Probability and Risk Analysis


Book Description

This text presents notions and ideas at the foundations of a statistical treatment of risks. The focus is on statistical applications within the field of engineering risk and safety analysis. Coverage includes Bayesian methods. Such knowledge facilitates the understanding of the influence of random phenomena and gives a deeper understanding of the role of probability in risk analysis. The text is written for students who have studied elementary undergraduate courses in engineering mathematics, perhaps including a minor course in statistics. This book differs from typical textbooks in its verbal approach to many explanations and examples.




Probabilistic Risk Analysis


Book Description

Probabilistic risk analysis aims to quantify the risk caused by high technology installations. Increasingly, such analyses are being applied to a wider class of systems in which problems such as lack of data, complexity of the systems, uncertainty about consequences, make a classical statistical analysis difficult or impossible. The authors discuss the fundamental notion of uncertainty, its relationship with probability, and the limits to the quantification of uncertainty. Drawing on extensive experience in the theory and applications of risk analysis, the authors focus on the conceptual and mathematical foundations underlying the quantification, interpretation and management of risk. They cover standard topics as well as important new subjects such as the use of expert judgement and uncertainty propagation. The relationship of risk analysis with decision making is highlighted in chapters on influence diagrams and decision theory. Finally, the difficulties of choosing metrics to quantify risk, and current regulatory frameworks are discussed.




Environmental Risk Analysis


Book Description

A Training Tool for the Environmental Risk ProfessionalEnvironmental Risk Analysis: Probability Distribution Calculations defines the role that probability distributions play in risk analysis, and gives direction on how to measure and compare the magnitude of risk more efficiently. Designed for the practicing environmental engineer and scientist, t




Risk Analysis


Book Description

A practical guide to the varied challenges presented in the ever-growing field of risk analysis. Risk Analysis presents an accessible and concise guide to performing risk analysis, in a wide variety of field, with minimal prior knowledge required. Forming an ideal companion volume to Aven's previous Wiley text Foundations of Risk Analysis, it provides clear recommendations and guidance in the planning, execution anduse of risk analysis. This new edition presents recent developments related to risk conceptualization, focusing on related issues on risk assessment and their application. New examples are also featured to clarify the reader's understanding in the application of risk analysis and the risk analysis process. Key features: Fully updated to include recent developments related to risk conceptualization and related issues on risk assessments and their applications. Emphasizes the decision making context of risk analysis rather than just computing probabilities Demonstrates how to carry out predictive risk analysis using a variety of case studies and examples. Written by an experienced expert in the field, in a style suitable for both industrial and academic audiences. This book is ideal for advanced undergraduates, graduates, analysts and researchers from statistics, engineering, finance, medicine and physical sciences. Managers facing decision making problems involving risk and uncertainty will also benefit from this book.




Risk Analysis in Theory and Practice


Book Description

The objective of Risk Analysis in Theory and Practice is to present this analytical framework and to illustrate how it can be used in the investigation of economic decisions under risk. In a sense, the economics of risk is a difficult subject: it involves understanding human decisions in the absence of perfect information. How do we make decisions when we do not know some of events affecting us? The complexities of our uncertain world and of how humans obtain and process information make this difficult. In spite of these difficulties, much progress has been made. First, probability theory is the corner stone of risk assessment. This allows us to measure risk in a fashion that can be communicated among decision makers or researchers. Second, risk preferences are now better understood. This provides useful insights into the economic rationality of decision making under uncertainty. Third, over the last decades, good insights have been developed about the value of information. This helps better understand the role of information in human decision making and this book provides a systematic treatment of these issues in the context of both private and public decisions under uncertainty. - Balanced treatment of conceptual models and applied analysis - Considers both private and public decisions under uncertainty - Website presents application exercises in Excel




Foundations of Risk Analysis


Book Description

Everyday we face decisions that carry an element of risk and uncertainty. The ability to analyse, communicate and control the level of risk entailed by these decisions remains one of the most pressing challenges to the analyst, scientist and manager. This book presents the foundational issues in risk analysis ? expressing risk, understanding what risk means, building risk models, addressing uncertainty, and applying probability models to real problems. The principal aim of the book is to give the reader the knowledge and basic thinking they require to approach risk and uncertainty to support decision making. Presents a statistical framework for dealing with risk and uncertainty. Includes detailed coverage of building and applying risk models and methods. Offers new perspectives on risk, risk assessment and the use of parametric probability models. Highlights a number of applications from business and industry. Adopts a conceptual approach based on elementary probability calculus and statistical theory. Foundations of Risk Analysis provides a framework for understanding, conducting and using risk analysis suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduates, analysts and researchers from statistics, engineering, finance, medicine and the physical sciences, as well as for managers facing decision making problems involving risk and uncertainty.




