ECDIS Procedures Guide 2020 Edition

Top 20 Questions Asked at Inspection (updated 2020)

The 'Top 20' question banks are often used at inspection to gain an appreciation that regardless of certification,
the ECDIS operators have a complete understanding of the critical elements of their ECDIS. The questions require
an 'instinctive' answer as they are deemed safety critical, ie the ECDIS operator should be able to answer and
demonstrate without consulting a user guide or taking time to work out the answer as this would show that
routine safety related features are being overlooked.

Administration
l Confirm ECOIS procedures are embedded in SMS and all ECDIS operators understand and can demonstrate
settings such as:
a. Look-ahead limits for varying conditions
b. XTO on passage _
C. Appropriate layers for prevailing situation.
2 Confirm all ECDIS operators have completed generic training, type specific training and have an appropriate
familiarization checklist for the exact make and model.
3 Ensure a Cyber security policy is in place for ECDIS and industry best practice is being followed.
4 Provide evidence of the last 90-day passage or voyage, either through the ECDIS playback facility, or written
records.
5, Ensure updated to Pl 4.0.
6 Provide evidence of T&P plotting, including areas where T&P are not automatically updated on the ENC.
Appraisal
7 Review source data diagram/lowest CATZOC of concern for next passage and discuss how UKC policy is
affected.
Show examples of 'no-go' areas on the chart, highlighting dangerous areas that may be within Safety
Contour limits.
9 Select varying layers and set up the ECDIS displays for planning a route.
10. Provide evidence of scale 5 harbour chart for next destination.
Planning
1 1. Produce a fictitious route over land or a shallow patch of water, conduct the automatic route check function
and confirm the route check highlights to the ECDIS operator the potential danger.
12 Show menu page that selects appropriate attributes for above scan route.Ensure all potential hazards are
selected.
13. Show the menu where specific date and times for automatic route check can be selected and ensure
automatic route check was conducted over the duration of the intended passage to show any seasonal
objects or future hazards.
14 Clarify range of cross track corridor used for route check and ensure compliance with SMS guidance for
different areas, eg cross track (XTO) and size (pilotage, coastal, open ocean).
15. Demonstrate adding a manual 'chart note', for example, VHF reporting point.
16 Provide evidence of contingency planning such as abort points, 'no-go' areas, emergency anchorage areas,
Pl planning, etc.
Execution
17. Ensure audible alarm is turned on.
18 Turn on look-ahead or anti-grounding cone and confirm the understanding of safety settings as per company
SMS requirements.
19. Discuss DOW handover considerations.
20. Demonstrate how to plot an example nav warning from NAVTEX or VHF warning of a 'no-go' area. For
example, 'plot a diving operation in the following position xxx,xxx and add alarmable exclusion zone of
5 cables around the position on ECDIS'.