FORMAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT - FSA

What might go wrong? = Identification of hazards (a list of all relevant accident scenarios with potential causes and outcomes)

How bad and how likely? = Assessment of risks (evaluation of risk factors);

Can matters be improved? = Risk control options (devising regulatory measures to control and reduce the identified risks)

What would it cost and how much better would it be? = Cost benefit assessment (determining cost effectiveness of each risk control option);

What actions should be taken? = Recommendations for decision-making (information about the hazards, their associated risks and the cost effectiveness of alternative risk control options is provided).

Application of FSA may be particularly relevant to proposals for regulatory measures that have far reaching implications in terms of costs to the maritime industry or the administrative or legislative burdens that may result.

FSA is a structured and systematic methodology, aimed at enhancing maritime safety, including protection of life, health, the marine environment and property, by using risk and cost/benefit assessment.

It can be used as tool to help in the evaluation of new regulations or making a comparison between existing and possibly improved regulations, with a view to achieving a balance between the various technical and operational issues including the human element, and between safety and costs.

This is achieved by providing a clear justification for proposed regulatory measures and allowing comparison of different options of such measures to be made. This is in line with the basic philosophy of FSA in that it can be used as a tool to facilitate a transparent decision-making process. In addition, it provides a means of being proactive, enabling potential hazards to be considered before a serious accident occurs.
 

FSA represents a fundamental change from what was previously a largely piecemeal and reactive regulatory approach to one which is proactive, integrated, and above all based on risk evaluation and management in a transparent and justifiable manner thereby encouraging greater compliance with the maritime regulatory framework, in turn leading to improved safety and environmental protection.

FSA is highly technical and complex. But it does offer a way forward and a means of escaping from the dilemma of the past in which action was too often put off until something went wrong - with the result that the actions taken often owed more to public opinion and political considerations than they did to technical merit.