Probability for Risk Management


Book Description




Handbook of Safety Principles


Book Description

Presents recent breakthroughs in the theory, methods, and applications of safety and risk analysis for safety engineers, risk analysts, and policy makers Safety principles are paramount to addressing structured handling of safety concerns in all technological systems. This handbook captures and discusses the multitude of safety principles in a practical and applicable manner. It is organized by five overarching categories of safety principles: Safety Reserves; Information and Control; Demonstrability; Optimization; and Organizational Principles and Practices. With a focus on the structured treatment of a large number of safety principles relevant to all related fields, each chapter defines the principle in question and discusses its application as well as how it relates to other principles and terms. This treatment includes the history, the underlying theory, and the limitations and criticism of the principle. Several chapters also problematize and critically discuss the very concept of a safety principle. The book treats issues such as: What are safety principles and what roles do they have? What kinds of safety principles are there? When, if ever, should rules and principles be disobeyed? How do safety principles relate to the law; what is the status of principles in different domains? The book also features: • Insights from leading international experts on safety and reliability • Real-world applications and case studies including systems usability, verification and validation, human reliability, and safety barriers • Different taxonomies for how safety principles are categorized • Breakthroughs in safety and risk science that can significantly change, improve, and inform important practical decisions • A structured treatment of safety principles relevant to numerous disciplines and application areas in industry and other sectors of society • Comprehensive and practical coverage of the multitude of safety principles including maintenance optimization, substitution, safety automation, risk communication, precautionary approaches, non-quantitative safety analysis, safety culture, and many others The Handbook of Safety Principles is an ideal reference and resource for professionals engaged in risk and safety analysis and research. This book is also appropriate as a graduate and PhD-level textbook for courses in risk and safety analysis, reliability, safety engineering, and risk management offered within mathematics, operations research, and engineering departments. NIKLAS MÖLLER, PhD, is Associate Professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. The author of approximately 20 international journal articles, Dr. Möller's research interests include the philosophy of risk, metaethics, philosophy of science, and epistemology. SVEN OVE HANSSON, PhD, is Professor of Philosophy at the Royal Institute of Technology. He has authored over 300 articles in international journals and is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Dr. Hansson is also a Topical Editor for the Wiley Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science. JAN-ERIK HOLMBERG, PhD, is Senior Consultant at Risk Pilot AB and Adjunct Professor of Probabilistic Riskand Safety Analysis at the Royal Institute of Technology. Dr. Holmberg received his PhD in Applied Mathematics from Helsinki University of Technology in 1997. CARL ROLLENHAGEN, PhD, is Adjunct Professor of Risk and Safety at the Royal Institute of Technology. Dr. Rollenhagen has performed extensive research in the field of human factors and MTO (Man, Technology, and Organization) with a specific emphasis on safety culture and climate, event investigation methods, and organizational safety assessment.




Probability Methods for Cost Uncertainty Analysis


Book Description

Probability Methods for Cost Uncertainty Analysis: A Systems Engineering Perspective, Second Edition gives you a thorough grounding in the analytical methods needed for modeling and measuring uncertainty in the cost of engineering systems. This includes the treatment of correlation between the cost of system elements, how to present the analysis to




Foundations of Risk Analysis


Book Description

Foundations of Risk Analysis presents the issues core to risk analysis – understanding what risk means, expressing risk, building risk models, addressing uncertainty, and applying probability models to real problems. The author provides the readers with the knowledge and basic thinking they require to successfully manage risk and uncertainty to support decision making. This updated edition reflects recent developments on risk and uncertainty concepts, representations and treatment. New material in Foundations of Risk Analysis includes: An up to date presentation of how to understand, define and describe risk based on research carried out in recent years. A new definition of the concept of vulnerability consistent with the understanding of risk. Reflections on the need for seeing beyond probabilities to measure/describe uncertainties. A presentation and discussion of a method for assessing the importance of assumptions (uncertainty factors) in the background knowledge that the subjective probabilities are based on A brief introduction to approaches that produce interval (imprecise) probabilities instead of exact probabilities. In addition the new version provides a number of other improvements, for example, concerning the use of cost-benefit analyses and the As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) principle. Foundations of Risk Analysis provides a framework for understanding, conducting and using risk analysis suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduates, analysts and researchers from statistics, engineering, finance, medicine and the physical sciences, as well as for managers facing decision making problems involving risk and uncertainty.