Overview

Welcome to the 2022 USCG Risk Mitigation Conference 

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) have launched a new series of one-day events dedicated to mitigating the risk in designing and building recreational boats.

USCG Risk Mitigation: Series 2—Put the Fire Out! Fire Suppression Systems, Standards, and Requirements consists of four roundtables with the professionals who write and enforce the standards as well as manufacturers and experts who work in fire suppression on a daily basis. The agenda addresses new Coast Guard standards for portable fire extinguishers, ABYC standards currently under review to be published in 2023, and what the future holds for fire suppression. This discussion is for manufacturers, repairers, surveyors, and investigators.

Previous Risk Mitigation Conferences can be found here:

USCG Risk Mitigation: Series 1

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The registration is handled on ABYC's main website. You can register for this event for free by clicking the button below. 


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Agenda and Descriptions

1:00-1:15pm - Introduction

1:15-2:00pm - Understanding Fire Suppression Equipment and Policy

Join regulators from the USCG as they discuss what is applicable for recreational boats, what departments are responsible for fire suppression equipment, and what questions to ask when evaluating both existing and emerging equipment and media.

Speakers:

Jeff Ludwig, USCG
Brandi Baldwin, USCG
Jeff Decker, USCG

2:00-2:50pm - Standards, Regulations, Policy, and Practice

Standards writers and regulators will discuss the current state of standards and regulations as well as challenges that affect the choices, installation, maintenance, and use of fire suppression equipment.

Speakers:

Craig Scholten, ABYC
Patrick Hemp, ICOMIA
Blake Shugarman, UL

3:00-3:50pm - The Past, Present & Future of Extinguisher Media and Hardware

Manufacturers, regulators, and subject experts will discuss the topics and offer a clear understanding of where the industry has been, where it is going, and what work is happening to make sure firefighting technology is keeping pace with advances in marine systems and propulsion.

Speakers:

Joseph Pada, Perimeter Solutions
Luis Gonzalez, 3M-Novec
Danny Brown, Hiller

4:00-4:50pm - Inspection, Installation, Maintenance

What to look for when evaluating, recommending, installing, and maintaining a system can be challenging. An expert panel will discuss all these aspects and respond to your questions as we wrap up this important and timely topic.

Speakers:

J.R. Nerat, National Presto Safety
Jason Karasinski, IAAI

Speakers

John Adey

President

American Boat & Yacht Council, Inc.

In 2012, John Adey became the President of the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC), having served in several staff positions since 2002. John has his MBA with a specialty in nonprofit organization management and is an ABYC Certified Master Technician.  John is a member of the USCG Boating Safety Advisory Council, a Red Cross certified lifeguard instructor trainer, US Masters swimmer and an avid Chesapeake Bay boater.  In his spare time he enjoys inventing new swear words while working on he and his daughters 24 year old jeep, Taylor ham egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, dunkin’ donuts coffee and anything cooked on a weber charcoal grill.

Patrick Hemp

Technical Consultant

International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA)

Patrick started sailing at a very early age with his parents who designed and built their own 50ft sailing yacht from ferro-cement. He has over 25 years of diverse experience in the marine industry, from professional yacht racing crew, through to design and project management of high-performance carbon fibre sailing multihulls. Patrick currently lives in Cape Town, South Africa, with his wife and two young boys but has previously lived in Newport, Rhode Island, and in 2004 successfully completed the Yacht Design Program at The Landing School in Kennebunkport, Maine. Much of his current duties with ICOMIA and the ICOMIA Marine Engine Committee focus on the design, safety, and construction aspects of the recreational small craft sector including its impact on the marine environment.

Eric Johnson

General Engineer

U.S. Coast Guard

Eric Johnson is an Engineer with the United States Coast Guard in the Product Assurance Branch of the Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety.  In this roll Mr. Johnson evaluate reported safety defects and non-compliances and prepares Coast Guard action response and correspondence.  Additionally he provides guidance on Federal statutes, safety regulations, and Coast Guard policy regarding recreational boat-building.  Mr. Johnson is a member of various Standards bodies including ABYC, NFPA, SAE, ISO, and UL.  In his free time Eric is an avid sailboat racer and Triathlete.

Jeff Ludwig

Chief, Recreational Boating Product Assurance Branch (CG-BSX-23)

U.S. Coast Guard

Craig Scholten

Technical Vice-President

ABYC

Craig W. Scholten has been actively involved in the recreational craft industry for more than 38 years.  His hands-on knowledge of small craft design, engineering, manufacturing, standards, and product certification provides a great resource of experiences.  Craig holds a Master Compliance Specialist Certification for small craft from Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology and a Master Technician Certification from the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC).  He has personally assessed and certified over 500 new boat models for the global marketplace. 

For over three decades Craig has served industry in multiple roles, including Director, Chairperson, Convener, Expert and Member of executive committees, technical committees, and boards of ABYC, National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Marine Certification Institute (IMCI), and the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA). 

Skilled in working group leadership and collaboration in both domestic and international committees, Craig demonstrates a thorough understanding of how the standards and certification processes work and have evolved over time. Extensive success in guiding the understanding of standards compliance, product testing, risk assessments, and product certifications in both the domestic and international arenas. Strong networking and leadership skills, detailed, organized, and ability to find the win-win, Craig’s leadership results in effective teams that produce valuable product.

Craig regularly shares his expertise with industry at seminars and professional conferences including ABYC, NMMA, IBEX, and METSTRADE.

Craig can be reached at:

Recorded Session Access

Understanding Fire Suppression Equipment and Policy
05/17/2022 at 1:15 PM (EDT)  |  Recorded On: 05/19/2022
05/17/2022 at 1:15 PM (EDT)  |  Recorded On: 05/19/2022 Join regulators from the USCG as they discuss what is applicable for recreational boats, what departments are responsible for fire suppression equipment, and what questions to ask when evaluating both existing and emerging equipment and media. Speakers: Jeff Ludwig (USCG); Brandi Baldwin (USCG); Jeff Decker (USCG)
Standards, Regulations, Policy, and Practice
05/17/2022 at 2:00 PM (EDT)  |  Recorded On: 05/19/2022
05/17/2022 at 2:00 PM (EDT)  |  Recorded On: 05/19/2022 Standards writers and regulators will discuss the current state of standards and regulations as well as challenges that affect the choices, installation, maintenance, and use of fire suppression equipment. Speakers: Craig Scholten (ABYC); Patrick Hemp (ICOMIA); Blake Shugarman (UL)
The Past, Present & Future of Extinguisher Media and Hardware
05/17/2022 at 3:00 PM (EDT)  |  Recorded On: 05/19/2022
05/17/2022 at 3:00 PM (EDT)  |  Recorded On: 05/19/2022 Manufacturers, regulators, and subject experts will discuss the topics and offer a clear understanding of where the industry has been, where it is going, and what work is happening to make sure firefighting technology is keeping pace with advances in marine systems and propulsion. Speakers: Joseph Pada (Perimeter Solutions); Luis Gonzalez (3M-Novec); Danny Brown (Hiller)
Inspection, Installation, Maintenance
05/17/2022 at 4:00 PM (EDT)  |  Recorded On: 05/19/2022
05/17/2022 at 4:00 PM (EDT)  |  Recorded On: 05/19/2022 What to look for when evaluating, recommending, installing, and maintaining a system can be challenging. An expert panel will discuss all these aspects and respond to your questions as we wrap up this important and timely topic. Speakers: J.R. Nerat (National Presto Safety); Jason Karasinski (IAAI)
Continuing Education Unit (CEU)
4.0 CEU credits  |  No certificate available
4.0 CEU credits  |  No certificate available

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