scope:

Foreword

The mission of ABS is to serve the public interest, as well as the needs of its clients, by promoting the security of life, property, and the natural environment.

The importance of the development of a positive safety culture has been recognized for some time, particularly in large-scale systems where the consequences of losses can be severe.

In safety-critical systems, the use of leading indicators has been proposed to identify areas of weakness in advance of adverse events, affording the possibility of taking action to avoid losses. This is in contrast to lagging indicators, such as numbers of accidents or incidents, which give indications of past performance.

Based on work with ABS clients, these Guidance Notes provide guidance on the self-assessment of a marine organization's Safety Culture, and the development of a Leading Indicators Program.

These Guidance Notes are applicable to all cargo-carrying commercial vessels. Guidance is provided in the form of questionnaires, datasheets, techniques of analysis, and worked examples.

These Guidance Notes become effective on the first day of the month of publication.

Users are advised to check periodically on the ABS website www.eagle.org to verify that this version of these Guidance Notes is the most current