Safety management systems
A safety management system (SMS) is a systematic approach to managing safety. We provide tools and resources to help you assess the health of your SMS.
Your SMS should be based on a risk assessment of your operation and explain how you manage safety on your vessel.
The SMS requirements are contained in:
- Part E of the National Standard for Commercial Vessels—Class 1, 2 and 3 vessels
- Part F2 of the National Standard for Commercial Vessels—Class 4 vessels.
The owner, operator, master and crew of each vessel should all be involved in carrying out the risk assessment and in developing, reviewing and updating the SMS.
While not all vessels are required to have an SMS under the National Standard for Commercial Vessels (NSCV), we encourage you to develop and maintain an SMS for your vessel and operation. An SMS allows you to demonstrate you are meeting your general safety duties and your workplace health and safety responsibilities.
Resources to help you develop an SMS
- Risk management in the national system—a practical guide on how to as part of your SMS, identify hazards, conduct a risk assessment, implement control measures and review risks.
- Emergency procedures flipchart—ideas for developing and writing emergency procedures.
Below are some sample safety management systems for different types of operations:
- Class 1 Operation—complex operation
- Class 1 Operation—less complex operation
- Class 3B Operation
- Class 3E Operation
- Class 4D Operation
- Class 4E Operation
How can I assess my SMS?
Use the SMS verification tool to assess the health of your SMS. There are two different SMS verification tools, choose the one appropriate to your vessel:
You may also contact AMSA or your local marine safety agency to help you review and assess your SMS, or to get information about meeting your general safety duties.