How to use the app.

Projects

A project is one ship or one hull. Inspections, daily checks, the readiness list and the drydock check belong to the project.

Create, switch and edit

1. 1 Open the project menu in the header (it shows the current project name).
2. 2 Choose New project. Enter the ship name or hull number, the type and the CDC edition.
3. 3 To switch, choose another project in the same menu. To change name, type or edition, choose Edit project.

CDC edition

Choose VSP 2025 for projects under the 2025 Construction Standards. Choose VSP 2018 Construction Guidelines for projects contracted under the 2018 edition. The app shows the 2025 texts in both cases. For a 2018 project, the 2018 text applies; see the guide Changes 2025 versus 2018.

At delivery

When a newbuild is delivered, change its type to Operation. The app records the delivery date. Earlier inspections stay in the history.

Delete project removes the project with all its inspections, results, findings, photos, daily checks and the readiness list. This cannot be undone. The last remaining project cannot be deleted.

Phases and areas

The app splits two CDC documents into single requirements and sorts them by phase and CDC area.

Inside a phase, the areas are grouped: Food areas, Potable water, Pools and spas, Other areas, Ship-wide and Project. An area such as Galley holds every requirement that applies to it in this phase, grouped by chapter. Use the area menu at the top of the list to jump to another area.

To change the phase while you look at an area, use the phase menu in the page title. The app keeps the area if it has requirements in the new phase.

Reading a requirement

• Title: a short name for the requirement.
• How to check: what to look at in this phase. The text never adds a duty, a record or a frequency that the CDC text does not contain.
• CDC text: the original wording with its section number. Records named by CDC are listed below it.
• Operational inspection: for a construction requirement, the inspection items it is linked to and their points. For an operations requirement, the item, its points and whether it is critical.
• Figures: some requirements show the CDC figure. Tap it to enlarge.

Labels

Abbreviations

Underlined terms such as TCS, RTE, RWF, bulkhead or deckhead have a short explanation. Tap the term to read it.

Search

Use the search field in the header, or press / on a keyboard. The search covers titles, check texts, CDC texts and section numbers of both documents.

• Inside a phase, choose between this phase and All phases.
• Common ship and shore words are matched: garbage finds waste, ceiling finds deckhead, wall finds bulkhead, fridge finds walk-in.
• When the search matches a CDC definition, the definition is shown above the results.
• Tap a result to open it in its area, with the requirement highlighted.
• Inside an area, the search field filters only that area.

Start an inspection

An inspection has a date, a phase, a scope (all areas or one area) and an inspector. You can keep a full history.

1. 1 Choose New inspection on the start page, on the Inspections page or in a phase.
2. 2 Set phase, areas (All areas or one area), date and inspector.
3. 3 Choose Start inspection. The app opens the area, or the phase if you chose all areas.

Per phase and area, only one inspection is open at a time. If an open inspection overlaps the new one, starting the new one closes the old one. Its results are kept and its report stays available.

You can also open an area and choose Start inspection there. If you record a result without an open inspection, the app starts one with today’s date.

Record results

• Mark each requirement OK, Deficiency or N/A. Tap the same button again to remove the mark.
• For a deficiency, write the location and the finding, for example "Deck 5, frame 112: coving missing behind fryer". The report needs this note.
• For N/A, you can add a reason, for example "no fryer in this galley".
• Next open jumps to the next requirement without a result.
• The bar at the top shows how many requirements are checked and how many are deficient.

Actions for a deficiency

Open Action under a finding to add: Responsible, Due date, Status (Open, In progress, Done) and a Photo. When you set the status to Done, the app records the date, and you can add who verified it.

Photos

Add photo opens the camera on a phone. The app reduces the photo to a small size. Photos need a free account.

Possible construction causes

In Operations, a deficiency has the button Possible construction causes. It lists the construction requirements linked to the same inspection item, closest match first. Most deficiencies in operation come from practice, procedure or maintenance; this list helps when the cause is how the area was built.

Clear results removes all results, notes, actions and photos of this area from the open inspection. Other areas and earlier inspections are not affected. This cannot be undone.

Close, reopen and repeat

• Close inspection freezes the results. The report stays available on the Inspections page.
• Reopen makes a closed inspection editable again. This is only possible when no other open inspection overlaps it.
• New inspection from this one starts a new inspection with the same phase and scope.
• Delete removes the inspection with all its results, findings, actions and photos. This cannot be undone.

Deficient last time

When an area has an earlier inspection with deficiencies, the new inspection marks those requirements "deficient" with the date and shows the last finding. Choose Show only these to check them again first.

History per area

Below the requirement list of an area, Inspection history shows every inspection with date, inspector, checked requirements and deficiencies. In Operations it also shows the points deducted and the score. Each row opens its report.

The inspection report

Choose Create report in an inspection, or Report on the Inspections page.

• Scope: This area, or All areas (all areas with results in this inspection). The report for all areas needs a free account.
• Inspection details: ship or hull no., location, inspector and date.
• Summary: OK, deficiency, not applicable and not checked. For all areas, one row per area.
• Deficiencies and actions: each finding with its section, note, responsible, due date, status and photo. Filter by All, Not done or Done. Sort by section, responsible or due date.
• Warnings at the top: requirements not checked yet, and deficiencies without a finding note (Add notes takes you there).

You can edit findings and actions directly in the report. A closed inspection opens read only.

