Page 65: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 1997)

Serial Communication for Remote Monitoring

Local Engine A RS-422

Room Control

To Bridge Control

RS-422 • Local Engine

Room Control

Clutch/

Gearbox

Redundant MPU'; Clutch/

Gearbox

Actuator

Port

Engine: • Cylinder Temps > Air Pressure • Bearing Temps > Oil Pressure

Cylinder Temps

Air Pressure

Bearing Temps

Oil Pressure mmm & nswwa BMP^M

New USCG Safety Program Piloted On RoRo Vessels by Zbigniew J. Karaszewski, chie

Shipbuilding Design and Operations acilitations, USCG

The lira. Coast Guard (USCG) is develop- ing anrimproved approach to addressing the safew of marine systems, in which risk-based technology (RBT) will play a significant role.

USCG calls this new safety assessment effort thfe Marine Safety Evaluation Program

ASTEP). MSTEP has been designed to pro- fide the maritime industry with methodolo- gies and clear guidance for addressing sys- fm safety criteria and alternative strategies regulatory compliance, he MSTEP effort is being supported by a coafitipn consisting of marine industrial inter- ests, acidemia, engineering consultants and governmenSgroups. This wide spectrum of expertise was assembled to assure the utility of MSTEP for the mOTttjme industry.

To demonstrate the utilifysof the MSTEP risk- based approach for deternmKmg alternative regulatory compliance, variou^candidate systems were considered for protsf-of-con- cept. The basic selection criteria for e candi- date system was that the system hava a high cost-to-safety ratio, and also be a aood rep- resentative of all other applicajjrte systems.

The MSTEP team chose the carcjo hold light- ing system installed aboaro U.S. Maritime

Administration (MarAdf-eflagged Cape H and Cape W RoRo vessels. This system was chosen because o£flts high refit cost for com- pliance with federal regulations and class society rules.

The analysislof the cargo hold lighting sys- tem set out to answer two essential questions: was the current nazardous location classifica- tion of the cargo Soaces consistent with the true safety risks; and/^ere installed lighting fixtures adequate if theNxirgo space was reclassified?

Risk-Based Technology (RBT)

MSTEP proposes to use RBT to evaluate the safety risks of complex ship systems. RBT uses a top-down approach to define hazards and accident scenarios, aj>«r is based on answering three fundamentals: what can go wrong (si); what i^i^ikelihood (li); and what are the consequences (xi)? A rank-ordered list of major risk contributors is developed, and thereafter, efforts and resources are expended on systems with the highest conse- quences OTid frequency of failure.

Proof-Of-Concept

In the presennoroof-of-concept, a team of safety analysts anas^hip systems experts per- formed a Preliminary Hazards Analysis (PrHA) to demonstrate trVs RBT application.

The decision-making procesi used for decid- ing whether to retain or replace lights cur- rently installed on AFP RoRp ships was then executed.

PrHA Results

Over the courSe of the evaluation, the team documented more than 50 potential accident lii llnil lirfn nnfii ml I conse- quences.

Conclusions

The evaluation concluded that there is a risk of personal injury due to inadequate emer- gency lighting for safety inspections, and the likelihood of am^xplosion (with current lights providing an ignitiotKaurce) is low. Thjj based on the amount of fuel that is required to be spilled and its ability to reach lower explosive limits at the location of the current lights. Thus, reclassification of the compart- ments in order to retain the current lights is agjawpqate.

The Man^tLlighting system analysis^ ed in a savings of more than million for five ships. Operational, intrinsic design, and other risk mitigating features were given credit and provided the basis for the decision to retain the existing lights.

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April, 1997 Circle 359 on Reader Service Card 65