Section 1 Introduction

1.1.1 This document provides specific guidance for the Special Consideration process in situations where Clients intend to apply materials in their designs which are outside the current scope of Lloyd’s Register’s (LR) Rules and Regulations, so that LR can provide assistance to the industry in these special cases.

1.1.2 The aim of this document is to describe the Special Consideration process in detailed steps, in order for Clients to receive a smooth and timely consideration for a particular material application.

1.1.3 This document is intended to be applied to Client designs with material applications which require ‘special consideration’ to reach equivalent levels of structural safety and material performance in service, compared with the relevant prescriptive LR Rules and Regulations.

1.2.1 Material applications requiring special consideration, hereinafter abbreviated as material applications, are defined as proposed material solutions that are beyond the scope of the current revisions of LR Rules and Regulations. These solutions will include tailored manufacturing and/or inspection requirements to be implemented by the Client. These requirements may be instead of, or supplementary to, the current Rule requirements.

1.2.2 Such material applications may involve many aspects, such as the associated material manufacturing processes, material specifications, material fabrication processes, inspection methods and service conditions, etc.

1.2.3 In general, the material applications being dealt with in this document will fall into one or more of the following categories:

• Material type and/or grade, out of the scope of standard materials in Rules for the Manufacture, Testing and Certification of Materials, July 2022;
• Standard and/or Non-standard material with a novel manufacturing process;
• Standard and/or Non-standard material with novel fabrication process;
• Standard and/or Non-standard material for novel applications;
• Where the Rules or Codes indicate that materials will be ‘specially considered’ or ‘subject to special consideration’.

1.3.1 Where it is identified at the material selection stage of design engineering that a material application is out of the scope of current Rules, and will require ‘special consideration’ since it falls into one or more of the categories listed in Ch Ch 1, 1.2 Scope of materials applications 1.2.3, the application shall be submitted to LR at the design appraisal stage at the latest. It is recommended to submit such applications at the earliest possible stage (i.e. at the concept phase of the project). The submission shall include the available information regarding the actual design of the structure and material specification in question. For details regarding the minimum submission content see Ch 1, 2.2 Step 1: Initial review of Client's proposal 2.2.2.

1.3.2 The process of special consideration is scalable according to the degree of novelty and/or deviation from the prescriptive requirements of the Rules and Regulations, the criticality of the item, complexity of design, and safety considerations, etc. Hence, the rigour, time and ultimately the cost required to review and assess each application will be tailored accordingly.

1.3.3 In ‘special consideration’ cases, reference should be made to the relevant part of the Rules and Regulations. These will be recorded as the primary Rule requirements to be satisfied prior to commencement of the initial review.

1.3.4 The Special Consideration process described in Ch 1, 2 Special consideration process of this document will result in a decision being issued to the Client based on the outcome of the assessment described in Ch 1, 2.5 Step 4: Review and technical justification and Surveyor involvement described in Ch 1, 2.6 Step 5: Verification of Client implementation of agreed measures .

1.3.5 Acceptance of a “specially considered” material application is in principle only valid for a specific application, i.e. detailing defined material application, with its design purposes and service conditions acting as the boundary conditions for acceptance.

1.3.6 The scope of an acceptance, whether it is for one single case, or for a series of cases or a product range, etc. is to be made clear in the decision to the Client.

1.3.7 Unless otherwise specified in this document, the relevant LR Rules, Regulations and Procedures governing the manufacturing of the product under special consideration shall be followed.