CIRM/BIMCO Pilot Project on SW Maintenance to begin in 2017

The Draft Standard on Software Maintenance of Shipboard Equipment has been developed by the CIRM/BIMCO Joint Working Group on Software Maintenance, in response to concerns over the lack of an internationally recognised industry standard in place to regulate the maintenance of shipboard software.

The standard was developed with the input of manufacturers, service providers and shipping companies, and an earlier draft was circulated to a group of shipping associations for their review and comment.

CIRM & BIMCO are currently collaborating on a “Software Maintenance of Shipboard Equipment” Pilot Project, the purpose of which is to plan and undertake a small-scale trial implementation of the Draft Standard in order to evaluate the practicality and efficacy of its requirements.

This pilot project will gain in situ experience by having the different stakeholders (known as Roles) perform software maintenance under real circumstances in accordance with the requirements of the Draft Standard.

The pilot project will be used to assess whether the Draft Standard is “fit-for-purpose” by:

  1. Identifying functional content, shortcomings or unnecessary content;
  2. Recommending improvements, which may be tried in practice.

The Pilot Project commenced with a Kick-Off meeting on 1st July 2016, and continued with a Technical Workshop on 11th October 2016. The actual trial implementation is scheduled to begin on 1st January 2017.

The Secretariat will keep CIRM members informed of progress.