MASS UK Industry Conduct Principles and Code of Practice 2022 (V6)

14.10 OPERATION DEFINITION
14.11 AS LOW AS REASONABLY PRACTICABLE (ALARP)
14.10.1 A clearly defined outline for the expected operations of the MASS should be agreed to establish the nodes,
examples include:
14.11.1 All items listed will carry a certain risk. The aim of this exercise is to reduce these to as low as reasonably
practicable, by putting in place a required training level for the MASS operators.
n What will the MASS be doing whilst in operation?
n Where will the operation be conducted?
n Consider the MASS design and control room requirements and all associated equipment.
n What are the requirements of each discipline to allow safe and efficient operations?
n What are the potential issues and hazards that could be encountered whilst on operations, including
operational limitations for the vessel and a review of weather and sea state?
n Does the MASS use Dynamic Position Station Keeping Systems?
14.11.2 The ALARP principle relies on the risk levels being deemed appropriate with either the existing framework in
place, or with some additional mitigation (in this case training for the operators) in place.
14.11.3 If the results of the analysis show that the risk remains intolerable then further mitigation must be put in place.
There is of course always risk present even after adequate risk mitigation measures are in place, and some
residual risks are greater than others. At this level, mitigation may be considered acceptable on the basis that
the no further practicable measures can be put in place for this situation.
14.10.2 All disciplines should be considered at this phase from launch to return. Each element should be listed prior to
moving on to the next phase.
14.11.4 The ALARP principle is shown below in Figure 14-2.
14.10.3 Hazards Identification. The hazards, issues and difficulties of each of the operational elements outlined in
paragraph 14.9 should then be considered. Once again, this must be approached from a multi-disciplinary
viewpoint.
Figure 14-2: The ALARP Principle
RISK
14.10.4 Where possible, data and statistics from previous operations should be considered on a lessons identified basis
and presented in the report. As such MASS operators should be encouraged to report all near misses and
incidents.
14.10.5 Frequency Analysis. The Hazards and difficulties should then be assessed on two levels; firstly, by frequency.
Again, where possible, this can be greatly assisted by data or statistics. Otherwise it must be done on an
expected frequency basis given the operation and ship design as outlined in paragraph 14.9. This can be
re-assessed as a part of the continuous development as outlined in paragraph 14.12.4.
14.10.6 Consequence Analysis. As well as the frequency, the expected outcome must be noted. This must be considered
to indicate how strong any mitigation measures must be; less frequent issues with a low consequences may
need less action than others and sit in a tolerable region as outlined in the ALARP principle.
14.10.7 Current Training Level. The current training level of the chosen MASS operators must be known to establish if
they meet all the requirements already to enable them to mitigate the expected issues and difficulties.
14.10.8 Risk Evaluation. Does the current training level mitigate all the expected hazards and issues to a level
considered as low as reasonably possible or ALARP?
Intolerable Risk
Tolerable Risk
or
ALARP
Additional mitigation
required
Risk is reduced
and no further reasonable,
practicable measures
remain
The risk is reduced
to ALARP
14.10.9 Incident Reporting. Operators should capture and log information pertaining to all incidents, accidents and “near
misses” in order to improve crew training, operational efficiency and safety management. This information
should be used to continually improve vessel design, operational procedures and personnel training. See further
details at Chapter 16.
14.10.10 Operators of MASS should also encourage the use of external reporting systems such CHIRP Maritime. See
further details at Chapter 16.
14.12 OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
14.10.11 Operators should also establish internal confidential safety reporting systems to capture relevant information
from all involved with MASS operations, if these do not already exist under their current SMS.
14.12.1 In order to perform the gap analysis, the results from the above analysis must be compared to the chosen
MASS operators current training and knowledge. From here, gaps in the requirements based on the MASS
operations can be identified.
110 MASS UK Industry Conduct Principles and Code of Practice Version 6
MASS UK Industry Conduct Principles and Code of Practice Version 6 111