Operational risk assessment of dynamic positioning systems under dempster–shafer theory and FMECA approach

Dynamic Positioning (DP) systems are significant for maintaining ship position during offshore operations, where failure may lead to operational risks, safety hazards, and environmental damage. DP systems contain complex units such as power, propulsion, control, and sensor subsystems, complicating operational risk assessment, especially in unpredictable conditions. The aim of this article is to perform a comprehensive operational risk assessment of DP systems systematically by using Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) with Dempster–Shafer (D–S) evidence theory. While FMECA can identify and prioritize potential failure modes systematically based on the criteria of severity, frequency of occurrence, and detectability;y and prioritize potential failure modes based on severity, occurrence, and detectability criteria, D–S theory is utilized to synthesize various expert assessments and quantify belief and plausibility metrics for diverse risk levels without depending on exact prior probability. The findings show that FM 3.4 (Network or data bus failure) is the most significant failure mode effect operational system safety. The outcomes of this article provide practical contributions to ship operators, DP engineers, ship crew and classification societies to systematically prioritize critical failure modes and make more reliable safety decisions under uncertainty in dynamic positioning operations.