🔍 Key Concepts

• Look closely at how many ROS workstations are shown and where they are located (ship’s office, engine control room, cargo control room, wheelhouse, etc.). • Consider the purpose of a distributed automation system and why different shipboard locations might need different levels of control or only monitoring. • Think about what the word remote operating system workstation (ROS) implies about control authority and whether any one must be a permanent "master" station.

💭 Think About

• From the diagram, does any ROS appear to be labeled or highlighted as a special "master" unit compared with the others? • Would it be safe or desirable for every ROS, including one in an office or accommodation area, to have exactly the same full control authority as the watch officer in the wheelhouse or the engineer in the engine control room? Why or why not? • How might system designers limit or tailor control access at each ROS to match the duties of that location (navigation watch, cargo ops, engine watch, office/admin)?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify whether the illustration assigns a "master" designation to any of the ROS units by label or symbol. • Check if the functions indicated above or below each ROS (e.g., alarms, logs, control, monitoring) look identical or tailored to that location’s role. • Ask yourself whether the most realistic and safe design is that all ROS are identical in control capability, or that access is configured according to operational needs.