I:\CIRC\MSC\01\1205.docINTERNATIONALMARITIMEORGANIZATION4ALBERTEMBANKMENTLONDONSE17SRTelephone:02075873152Fax:02075873210IMOERef.T4/4.01MSC.1/Circ.120526May2006GUIDELINESFORDEVELOPINGOPERATIONANDMAINTENANCEMANUALSFORLIFEBOATSYSTEMS1TheMaritimeSafetyCommittee,atitseighty-firstsession(10to19May2006),takingintoaccountthenumberofcasualtieswithlifeboatsystems,furtherrecognizingtheneedtoimprovemanualsforoperationandmaintenanceoflifeboatsystems,andhavingconsideredproposalsbytheSub-CommitteeonFireProtectionatitsfiftiethsession,approvedtheGuidelinesfordevelopingoperationandmaintenancemanualsforlifeboatsystems,assetoutintheannex.2MemberGovernmentsareinvitedtobringtheannexedGuidelinestotheattentionofallpartiesconcernedwiththeirapplication,asappropriate.***MSC.1/Circ.1205I:\CIRC\MSC\01\1205.docANNEXGUIDELINESFORDEVELOPINGOPERATIONANDMAINTENANCEMANUALSFORLIFEBOATSYSTEMS1ScopeandpurposeoftheguidelinesSeafarersoftenchangeshipsandsometimesarenotfamiliarwiththelifeboatsontheirships.Casualtieswithlifeboatsystemsareoftencausedbypoorunderstandingofthelifeboatsystems,especiallyreleasegearsystems.User-friendlinessofmanualsforlifeboatsystemsis,therefore,importanttohelppreventcasualties.Thepurposeoftheseguidelinesistoencouragedevelopmentofuser-friendlymanualsforoperationandmaintenanceoflifeboatsystemsincludinglaunchingappliances.Thesemanualsshouldbeeasytounderstand.Theguidelinesdemonstratetheappropriatelevelofdetailanduseofillustrationsinexplainingthesafeuseofcriticalsystems.Manufacturersoflifeboatsandlaunching/recoveryappliancesareinvitedtomakemanualseasytounderstand,takingintoaccounttheseguidelines.Theuseofvideomaterialsinconjunctionwithprintedmanualscanbeaneffectivetoolformarinerswhomaynotbeinclinedtoreadamanual.TheseguidelinesarenotapplicabletotheemergencyinstructionsrequiredbySOLASregulationIII/8,operatinginstructionssuchaspostersandsignsrequiredbySOLASregulationIII/9orotherbriefinstructionsforoperationoflifeboats.Theseguidelinesareformanualstobecarriedonshipsforusebyseafarers,andaccordinglythesectiononweeklyandmonthlyinspectionandmaintenancedoesnotrefertodetailedmaintenance/repairwork.Detailedmaintenance/repairworkshouldbeconductedbythemanufacturer’srepresentativeorapersonappropriatelytrainedandcertifiedbythemanufacturerfortheworkinaccordancewithMSC.1/Circ.1206.2CollaborationofmanufacturersofthelifeboatandthelaunchingapplianceAmanualforalifeboatsystemincludinglaunchingapplianceshouldbedevelopedwiththecollaborationofmanufacturersofthelifeboatandthelaunchingapplianceandpreferablybeasingledocument.Asaminimum,theuseofdifferentwordsforthesamegear/partsofthelifeboatsystemshouldbeeliminatedbythecollaborationofmanufacturersofthelifeboatandthelaunchingappliancetopreventmisunderstandingbyseafarers.Hereafter,theseguidelinesassumeamanualforalifeboatsystemincludesthelaunchingapplianceasaminimum,butseparatelifeboat,releasegear,andlaunchingappliancemanualsmaybeeffectiveifadequatelyco-ordinatedandusingthesamestyleofpresentationpertheseguidelines.3Contentsofamanualforalifeboatsystem3.1ItemstobeincludedAnoperationandmaintenancemanualforalifeboatsystemshouldinclude,asaminimum,thefollowingitems:.1overviewandspecificationofthelifeboatsystem;.2explanationofthestructureandworkingprincipleofthemajorpartsofthelifeboatsystemincludingreleasegearsystems;MSC.1/Circ.1205ANNEXPage2I:\CIRC\MSC\01\1205.doc.3operationofthelifeboatsystem;and.4routineinspectionandmaintenanceofthelifeboatsystem.3.2Organization,descriptionandlayoutofmanual3.2.1OutlineItisrecommendedthatamanualforalifeboatsystembedevelopedwiththefollowingmajordivisions:1Generaldescriptionofthewholelifeboatsystem.2Methodofcheckingproperclosureofreleasehooks.3Launchingoperation.4Recoveryoperation.5On-load/off-loadreleasegear.6Inspectionandmaintenance.3.2.2ExplanationofmajorcomponentsandtheirfunctionThestructureandworkingprincipleofthelifeboat’smajorcomponents,inparticulartheon-load/off-loadreleasegear,shouldbeexplainedusingfiguresandpreferablythree-dimensionalperspectives.Inaddition,theoperationofthereleasegearshouldbedescribedsequentially,usingshortphraseswrittenintheactivevoice.3.2.3OperationoflifeboatsystemincludingreleasegearsystemsTheoperationofthelifeboatsystemshouldbedescribedusingthefollowingelements:.1flowoftheoperationshouldbeexplained;.2detailofoperationshouldbeexplainedwithfigures.Operationandrelevantmovementofthepartsofthereleasegearshouldbedescribedwithillustrations/photos,preferablyusingannotationsandarrowstoshowdirectionofmovement;and.3hazards,precautionsandnotesshouldbeidentifiedwithsymbolsspecifictothelevelofrisk.Asanexampleofthevariouslevelsofriskandtheappropriateassociatedsymbols,thefollowingarerecommended:.1Forthehighestlevelofrisk,suchasintheexplanationof“on-loadreleaseoperation”,thefollowingsymbol(redbackground)shouldbeusedwithawarningstatementsimilartothefollowing:MSC.1/Circ.1205ANNEXPage3I:\CIRC\MSC\01\1205.docWarningThisoperationreleasesthelifeboatandmayresultinthelifeboatdroppingandcausingdeathorseriousinjuryifreleasedtoosoon.Note:Internationalstandardsymbols(ISO3864-1and