Purpose
1 These guidelines describe the process for the development, verification,
implementation and monitoring of goal-based standards (GBS) to support regulatory
development within IMO. GBS establish "rules for rules".
2 It should be noted that these guidelines are generic and where they use phrases such
as "required level of safety", this does not imply any preference for a specific
technical approach.
Definitions and terminology
3 A goal-based standards framework consists of goal-based standards and
the associated detailed requirements of rules and regulations for ships (see figure 1).
An example of a structure of goal-based regulations is included in the appendix 1.
4 Accident is an unintended event involving fatality, injury, ship loss or
damage, other property loss, damage or environmental damage.
5 Goal-based standards are high-level standards and procedures that are to
be met through regulations, rules and standards for ships. GBS are comprised of at least
one goal, functional requirement(s) associated with that goal, and verification of
conformity that rules/regulations meet the functional requirements including goals.
6 Risk is the combination of the frequency and the severity of the
consequence.
7 Rule/regulation commentary is an explanation of what functional
requirement(s) is (are) intended to be covered by the rule/regulation (section or
chapter), and how it is intended to be covered, including a synopsis of the analysis
performed to prove that the rules/regulations conform to the functional requirements the
rules/regulations intend to cover.
8 Safety is the absence of unacceptable levels of risk.
Basic principles
9 IMO goal-based standards are:
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.1 broad, over-arching safety, environmental and/or security standards that ships
are required to meet during their lifecycle;
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.2 the required level to be achieved by the requirements applied by classification
societies and other recognized organizations, Administrations and IMO;
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.3 clear, demonstrable, verifiable, long-standing, implementable and achievable,
irrespective of ship design and technology; and
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.4 specific enough in order not to be open to differing interpretations.
Goals (tier I)
10 Goals are high-level objectives to be met. A goal
should address the issue(s) of concern and reflect the required level of
safety.
Functional requirements (tier II)
11 Functional requirements provide
the criteria to be complied with in order to meet the goals. Once a goal has been set,
functional requirements should therefore be developed.
12 In order to fulfil the
basic objectives of Goal Based Standards functional requirements should comply with the
following:
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.1 functional requirements should cover all areas necessary to meet the goal;
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.2 functional requirements should address all relevant hazards;
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.3 functional requirements should provide the criteria for compliance with the
goal, i.e. the criteria against which regulations and rules are justified/verified
by tier III;
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.4 functional requirements should be independent from technical realization for
leaving space for further technological development; and
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.5 clearly describe what function has to be achieved.
In order to comply with .1 and .2 of the list above, functional requirements should
be based on an identification and ranking of hazards for the area under consideration.
Functional requirements may be developed in hierarchical order considering different
layers starting from a generic level and be supported by functional requirements
prescribing more precisely the function required. An example for the hierarchical
structure of functional requirements is found in the appendix 2 to this guidelines.
13 Functional requirements should be formulated considering the following three
elements:
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.1 description: a specific and short explanation of the required function;
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.2 rationale: assignment of hazards to be mitigated by the function under
consideration; and
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.3 expected performance: description of the necessary function in quantitative
terms. This description should cover all aspect necessary for verifying compliance
and the conditions under which these have to be reached.
The hierarchical set from generic to specific functional requirements in
conjunction should consider the elements listed above. These elements of functional
requirements should be formulated in a way avoiding any reference to existing technical
solutions, e.g. by considering examples. Furthermore, functional requirements should
provide the background for regulations and rules and therefore the relation between both
functional requirements and associated regulations/rules should be unambiguous. Examples
for formulating functional requirements is found in appendix 2 of these guidelines.
14 Figure 2 illustrates a simplified example of how goal-based functional
requirements for ship structure could be derived.
Verification of conformity (tier III)
15 Verification of conformity provides the instruments necessary for demonstrating and
verifying that the associated rules and regulations for ships conform to the goals and
functional requirements. The verification process should be focused on conformity with
the functional requirements. The verification process should be transparent and result
in a consistent outcome irrespective of the evaluator.
16 Verification of conformity should establish the method and criteria to be applied
during the verification process, and should consider the following elements:
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.1 identification of the functional requirement(s) that are being addressed by the
rules/regulations;
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.2 extent to which the rules/regulations cover the functional requirements and
contribute towards meeting the goal(s);
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.3 rule/regulation commentary;
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.4 technical documentation, which may include:
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.4.1 mechanism of how the rules/regulations meet the functional requirements
(operational, technical, design, etc.);
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.4.2 explanation, including technical background information, of the way the
rule/regulation was formulated/drafted; and
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.4.3 methodology used to derive the rule/regulation along with supporting
rationale/justification;
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.5 quality assurance procedures applied throughout rule/regulation development
process; and
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.6 methods for obtaining feedback on the effectiveness of the rules/regulations
and for promoting continuous improvement.
17 Verification of conformity should:
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.1 be based on techniques varying from first principle models to historic data;
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.2 be based on analyses using proven and established technology;
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.3 be based on defined clear qualitative and quantitative criteria with a
preference of quantitative values; and
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.4 check whether currently known modes and causes of failure are covered;
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.5 be verified by independent auditors and/or appropriate IMO organs, as decided
by IMO.
18 The developer of the rules/regulations under consideration is responsible for
performing an analysis that the rules/regulations conform to the functional requirements
the rules/regulations intend to cover.
Rules and regulations for ships (tier IV)
19 Rules and regulations for ships are the detailed requirements developed by IMO,
national Administrations and/or classification societies and applied by national
Administrations and/or classification societies acting as recognized organizations in
order to meet the goals and functional requirements. These detailed requirements become
a part of a GBS framework when they have been verified as conforming to the GBS.
Industry practices and standards (tier V)
20 Industry standards, codes of practice and safety and quality systems for
shipbuilding, ship operation, maintenance, training, manning, etc., may be referenced in
the rules/regulations. The responsibility for justifying the suitability of such
industry standards and practices, when referenced in a rule set, rests with the
rule/regulation submitter. This justification should be provided during the verification
of conformity process.
Monitoring
21 Monitoring is a method of evaluating the effectiveness of goals (tier I), functional
requirements (tier II), rules and regulations (tier IV) and standards/practices (tier V)
as well as attempting to identify risks not addressed in the initial rules/regulations
development. In order to verify that the risk of shipping is kept as low as reasonably
practicable, GBS framework should be continuously monitored and systematically analysed.
The degree of detail for the data recording depends on the item to be monitored.
22 As illustrated by figure 1 of these guidelines, two monitoring processes are
distinguished:
23 The monitoring system to be established should address (list without any
prioritization):
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.1 safety of passengers;
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.2 matters related to society;
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.3 occupational safety and health of seafarers;
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.4 safety of ship;
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.5 protection of environment; and
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.6 protection of cargo.
24 For both processes monitoring should consider, but not be limited to, historical
data, such as casualty reports, in-service experience, accident investigation, incident
reports, near miss reports, new scientific research results as published in the
industry, as well as risk analysis.
25 Monitoring responsibilities should be assigned with respect to monitoring tasks as
follows:
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.1 tier I:
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.2 tier II:
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.1 Monitoring (including data collection): Sub-Committees
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.2 Analysis: Sub-Committees
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.3 Evaluation: Sub-Committees
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.3 tier IV:
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.1 Rules: monitoring (including data collection) and analysis by rule maker,
evaluation by rule maker, supervision by IMO
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.2 Requirements: monitoring and analysis by IMO/Sub-Committees, evaluation
by IMO/Sub-Committees, rule maker.
26 The organization(s) responsible for the monitoring and analysis is (are) also
responsible for the development and update of the reporting format.