4.1 To achieve success in ship construction, it is necessary for the ship owner and the ship builder to agree on the level of quality in the final product. Classification rules, regulatory requirements, and ship specifications all help to define an acceptable level of construction quality; however, this guidance alone is not sufficient. It is up to the shipbuilder, therefore, to describe the level of workmanship sufficiently that will be reflected in the delivered ship, and for the ship owner to communicate his expectations effectively for the final product.

4.2 It is the intent of this document to contribute to these objectives in the following ways:

4.2.1 To describe a reasonable acceptable level of workmanship for commercial vessels built in the United States.

4.2.2 To provide a baseline from which individual shipyards can begin to develop their own product and process standards in accordance with generally accepted practice in the commercial marine industry.

4.2.3 To provide a foundation for negotiations between the shipbuilder and the ship owner in reaching a common expectation of construction quality.

4.3 The acceptance criteria herein are based on currently practiced levels of quality generally achieved by leading international commercial shipbuilders. These criteria are not intended to be a hard standard with which all U.S. shipyards must comply. Rather, they are intended to provide guidance and recommendations in the key areas that play a major role in customer satisfaction and cost-effective ship construction.