19 Priorities and categories
Clasification Society 2024 - Version 9.40
Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Resolutions - Maritime Safety Committee - Resolution MSC.252(83) - Adoption of the Revised Performance Standards for Integrated Navigation Systems (INS) - (Adopted on 8 October 2007) - Annex - Performance Standards for Integrated Navigation Systems (INS) - Module C - Alert management - 19 Priorities and categories

19 Priorities and categories

  19.1 Priorities of alerts

  19.1.1 The alert management should distinguish between the three priorities listed:

  • Alarms
  • Warnings and
  • Cautions

  19.1.2 Alarms should indicate conditions requiring immediate attention and action by the bridge team.

  19.1.3 Warnings should indicate changed conditions and should be presented for precautionary reasons which are not immediately hazardous but which may become so, if no action is taken.

  19.1.4 Cautions should indicate a condition which does not warrant an alarm or warning condition, but still requires attention and out of the ordinary consideration of the situation or of given information.

  19.1.5 Alerts additional to the alerts required by the organization should be assigned to an priority level using the criteria for classification.

  19.2 Criteria for classification of alerts

  19.2.1 Criteria for classification of alarms:

  • conditions requiring immediate attention and action by the bridge team to avoid any kind of hazardous situation and to maintain the safe navigation of the ship
  • or escalation required as alarm from a not acknowledged warning.

  19.2.2 Criteria for classification of warnings:

  • Conditions or situations which require immediate attention for precautionary reasons, to make the bridge team aware of conditions which are not immediately hazardous, but may become so.

  19.2.3 Criteria for classification of cautions:

  • awareness of a condition which still requires attention out of the ordinary consideration of the situation or of given information.

  19.3 Categories of alers

  19.3.1 Alerts should be separated for the alert handling in INS into two categories of alerts:

  19.3.1.1 Category A alerts

 Category A alerts are specified as alerts where graphical e.g. radar, ECDIS, information at the task station directly assigned to the function generating the alert is necessary, as decision support for the evaluation the alert related condition.

 Category A alerts should include alerts indicating:

  • danger of collision
  • danger of grounding.

  19.3.1.2 Category B alerts

 Category B alerts are specified as alerts where no additional information for decision support is necessary besides the information which can be presented at the central alert management HMI. Category B alerts are all alerts not falling under Category A.

  19.4 A classification in priorities and categories of alerts for INS and for alerts of the individual performance standards is attached as Appendix 5.


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