301608Z OCT 06 ALSAFE 69/06
MSGID/GENADMIN/COMNAVSAFECEN/00/OCT//
SUBJ/WEB ENABLED SAFETY SYSTEM DISCONNECTED VERSION 
/(WESS-DS)//
REF/A/DESC:DOC/CNO/07JAN2005//
AMPN/REF A IS OPNAVINST 5102.1D/MCO P5102.1B/NAVY AND 
MARINE CORPS MISHAP AND SAFETY INVESTIGATION, REPORTING AND 
RECORDKEEPING MANUAL.//
POC/HOBBS/CDR/NAVSAFECEN 60/LOC:NORFOLK
/TEL:DSN 564-3520 X7182/TEL:757-444-3520 X7182// 

GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  PASS TO SAFETY OFFICER/SAFETY STAFF. 

2.  IAW REF A, THE WEB-ENABLED SAFETY SYSTEM (WESS) IS THE APPROVED DATABASE/REPOSITORY FOR NAVY AND MARINE CORPS MISHAP REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING.  WESS IS WEB-BASED AND ACCESSIBLE TO MOST CUSTOMERS ON-LINE.  ON-LINE WESS CUSTOMERS ARE NOT AFFECTED BY THIS MESSAGE.  THE WESS DISCONNECTED SYSTEM (WESS-DS) WAS DEVELOPED AS A MICROSOFT ACCESS-BASED MISHAP REPORTING TOOL FOR NAVY AND MARINE CORPS CUSTOMERS WHO LACK RELIABLE INTERNET ACCESS.

3.  THE NAVAL SAFETY CENTER HAS COMMENCED MAILING THE 
LATEST VERSION OF THE WESS-DS COMPACT DISC TO FLEET 
CUSTOMERS.  THIS VERSION OF WESS-DS, VERSION 2.33, WILL BE 
THE FINAL DEVELOPED BY THE NAVAL SAFETY CENTER.  ALL 
PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF WESS-DS ARE OBSOLETE AND MUST NOT BE 
USED.

4.  THE PROGRAMMING EFFORT TO DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN WESS-DS 
HAS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE 
WEB-BASED APPLICATION.  WE HAD PREVIOUSLY DIVERTED CRITICAL 
RESOURCES AWAY FROM THE MAIN DEVELOPMENT EFFORT OF WESS TO 
SUPPORT WESS-DS.  THE MAINTENANCE OF WESS-DS REQUIRED NEW 
VERSIONS OF WESS-DS TO STAY IN SYNCH WITH THE ON-LINE WESS, 
NEW DEVELOPMENT RELEASES FOR CHANGES TO MICROSOFT ACCESS, 
PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS, HELP DESK SUPPORT, DISTRIBUTION 
MAINTENANCE, AND CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT.

5.  ADDITIONALLY, WESS-DS WAS DEVELOPED ONLY AS A TEMPORARY 
SOLUTION FOR FLEET USERS WHO WERE UNABLE TO USE THE ON-LINE 
APPLICATION DUE TO LITTLE OR NO BANDWIDTH.  IT WAS NOT A 
PART OF THE ORIGINAL PROJECT PLAN FOR WESS AND WAS NEVER 
INTENDED AS A PERMANENT SOLUTION FOR LACK OF BANDWIDTH.

6.  WESS-DS USERS MAY USE THE LATEST VERSION OF WESS-DS FOR 
MISHAP REPORTING IF SUFFICIENT BANDWIDTH IS NOT AVAILABLE 
TO USE THE ON-LINE SYSTEM.   AS WE CONTINUE MAKING 
ENHANCEMENTS TO THE ON-LINE SYSTEM, EVENTUALLY, THESE 
ENHANCEMENTS WILL RENDER WESS-DS INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE ON-
LINE APPLICATION.  AT THAT TIME, WE WILL NOTIFY THE FLEET 
THAT WESS-DS SUBMISSIONS WILL NO LONGER BE ACCEPTED AND 
WILL REQUIRE CUSTOMERS WITH INSUFFICIENT BANDWIDTH TO 
SUBMIT MISHAP REPORTS VIA NAVAL MESSAGE.  TO ASSIST IN THE 
SUBMISSION OF MISHAP MESSAGES, NSC WILL HAVE MESSAGE 
TEMPLATES AVAILABLE PRIOR TO THE DISCONTINUANCE OF WESS-DS 
TO USE AS A GUIDE.

7.  IF YOU DESIRE MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT THE WESS HELP 
DESK USING OUR HELP REQUEST FORM.  THE LINK FOR THE FORM IS 
WWW.SAFETYCENTER.NAVY.MIL/WESS/HELPFORM.HTM.  YOU 
MAY ALSO CALL THE WESS HELP DESK AT (757) 444-3520 EXT. 
7048 (DSN 564) DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS, MONDAY-FRIDAY, 
0800 TO 1630 EST/EDT, OR THE WESS PROJECT OFFICER, CDR ED 
HOBBS AT EXT. 7182.//