12.1 Activity Specific Operating Guidelines (ASOG)
Key Takeaways
- An ASOG is an activity-specific bridge decision tool that maps equipment and environmental status to graded actions — not a generic SMS procedure page
- Typical status colours are green (continue), advisory/yellow (notify, heighten awareness, consider modifying the task), and red (suspend, abort, or move to a safe condition)
- ASOG rows link plant and system states — generators online, bus configuration, PRS enabled, thrusters available, weather/current — to continue/notify/suspend/abort responses
- Ownership sits with the vessel/company DP authority chain (often Master, DP superintendent, and worksite client); the ASOG is reviewed when activity, location, plant, or risk changes
- Time to terminate must be built into ASOG limits so critical external work can be stopped safely before conditions exceed residual capability
From philosophy to a traffic-light decision sheet
Class notation, FMEA, worst-case failure (WCF), and consequence analysis explain what the plant can survive. They do not, by themselves, tell the DPO what to do at 02:00 when a generator trips and a laser target is degraded. That bridge-level decision tool is the Activity Specific Operating Guidelines (ASOG) — sometimes called activity-specific operating guidelines, DP operating guidelines, or a company-branded equivalent. Industry guidance (notably IMCA operational practice) expects vessels to define clear limits and responses for the work at hand; the ASOG is how most DP crews implement that expectation.
On Induction MCQs and Simulator debriefs, ASOG questions test whether you treat it as a living, activity-bound decision matrix, not a binder of generic safety slogans.
What an ASOG is (definition for exams)
An ASOG is a structured set of limits and responses tailored to a specific DP activity (for example saturation diving, platform approach, heavy lift critical phase, ROV close work, pipe-lay, or open-water standby). It lists key equipment and environmental parameters and assigns each a status colour with a matching action. When a parameter leaves the normal band, the DPO does not invent a response: the ASOG already maps the condition to continue, notify, modify, suspend, or abort.
| ASOG is… | ASOG is not… |
|---|---|
| Activity-specific decision guidance for this job at this location | A one-size-fits-all SMS chapter used unchanged for every voyage |
| A bridge/worksite tool linking plant status to operational action | Only an engineer’s generator start schedule |
| Colour-coded status → response logic (green / advisory / red) | A substitute for FMEA design calculations |
| Agreed with company and often client for the task | A secret personal DPO checklist never shown to the Master |
| Updated when risk, plant, or activity changes | Permanent wallpaper that never needs review |
[!IMPORTANT] Exam trap: “The ASOG is the vessel’s generic SMS emergency procedure for any casualty.” Wrong framing. SMS remains company safety management; the ASOG is the DP activity-specific bridge tool that converts equipment and environment status into graded operational actions for this task.
Colour status: green, advisory (yellow), red
Most ASOGs use a traffic-light (or multi-band) scheme. Exact company colours and intermediate bands vary, but exam-level meaning is stable:
| Status | Typical meaning | Typical DPO / worksite action |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Within normal limits for the activity; residual capability after WCF remains adequate | Continue the task; maintain normal monitoring and logging |
| Advisory / yellow | Degraded but still controllable; margin reduced or a single failure path is closer | Notify Master/client/worksite; heighten monitoring; prepare contingency; consider modifying the task (heading, footprint, concurrent work) |
| Red | Limits breached or residual capability after design failure no longer acceptable for the activity | Suspend critical external work, abort the activity phase, recover people/equipment, and move to a safe condition |
Some company matrices add amber bands, “blue” recovery states, or separate columns for “advise client” versus “prepare to terminate.” Learn the principle: green = continue, advisory = notify and manage risk, red = stop the critical activity safely. Do not invent a fourth philosophy that says red means “keep going and hope.”
Linking plant status to actions
A good ASOG is not only weather numbers. It ties observable plant and system states to responses. Typical rows include:
| Parameter family | Example green criteria | Example advisory / red triggers | Linked action idea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generators online | Minimum gensets and spinning reserve per CAM/activity | One set offline; reserve below threshold | Start standby; notify; if red, suspend critical work |
| Bus configuration | Open bus (or proven closed-bus CAM arrangement) | Unexpected closed bus; protection inhibit | Restore CAM config or stop critical phase |
| Thrusters available | Minimum thrusters / force axes per residual capability | Thruster fail / deselected | Consequence check; ASOG downgrade if residual lost |
| PRS enabled | Required independent references voting | Loss of one PRS family; high rejection rate | Select alternate PRS; advisory; red if below min set |
| Sensors (gyro/MRU/wind) | Redundant healthy sensors | Dual failure path emerging | Maintain voting; prepare abort if red |
| Environment | Wind, wave, current within analysed limits | Rising trend toward limit | Optimise heading; notify; terminate with time margin |
| Position / footprint | Within agreed watch circle | Growing excursion; consequence analysis alarm | Investigate; follow graded ASOG path |
| Worksite interface | Dive/crane/ROV status compatible with DP mode | Concurrent high-risk operations stacking | Coordinate stop of external work |
The power of the matrix is decision speed under stress. When a generator trips during diving, the DPO should already know whether that state is yellow (notify dive control, start standby, continue only if residual capability holds) or red (begin controlled recovery). Arguing philosophy after the trip is too late.
