ClassNK and Lovoy Want to Make SMS Manuals Easy for Seafarers to Use

ClassNK is working with consultancy Lovoy to make Safety Management System (SMS) procedures easier and more usable for the seafarer - and better for shipping. 

Lovoy points to a reality known to all seafarers: any shipping company's SMS procedures can get so complex that they are no longer user-friendly. This tendency will only increase as new fuels and emissions-reduction technologies come online. Lovoy sees value in making each company's SMS more useful for the frontline seagoing staff who use it every day, by using simple language and engaging mariners in the writing process.

With the signing of a new MOU, ClassNK and Lovoy will work together to turn overly complex SMSs into an opportunity for higher safety. 

"ClassNK and Lovoy will make lasting change by training companies to permanently stop their own people from putting unnecessary complexity into their SMSs," said Capt. Terje Lovoy, Senior Partner at Lovoy. 

Insurer NorthStandard recommends the Lovoy method for writing SMS procedures, including for often-ignored emergency procedures, which should be vessel-specific (but often are not). The insurer incorporates Lovoy's system into one of its safety management workshops. 

Japanese shipowner K-Line, which operates more than 420 vessels, has also used the Lovoy system to refine the SMS procedures for its tanker fleet. "We wanted an SMS written by our seafarers for our seafarers. We wanted to use internal resources. We did not want an SMS written by external consultants," K Line's Capt. Michinori Morohara. The feedback from seafarers was overwhelmingly positive, he said, with seagoing staff lauding the simplicity and ease of use of the new system.