EMERGENCY · CONTROLLED DOCUMENT
AE-SOP-0211 — Cold-Water Life-Support Failure Response
To protect cold-water and temperate systems — seadragons, kelp, temperate reef — when a chiller or heater fails and minutes decide survival. The procedure guarantees an immediate dispatch without waiting for confirmation, isolates the failed unit before it can do further harm, and preserves the highest-value stock, because thermal failure in these systems is among the fastest killers in the station.
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Doc Control AE-SOP-0211Revision CEffective 2090-02-18Next Review 2091-02-18Owner Engineering Dept.Approver Engineering Dept.Status ActiveClass RESTRICTED // TIDEWATER-EYES-ONLY
1. Purpose
To protect cold-water and temperate systems — seadragons, kelp, temperate reef — when a chiller or heater fails and minutes decide survival. The procedure guarantees an immediate dispatch without waiting for confirmation, isolates the failed unit before it can do further harm, and preserves the highest-value stock, because thermal failure in these systems is among the fastest killers in the station.
2. Scope
All cold-water and temperate holding systems.
- In scope: Immediate response to temperature-excursion alarms, fault isolation, portable cooling, stock relocation, and root-cause reporting.
- Out of scope: Routine sensor-driven exchanges, which follow AE-SOP-0112; the dawn detection that may surface a slow drift, which follows AE-SOP-0118.
3. Definitions
| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Temperature Excursion | A holding-system temperature reading beyond the species safe band, triggering immediate alarm. |
| Stuck Heat Input | A failed heater or controller that continues to add heat and must be cut first. |
| Buffer System | A pre-conditioned reserve system kept ready to receive relocated high-value stock. |
| Root-Cause Report | The post-incident analysis identifying the failure origin, filed within 24 hours. |
4. Responsibilities
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|
| Engineering Dept. (Owner) | Owns the response; leads isolation and restoration; signs the root-cause report. |
| On-Call Responder | Dispatches on the first alarm, isolates the failed unit, and brings portable cooling online. |
| Husbandry Lead | Directs relocation of highest-value stock to the buffer system. |
| NEREID | Raises the excursion alarm, pages on-call, and logs the thermal trace for root-cause analysis. |
5. Thermal Failure Response Tiers
| Excursion | Safe Window | Response Time | Action |
|---|
| ±1 °C from setpoint | ≤ 60 min | Dispatch on alarm | Isolate, portable cooling |
| ±2 °C from setpoint | ≤ 25 min | Immediate | Cut heat input, shade, reduce light |
| ±3 °C from setpoint | ≤ 10 min | All-hands | Relocate high-value stock to buffer |
| Probe loss + suspected fault | Unknown — treat as worst | Immediate | Assume failure, respond fully |
Note. Never wait for a second reading on a cold-water excursion alarm — dispatch on the first, because the safe window is measured in minutes.
6. Materials & Equipment
- Portable chilling units, charged and staged
- Pre-conditioned buffer system on standby
- Independent unit-isolation valves and cutoffs
- Shade screens and dimmable lighting control
- On-call paging and dispatch kit
- Field Operation Report and root-cause template
7. Procedure
7.1 Dispatch
- On a temperature-excursion alarm, dispatch immediately — do not wait for a second reading.
- Confirm which system and unit has failed en route.
- Treat any probe loss with suspected fault as a worst-case excursion.
7.2 Stabilise
- Isolate the failed unit and cut any stuck heat input first.
- Bring portable chilling online.
- Shade the system and reduce lighting load to cut thermal gain.
7.3 Protect & Report
- Move highest-value stock to the buffer system if the excursion continues.
- Hold until the system is restored to band and stable.
- File a Field Operation Report and root-cause within 24 hours.
8. Records
- Field Operation Report for the incident (retained 5 years)
- Thermal trace through the excursion
- Stock relocation log
- Root-cause report filed within 24 h
- Portable-unit deployment and charge log
9. References
10. Revision History
| Rev | Date | Author | Summary |
|---|
| A | 2088-06-09 | Engineering Dept. | Initial issue; dispatch-on-alarm and unit isolation established. |
| B | 2089-07-21 | Engineering Dept. | Added buffer-system relocation and 24 h root-cause requirement. |
| C | 2090-02-18 | Engineering Dept. | Added response-time tiers and worst-case probe-loss handling. |