191: Responsibility/Authority Issue
Definition/Typical Issues
Did the lack of definition of responsibility and authority contribute to the incident? Was responsibility for the operation unclear? Was the incident the result of conflicting authority? Could responsibility or authority for the operation be understood in more than one way? Was a lack of specificity in responsibility and authority a contributing factor to the incident or its mitigation? Did confusion exist over who was responsible for the activity? Did an activity exist for which no one took responsibility? Did the lack of documented responsibility and authority contribute to the incident?
Examples
Example 1
- A technical limit for the length of time allowed between air flow checks on a stack exhaust system was violated. The operations department considered the checks to be maintenance items. The maintenance department considered the checks to be an operations item. Responsibility for the checks was not defined.
Example 2
- The responsibility and authority of some shore management personnel were not documented within the company's management system. As a result, new shipboard officers only became familiar with who was responsible for what by word of mouth. This sometimes resulted in confusion about who to contact in regard to various shipboard issues.
Typical Recommendations
- Review operations where responsibility and authority are assigned to more than one person, and ensure that the descriptions are specific enough to eliminate confusion.
- Provide sufficient detail within descriptions of responsibility and authority to fully clarify what is encompassed.
- Develop a means of quickly resolving responsibility and authority conflicts if they arise.
- Establish responsibilities and reinforce accountabilities for safety, reliability, quality, security, and other program roles.
- Give personnel the necessary authority and support commensurate with their responsibilities.
Cross-References
| Version 10 Element(s) | |
|---|---|
| Node ID | Node Name |
| 63 | Responsibility for Item/Activity Not Adequately Defined |
| Maritime Element(s) | |
|---|---|
| Node ID | Node Name |
| 200 | Responsibility/Authority |
| 201 | Responsibility/Authority Not Defined |
| 202 | Responsibility/Authority Unclear |
| 203 | Ambiguous |
| 204 | Conflicting/Overlapping |
| 205 | Not Documented |