A Risk-Informed Approach to Performance Assurance - Structural Integrity of Offshore Wind Turbines - page 79

BOX 4-4
Goal-Based Standards Applicable
to the Maritime Industry
As described earlier, the rules for design and construction of
ships are developed by classification societies in conformance
with national and international regulations. The regulatory
authorities concentrated on issues of safety and environmental
performance and left standards for hull structural design, mate-
rials, coatings, and construction largely in the hands of the clas-
sification societies. Comparison of the various classification rules
revealed significant differences in structural requirements and
expected performance. With encouragement from both national
authorities who sought a more consistent level of structural reli-
ability and safety and industry representatives who sought a
more level playing field where reduced robustness in the ship's
structure and acceptance of higher safety risks were not used for
competitive advantage, IMO developed a set of goal-based stan-
dards (IMO 2010). These standards establish minimum objec-
tives with which all classification rules must comply.
The standards consist of three tiers.
Tier 1: Goals
Tier 1 defines the high-level objective. An example of a Tier 1 goal
is that ships shall be designed and constructed to be safe and envi-
ronmentally friendly throughout their design lifetimes (when
properly operated and maintained under the appropriate condi-
tions). Further definition of terms can be given (e.g., that “ safe
and environmentally friendly means the ship shall have adequate
strength, integrity, and stability to minimize the risk of loss of the
ship or pollution to the marine environment due to structural
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