3.1 General
Clasification Society 2024 - Version 9.40
Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Circulars - Maritime Safety Committee - MSC/Circular.891 – Guidelines for the On-Board Use and Application of Computers – (Adopted on 21 December 1998) - Annex - Guidelines for the On-Board Use and Application of Computers - 3 General Requirements - 3.1 General

3.1 General

  3.1.1 Computer-based systems should fulfill the functional requirements of the system under control for all operating conditions including emergency conditions, taking into account:

  • Danger to persons
  • Environmental impact
  • Damage to equipment
  • Usability
  • Operability of non-computer devices and systems, etc.

  3.1.2 If process times for functions of the system are shorter than the reaction times of the operator and therefore damage cannot be prevented by manual intervention, means of automatic intervention should be provided.

  3.1.3 A computer-based system should have sufficient capability to:

  • perform necessary autonomous operations,
  • accept user commands, inform the user correctly,
  • under all operating conditions including emergency.

  3.1.4 System capability should provide adequate response times for all functions, taking into consideration the maximum load and maximum number of simultaneous tasks, including network communication speed, under normal and abnormal process conditions.

  3.1.5 Computer-based systems should be designed in such a way that they can be used without special previous knowledge, otherwise appropriate assistance should be provided for the user, as specified in section 6 - Training.

  3.1.6 Computer-based systems should be protected against unintentional or unauthorized modification of programs and data.


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