Every requirement, classification rule, and review process from Lessons 1 through 8 shows up in one place eventually: the same 15-20 findings, in the same 10 categories, across almost every ISM audit anywhere in the industry. This lesson is a working reference for those findings — what auditors actually flag, how severe each one typically is, and the daily habit that prevents it.
What You'll Learn in This Lesson
- The most common ISM findings across all ten SMS categories
- How to tell a root cause from a symptom, with real paired examples
- What separates weak practice from good practice, side by side
- What auditors typically ask, and the evidence they expect to see
- How to identify a finding's likely classification from a real scenario
Top Common ISM Findings, by Category
| Category | Common Finding | Typical Severity |
|---|---|---|
| SMS Documentation | Outdated manual revision still in use on board | Non-Conformity |
| Procedures don't reflect what crew actually do | Non-Conformity | |
| Risk Assessment | No risk assessment on file for a non-routine hazardous task | Non-Conformity |
| Risk assessment not reviewed after a related near-miss | Observation | |
| Permit to Work | Permit missing the reviewing officer's signature | Non-Conformity |
| Hot work carried out with no valid permit at all | Major Non-Conformity | |
| Maintenance | Critical equipment serviced late, no reason logged | Non-Conformity |
| Maintenance records not reconciled with the PMS | Observation | |
| Training | Crew training records incomplete or undated | Non-Conformity |
| New crew not briefed on role-relevant SMS content | Non-Conformity | |
| Emergency Preparedness | Drill records inconsistent with the drill schedule | Non-Conformity |
| Crew can't explain their emergency role under questioning | Major Non-Conformity | |
| Internal Audits | Audit not conducted within the 12-month interval | Non-Conformity |
| Auditor not independent of the area they audited | Non-Conformity | |
| Management Review | Review held, but no decisions or actions recorded | Observation |
| Master's Reviews not considered in the review | Non-Conformity | |
| Records | Missing objective evidence for a completed procedure | Non-Conformity |
| Corrective Actions | Action closed without verifying the fix actually worked | Non-Conformity |
Notice how few of these are Major Non-Conformities — most recurring findings sit at the Non-Conformity or Observation level from Lesson 4's classification system. That's actually the pattern to worry about: small, repeated gaps across many categories usually mean a systemic SMS weakness, even when no single finding looks serious on its own.
Root Cause vs Symptom: Real Paired Examples
| Symptom (What's Found) | Root Cause (What Actually Fixes It) |
|---|---|
| Permit missing a signature | Onboarding never covered who's authorised to countersign |
| Training record undated | No standard training-log template in use across the fleet |
| Drill record inconsistent with schedule | Drill schedule ownership was never clearly assigned to one role |
| Management Review with no recorded actions | No standard review agenda template requiring documented decisions |
In every row, fixing only the left column (reminding someone, re-doing the paperwork) leaves the right column's gap untouched — exactly the Lesson 4 principle that a corrective action aimed at the symptom alone tends to recur at the next audit.
Download the Common Findings Checklist (PDF)
All 18 findings from this lesson, organised by category, ready to check against your own SMS before your next audit.
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Weak Practice vs Good Practice
Example: Permit-to-Work Reconciliation
Example: Management Review Follow-Through
Example: Crew Onboarding
Inspector Tips: What Auditors Ask, What They Expect
Every one of these traces back to the same principle from Lesson 6's Crew Interview Simulator: auditors are testing whether the process is genuinely understood and followed, not whether it can be recited or produced only when specifically requested.
Exercise: Can You Identify the Finding?
Classify each scenario, then check your answers.
1. A Chief Officer explains the permit process fluently, but the last three hot work permits have no completed forms at all.
2. Training records exist for all crew, but two are missing a completion date.
3. The Management Review covered all six required inputs, but the minutes don't record any specific decisions.
4. Crew cannot describe their own muster station or role during an unannounced drill.
5. A corrective action was closed last month, but the underlying gap that caused it hasn't actually been re-checked since.
Recognise These Findings in Your Own Fleet?
Talk to an IMT compliance advisor about a fleet-wide review of your most common recurring findings.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common categories for ISM findings?
SMS documentation, risk assessment, permit-to-work, maintenance, training, emergency preparedness, internal audits, management review, records, and corrective actions.
Why do most recurring findings sit at Non-Conformity level, not Major?
Small, repeated gaps across many categories are more common than single serious safety threats — but the pattern across categories often signals a systemic SMS weakness worth addressing broadly.
What's the difference between fixing a symptom and fixing a root cause?
A symptom fix addresses one instance (re-doing a form); a root cause fix addresses why it keeps happening (fixing the onboarding gap that caused it).
What do auditors mean by "show me, don't just tell me"?
They expect a signed, dated record or a direct demonstration — not a verbal description of what the process is supposed to be.
Can a corrective action be closed before it's verified?
No — closing without verification is itself one of the common findings covered in this lesson, and risks the same gap recurring.
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