Ship score in Operations

For an Operations inspection, the report shows a self-inspection estimate of the VSP score. It follows the EPHS scoring:

• The score starts at 100.
• For each inspection item with at least one deficiency, the points of that item are deducted once.
• A score of 86 or more passes.
• Pass or fail is shown once at least 80% of the requirements in the inspected areas are checked. Before that, the score is marked as an estimate.

For each deficiency, the report has fields for the corrective action taken and, for critical items, for SOP and monitoring. The corrective action statement goes to VSP within 2 weeks of the final report.

The score is an estimate from your own self-inspection. Only VSP scores the ship.

Save and send

The app sends nothing itself. The share sheet lets you choose mail, Teams, WhatsApp, AirDrop or another app, and you send from your own account. Where the device has no share sheet, your email program opens with a short version of the text, and the full text is copied to paste in.

The same Send works for the daily log, a single station, the drydock summary and the quiz result.

Daily checks

195 short checks in 15 station rounds for the running ship, based on the EPHS.

The stations: walk-in refrigerators and freezers, food preparation and pantries, hot galley, bakery and pastry, buffets, bars, dish and pot wash, provisions and dry stores, garbage rooms, hygiene and health of food employees, potable water (halogen and pH), pools and whirlpool spas, child activity center, housekeeping and public toilets, pest management.

1. 1 Open Daily checks and choose a station.
2. 2 Mark each check OK, Issue or N/A. For a measured value, such as a temperature or a halogen level, enter the value. The app compares it with the CDC limit and marks it as an issue if it is outside.
3. 3 For an issue, write what and where, and the action taken.
4. 4 Enter your name or initials and choose Sign off station. A change after sign-off asks for a new signature.
5. 5 Next station takes you through the round.

Exceptions

Some limits have a CDC exception, for example time as a public health control. If a value is outside the limit but the exception applies, tick the box and write which exception applies.

Earlier days

Each station shows the last 7 days as dots: complete, started or with issues. Tap a dot, or set the Day field, to view or complete an earlier day.

Each check links to the EPHS requirement behind it. How often to check is a recommendation unless the CDC text states a frequency.

Inspection readiness

VSP inspects unannounced, twice a year, at a U.S. port. Set the date of the next U.S. port call to start a countdown. Then work through the task list and tick each task when it is done. Each task links to the EPHS requirement behind it.

After the call, choose Start a new round to clear the date and the ticks. The list is good practice, not a CDC duty.

USPH quiz

170 questions in 11 topics, for crew training. Every answer comes with an explanation and the CDC section behind it.

• Level: All, Crew (basics for galley, bar, buffet and pool crew), Before inspection (what officers must be able to explain) or Expert.
• Number of questions: 5, 10 or 20. Pick the topics you want.
• At the end you see the result by topic and a review of the wrong answers. The best result per topic is kept.

Drydock check

Open the guide Drydock and renovation to decide for each area whether the Construction Standards apply.

1. 1 Choose the area of the refit.
2. 2 Optional: note what changes, for example "equipment +35%, one new ice machine".
3. 3 Answer three questions: new food area or facility, change of 30% or more, new technology.

The Summary of all areas lists each answered area. Add ship, yard period and preparer, then use Send summary or Create PDF. The page also has a checklist from before the yard period to after it, and the requirements that always apply when the potable water system is touched.

In a report for all areas outside Operations, the drydock result of each area is added to the report.

Guides

Free account

Everything to read and inspect is free without login. A free account adds the functions below.

Sign in

1. 1 Choose Sign in in the header or in the settings menu.
2. 2 Enter your work email. You get a 6-digit code by email. There is no password.
3. 3 Enter the code. The first time, fill in a short profile: name, company, company type and role.

In the profile you can also ask to get an email when CDC publishes a new edition of the standards.

Sync

With an account, projects, inspections, daily checks, quiz results and photos are saved in your account and on the device. Offline, changes stay on the device and sync when you are online. Sync now in the account dialog starts a sync at once.

If this device and your account both have data at the first sign-in, the app asks which to keep: Combine both (where the same requirement has two results, this device wins), Use my account, or Use this device.

Sign out and delete

After sign-out, your data stays on this device. Delete account removes your account, profile, synced data and photos in the cloud. The data on this device stays.

Backup

• Export backup in the settings menu saves all projects, inspections, daily checks and photos of this device in one file.
• Import backup replaces the data on this device with the file. The app keeps a copy of the data before the import.
• Undo last import in the settings menu brings back the data from before the last import.

Without an account, export a backup regularly. It is the only copy outside the browser.

Settings and feedback

• Theme: Light, Dark or System, in the settings menu.
• Send feedback: choose a type, write your message and send it by email to hello@sightyard.com. The app adds the page you are on.

Sources and limits

• Sources: CDC VSP 2025 Construction Standards (June 2025) and CDC VSP 2025 Environmental Public Health Standards. Fees from Federal Register 2025-15595. The CDC PDFs are the binding text.
• Check texts never make a requirement stricter than the CDC text and never add a duty, a record or a frequency. "Should" in the CDC text stays "Recommended".
• Independent reviewers checked every requirement, daily check and quiz question against the CDC text, in several rounds.
• VSP decides. The app helps you prepare. It does not replace plan review or inspection.
• Sightyard USPH is not affiliated with or endorsed by CDC.

Beta and known limits

Sightyard USPH is in beta. Content and functions may still change.

• Each user keeps their own projects. Sharing one project with a team is planned.
• Date fields follow the language setting of the device, so some devices show the U.S. date format.
• If you delete something on one device while another device is offline and also edits, the deleted item can come back after sync.
• The app is in English. CDC texts stay in English.

Send feedback and corrections to hello@sightyard.com.