclosed;
  - (3) Has enough space to service the number of liferafts likely to be present for service at one time;
  - (4) Has a ceiling high enough to hold and allow overturning of a fully inflated liferaft of the largest size to be serviced, or is furnished with an equally efficient means to facilitate the inspection of bottom seams;
  - (5) Has a smooth floor that will not damage a liferaft, can be easily cleaned, and is kept clean and free from oil, grease, and abrasive material;
  - (6) Is well lit but free from direct sunlight;
  - (7) Is arranged to maintain an even temperature and low humidity in each area where liferafts are pressure tested, including by mechanical air-conditioning equipment in climates where it is necessary;
  - (8) Is arranged so that stored liferafts are not subjected to excessive loads and, if stacked one directly on top of another, does not have them stacked more than two liferafts high;
  - (9) Is efficiently ventilated but free of drafts; and
  - (10) **Is a designated no-smoking area.**
- (b) In addition to the room required by [paragraph (a)](#a) of this section, each facility must maintain areas or rooms for storage of liferafts awaiting servicing, repair, or delivery; for repair and painting of reinforced plastic containers; for storage of pyrotechnics and other materials, such as spare parts and required equipment; and for administrative purposes.

# §160.151-45. Equipment required for servicing facilities.


Each servicing facility approved by the Coast Guard must maintain equipment to carry out the operations described in the manufacturer's servicing manual approved in accordance with [§ 160.151-35(b)(1)](/cfr/46/160.151-35.md?p=b-1), including—

- (a) A set of plans, as specified in [§ 160.151-35(b)(3)](/cfr/46/160.151-35.md?p=b-3), for each inflatable liferaft to be serviced;
- (b) A current copy of this subpart;
- (c) A current copy of the manual approved in accordance with [§ 160.151-35(b)(1)](/cfr/46/160.151-35.md?p=b-1), including all revisions and bulletins in effect as indicated on the annual list issued in accordance with [§ 160.151-35(b)(2)](/cfr/46/160.151-35.md?p=b-2);
- (d) Hot presses (if applicable);
- (e) Safety-type glue pots or equivalents;
- (f) Abrasive devices;
- (g) A source of clean, dry, pressurized air; hoses; and attachments for inflating liferafts;
- (h) A source of vacuum; hoses; and attachments for deflating liferafts;
- (i) Mercury manometer, water manometer, or other pressure-measurement device or pressure gauge of equivalent accuracy and sensitivity;
- (j) Thermometer;
- (k) Barometer, aneroid or mercury;
- (l) Calibrated torque-wrench for assembling the inflation system;
- (m) Accurate weighing scale;
- (n) Repair materials and equipment, and spare parts as specified in the applicable manual, except that items of limited “shelf life” need not be stocked if they are readily available;
- (o) A complete stock of the survival equipment required to be stowed in the liferafts, except for items of equipment that are readily available;
- (p) A means for load-testing davit-launched liferafts, unless the facility services only non-davit-launched liferafts;
- (q) A supply of parts for all inflation components and valves specified in the applicable manual; and
- (r) A tool board that clearly indicates where each small tool is stored, or has an equivalent means to make sure that no tools are left in the liferaft when repacked.

# §160.151-47. Requirements for owners or operators of servicing facilities.


To maintain Coast Guard approval, the owner or operator of each servicing facility approved by the Coast Guard must—

- (a) Ensure that servicing technicians have received sufficient information and training to follow instructions for changes and for new techniques related to the inflatable liferafts serviced by the facility, and have available at least one copy of each manufacturer's approved servicing manual, revision, and bulletin;
- (b) Calibrate each pressure gauge, mechanically-operated barometer, and weighing scale at intervals of not more than 1 year, or in accordance with the equipment manufacturer's requirements;
- (c) Ensure that each liferaft serviced under the facility's Coast Guard approval is serviced by or under the direct supervision of a servicing technician who has completed the requirements of either § [160.151-39 (a)](/cfr/46/160.151-39.md?p=a) or [(b)](/cfr/46/160.151-39.md?p=b);
- (d) Ensure that each liferaft serviced under the facility's Coast Guard approval is serviced in accordance with the approved manual;
- (e) Specify which makes of liferafts the facility is approved to service when representing that the facility is approved by the Coast Guard; and
- (f) Ensure that the facility does not service any make of liferaft for an inspected vessel of the U.S. or any other U.S.-flag vessel required to carry approved liferafts, unless the facility is approved by the Coast Guard to service that make of liferafts.