ServicesMost efficient IHM compliance from the start

The first step is crucial!

We offer our many years of expertise in IHM categorization of order items as a standalone AI solution for ship owners, managers, shipyards, manufacturers and maritime suppliers as well as IHM service providers.

Unnecessary inquiries are still not uncommon, even after years. Accurate categorization of ordered items is key to efficient IHM documentation. Incorrect inquiries significantly complicate IHM compliance and cause considerable additional work for all parties involved. A standardized approach can drastically simplify IHM compliance and reduce costs. That's why we offer IHM-Cat to our competitors as well, because a uniform understanding and procedure benefits the entire maritime industry.

Resource-efficient IHM compliance can be easy if the focus is right from the start!

Simply upload your order data for automated relevance checks and receive a detailed evaluation in accordance with the latest regulations, avoiding unnecessary effort for all parties involved.

Our experience is the foundation for the targeted request of supplier declarations for the efficient creation and maintenance of IHM documents!

Our Services

The Process - how IHM-Cat impacts Procurement & Compliance

Why offer we it?!

Since 2005, Henning Gramann, founder and owner of GSR Services GmbH, has been actively involved in the development of the Hong Kong Convention (HKC) and the IHM Guidelines at the IMO, while working in the R&D department at Germanischer Lloyd (GL). After a short time, he was entrusted with establishing and managing the Ship Recycling/IHM department at GL. In addition to the legal developments, he has dealt in detail with questions and solutions for implementing and ensuring IHM quality. This also included his active participation in ISO TC8, where he played a key role in developing the ISO 30000 series. He not only knows the text of the HKC, IHM Guidelines, and related standards, but also how they came about, why certain options were not pursued, and what lies between the lines. This is an advantage few possess.

With the founding of GSR Services GmbH in 2011, corresponding approaches and services in the field of ship recycling and industrial metalworking (IHM) could be further developed and expanded. Quality and compliance have always been a focus, and over the years, a wealth of experience has been gained, which is continuously used to improve and further develop the solutions and services offered.

When the IHM (Individual Maritime Management) system was first implemented in the shipping industry in 2019/2020, a wide variety of interpretations and approaches were observed. These significantly hampered implementation, particularly for maritime suppliers. While the situation has improved somewhat, the industry is still far from a uniform, professional, and correct implementation (see also our Videos).

The resulting additional costs grew to such an extent that at the end of 2021, on the joint initiative of Henning Gramann and the ISSA (International Shipsuppliers & Services Association) in the “Industry Working Group on Ship Recycling” (led by ICS – International Chamber of ShippingIt was decided to create Industry Guidance for shipping companies and ship outfitters on the topic of IHM maintenance. Many well-known associations are organized in the Working Group, and their representatives were largely also involved in the development of the HKC and IHM Guidelines at the IMO. For the “Industry Guidance” (DownloadThe GSR internal training materials and detailed process descriptions, which we have followed since 2019, were adopted almost unchanged after thorough review by several bodies. The principles and approaches still apply without restriction, even though the 2015 IHM guideline, and not the most recent version, is referenced.

We have now integrated the logic and legal requirements into our AI tool “IHM-Cat” and are making them accessible to the entire maritime industry to ensure targeted MD requests – in the hope that IHM compliance will be implemented more uniformly and efficiently for all those affected internationally.