Code on Alerts and Indicators, 2009

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Overview

See also: Bridge Alert Management (BAM)

The IMO's Code on Alerts and Indicators, 2009, is intended to provide general design guidance and to promote uniformity of type, location and priority for alerts and indicators required by the SOLAS Convention, including relevant performance standards, and by the MARPOL Convention, as well as by other associated instruments and codes.

The Code consolidates in one document the references to priorities, aggregation, grouping, locations and types, including colours and symbols, of shipboard alerts and indicators. The Code updates, revises and replaces the Code on Alarms and Indicators, 1995.

IMO resolution

• Resolution A.1021(26), published January 2010, Code on Alerts and Indicators, 2009

Definitions

A.1021(26)

Defintions
Alert	Alerts announce abnormal situations and conditions requiring attention. Alerts are divided in four priorities: emergency alarms, alarms, warnings and cautions: Emergency alarm: An alarm which indicates that immediate danger to human life or to the ship and its machinery exists and that immediate action should be taken Alarm: An alarm is a high priority of an alert. Condition requiring immediate attention and action, to maintain the safe navigation and operation of the ship Warning: Condition requiring no immediate attention or action. Warnings are presented for precautionary reasons to bring awareness of changed conditions which are not immediately hazardous, but may become so if no action is taken Caution: Lowest priority of an alert. Awareness of a condition which does not warrant an alarm or warning condition, but still requires attention out of the ordinary consideration of the situation or of given information
Indicator	Visual indication giving information about the condition of a system or equipment
Signal	Audible indication giving information about the condition of a system or equipment
Required alert or indicator	An alert or indicator required by IMO instruments referred to in paragraph 1.1. Any other alerts and indicators are referred to in this Code as non-required alerts or indicators
Call	The request for contact, assistance and/or action from an individual to another person or group of persons, i.e. the complete procedure of signalling and indicating this request
Silence	Manual stopping of an audible signal
Acknowledge	Manual response to the receipt of an alert or call
Aggregation	Combination of individual alerts to provide one alert (one alert represents many individual alerts), e.g., imminent slowdown or shutdown of the propulsion system alarm at the navigation bridge
Grouping	Generic term meaning the arrangement of individual alerts on alert panels or individual indicators on indicating panels, e.g., steering gear alerts at the workstation for navigating and manoeuvring on the navigation bridge, or door indicators on a watertight door position indicating panel at the workstation for safety on the navigation bridge
Prioritization/Priority	The ordering of alerts in terms of their severity, function, sequence, etc

See also

• Bridge Alert Management (BAM)