Improving Operational Safety on Ships

In November last year, Lloyd's Register announced the release of Mariner. This new operational risk assessment software meets the industry need to help ship operators identify and better manage risk in their shipboard operations. Developed by Lloyd's Register over a four-year period, it incorporates substantial input from industry leaders responsible for managing safety in shipping companies. Mariner software helps ship operators achieve the safety management objectives of the international safety management (ISM) code.

Risk assessment principles are used to review shipboard operations that have implications for safety and business losses. In addition to its primary function for carrying out operational risk assessments, Mariner incorporates other applications making it a comprehensive safety management tool. These applications include health surveillance, incident reporting, environmental management systems and accident statistics based on the OCIMF Marine Injury Reporting Guidelines. The software helps staff identify hazards within shipboard operations in a structured manner, enabling them to recommend new controls to manage, minimise or negate the effects of these hazards. It also helps shipboard staff to familiarise themselves with both company procedures and industry codes and guidelines. This allows continuous improvement to be made of safety management systems by identifying where controls can be modified, creating improvements in shipboard operations.

Importantly, Mariner does not introduce any additional layers of paperwork to on-board management systems. Instead of traditional paper methods, it provides an in-built messaging system as a feature of the software that allows paperless exchange of information such as risk assessments, accident reports and near-miss reports.