1.2 Application of these Guidelines
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Circulars - Maritime Safety Committee - MSC.1/Circular.1455 – Guidelines for the Approval of Alternatives and Equivalents as Provided for in Various IMO Instruments – (24 June 2013) - Annex – Guidelines for the Approval of Alternatives and Equivalents as Provided for in Various IMO Instruments - 1 Introduction - 1.2 Application of these Guidelines

1.2 Application of these Guidelines

  1.2.1 The Guidelines are intended for use of both Administrations and submitters when dealing with an approval request for an alternative and/or equivalent design and serve to provide guidance on a variety of aspects requiring consideration when applying such a process. This includes the process in general, shortlists of required documents and considerations hereto as well as assessments of necessary qualifications to complete the process successfully.

  1.2.2 These Guidelines are intended for application when approving alternative and/or equivalency designs in general and specifically according to the provisions given for alternative design and arrangements in applicable statutory IMO instruments.

  1.2.3 The Guidelines serve to outline the methodology for the analysis and approval process for which the approval of an alternative and/or equivalent design is sought.

  1.2.4 When proposing an alternative design, one should keep in mind that the substitution of design measures to reduce risk with operational or procedural ones to claim equivalent safety needs to be thoroughly examined. Normally, this should not be permitted, and special care should be taken in order to confirm that design measures take priority over operational or procedural measures.

  1.2.5 For the application of these Guidelines to be successful, all stakeholders, including the Administration or its designated representative, owners, operators, designers and classification societies, should be in continuous communication from the onset of a specific proposal. Usually the approval of an alternative and/or equivalent design requires significantly more time in calculation and documentation than a standard design that complies with prescriptive regulation. However, the potential benefits of this approach include more options, cost-effective designs for unique applications and an improved knowledge of safety critical elements and loss potential.

Parent topic: 1 Introduction
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