Time to terminate
Time to terminate is the time required to safely conclude the external activity — recover divers, set down a load, disconnect a hose, clear the 500 m zone approach path — and move the vessel to a safer condition. ASOG environmental and equipment limits must account for that duration. If weather is rising and it takes forty minutes to recover divers, you cannot wait until red weather limits are already exceeded before starting recovery. Exam stems that mention “time to terminate” are testing proactive stop decisions, not last-second panic.
Ownership: who owns the ASOG?
Ownership is organisational, not “whoever printed the table.” Typical roles:
| Role | Ownership contribution |
|---|---|
| Company / DP authority | Sets policy that ASOGs are required; defines standards and approval process |
| Master | Overall vessel safety; ensures the active ASOG matches the intended activity and is briefed |
| Senior DPO / DP operator on watch | Applies the ASOG continuously; initiates colour-status actions and communications |
| Chief Engineer / ECR | Confirms plant configuration rows (generators, bus, thrusters available) are achievable and true |
| Client / worksite representative | Agrees activity risk, simultaneous operations limits, and notification/abort paths |
| Dive / crane / ROV supervisor | Owns the external activity timeline that drives time-to-terminate |
On the exam, if asked “who decides to abort when the ASOG goes red,” the safe framing is: the agreed ASOG authority chain on the vessel (Master / DPO / worksite protocol) — not a random deck rating and not “wait for shore management email.” The DPO’s duty is to declare status and act within that chain without delay.
When the ASOG is written and updated
An ASOG is created or selected for the planned activity during operational planning (pre-job, SIMOPS review, DP setup meeting). It must be reviewed and updated when any of the following change materially:
- Activity type — dive support ASOG is not a standby ASOG.
- Location and proximity hazard — open water versus under a platform boom.
- Plant configuration or defects — thruster out of service, PRS unavailable, protection system degraded.
- Weather window and seasonal limits — forecast invalidates previous green bands.
- Client or regulatory constraints — new simultaneous operations or restricted zones.
- Lessons from trials, incidents, or FMEA revisions — residual capability numbers change.
A common exam and real-world failure mode is using yesterday’s TAM standby ASOG for today’s CAM dive. Colour bands, minimum generators, and abort criteria will be wrong. Another failure is leaving an ASOG unchanged after a thruster is locked out for maintenance: green rows that assume six thrusters become fiction.
Worked ASOG scenarios
Scenario A — Yellow generator path. During ROV work near a structure, one of four online gensets trips. Spinning reserve falls into the advisory band. ASOG requires: notify Master and client, start standby immediately, reassess thruster power margin, continue only if residual after WCF remains acceptable. The DPO does not silently “hope the weather stays calm.”
Scenario B — Red PRS path. Two independent PRS families drop out; only one family remains. For Class 2-style critical work the ASOG is red: suspend the critical phase, move clear if required, restore references before restarting. Continuing “because position still looks good” ignores single-failure philosophy.
Scenario C — Rising weather and time to terminate. Wind is still green but trend is steep and divers need thirty minutes to recover. ASOG / company policy starts controlled recovery while still in advisory rather than waiting for red. That is correct time-to-terminate thinking.
Scenario D — Wrong document. A candidate treats the ASOG as a maintenance planner or as the FMEA itself. The FMEA proves residual capability; the ASOG operates within that proof for a named activity.
Exam traps for ASOG items
| Trap | Correct framing |
|---|---|
| ASOG = generic SMS for any emergency | ASOG is activity-specific DP operating limits and responses |
| Green/yellow/red are only for weather | Colours cover equipment and environment |
| Red means keep going carefully | Red means suspend/abort and move to safe condition |
| Only engineers own generator rows | DPO applies the matrix; engineers confirm plant truth |
| One ASOG forever | Update when activity, plant, location, or risk changes |
| Consequence analysis alarm is decorative | It is often an ASOG advisory/red trigger requiring graded action |
Operator habits that match the ASOG
- Brief the active ASOG at handover: current colour status, defects, open actions.
- Verify plant rows match reality (generators, bus, thrusters, PRS) before critical work starts.
- On any degradation, find the row, declare status, execute the prescribed communication and action.
- Build time to terminate into early decisions — do not wait for red if recovery is long.
- Never “improve” green limits unilaterally to keep the client happy; change requires proper authority and documentation.
Bottom line: the ASOG is the activity-specific bridge matrix that links equipment and environmental status to continue / notify / suspend / abort actions. Know the colour meanings, the plant rows it covers, who owns and updates it, and how time to terminate forces early stop decisions. On the exam and on watch, when status changes, follow the ASOG — do not freestyle.
An ASOG (Activity Specific Operating Guidelines) is best described as:
In a position-keeping context, the green / advisory (yellow) / red levels in an ASOG generally correspond to:
Why must an ASOG be reviewed or rewritten when the vessel changes from open-water standby to saturation diving under a platform?
A generator trip during critical DP work drops spinning reserve into the advisory band of the active ASOG. What should the DPO do first in line with good practice?