System Safety Engineering and Risk Assessment


Book Description

We all know that safety should be an integral part of the systems that we build and operate. The public demands that they are protected from accidents, yet industry and government do not always know how to reach this common goal. This book gives engineers and managers working in companies and governments around the world a pragmatic and reasonable approach to system safety and risk assessment techniques. It explains in easy-to-understand language how to design workable safety management systems and implement tested solutions immediately. The book is intended for working engineers who know that they need to build safe systems, but aren’t sure where to start. To make it easy to get started quickly, it includes numerous real-life engineering examples. The book’s many practical tips and best practices explain not only how to prevent accidents, but also how to build safety into systems at a sensible price. The book also includes numerous case studies from real disasters that describe what went wrong and the lessons learned. See What’s New in the Second Edition: New chapter on developing government safety oversight programs and regulations, including designing and setting up a new safety regulatory body, developing safety regulatory oversight functions and governance, developing safety regulations, and how to avoid common mistakes in government oversight Significantly expanded chapter on safety management systems, with many practical applications from around the world and information about designing and building robust safety management systems, auditing them, gaining internal support, and creating a safety culture New and expanded case studies and "Notes from Nick’s Files" (examples of practical applications from the author’s extensive experience) Increased international focus on world-leading practices from multiple industries with practical examples, common mistakes to avoid, and new thinking about how to build sustainable safety management systems New material on safety culture, developing leading safety performance indicators, safety maturity model, auditing safety management systems, and setting up a safety knowledge management system




Engineering a Safer World


Book Description

A new approach to safety, based on systems thinking, that is more effective, less costly, and easier to use than current techniques. Engineering has experienced a technological revolution, but the basic engineering techniques applied in safety and reliability engineering, created in a simpler, analog world, have changed very little over the years. In this groundbreaking book, Nancy Leveson proposes a new approach to safety—more suited to today's complex, sociotechnical, software-intensive world—based on modern systems thinking and systems theory. Revisiting and updating ideas pioneered by 1950s aerospace engineers in their System Safety concept, and testing her new model extensively on real-world examples, Leveson has created a new approach to safety that is more effective, less expensive, and easier to use than current techniques. Arguing that traditional models of causality are inadequate, Leveson presents a new, extended model of causation (Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes, or STAMP), then shows how the new model can be used to create techniques for system safety engineering, including accident analysis, hazard analysis, system design, safety in operations, and management of safety-critical systems. She applies the new techniques to real-world events including the friendly-fire loss of a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter in the first Gulf War; the Vioxx recall; the U.S. Navy SUBSAFE program; and the bacterial contamination of a public water supply in a Canadian town. Leveson's approach is relevant even beyond safety engineering, offering techniques for “reengineering” any large sociotechnical system to improve safety and manage risk.




System Safety Engineering and Management


Book Description

Comprehensive in scope, it describes the process of system safety--from the creation and management of a safety program on a system under development to the analysis that must be performed as this system is designed and produced to assure acceptable risk in its operation. Unique in its coverage, it is the only work on this subject that combines full descriptions of the management and analysis processes and procedures in one handy volume. Designed for both system safety managers and engineers, it incorporates the safety procedures used by the Department of Defense and NASA and explains basic statistical methods and network analysis methods which provide an understanding of the engineering analysis methods that follow.




Applied Safety for Engineers


Book Description

Global competition and other factors are forcing manufacturers to produce highly safe engineering systems and products. This book meets the needs for product designers, systems engineers, and safety engineers that work together and need a single resource which considers all three areas when designing new products and systems that they can refer to. Applied Safety for Engineers: Systems and Products serves as a comprehensive resource offering a wide range of safety topics when involved with product design, engineering system analysis, and engineering maintenance. Examples along with their solutions are placed at the end of each chapter to test reader comprehension. The book facilitates the importance for product designers, safety, and systems engineering professionals to work closely during the product design phase so they can understand each other’s discipline. Written in a manner that readers do not need any previous knowledge on the subject, the book offers many sources for further reading at the end of each chapter. This book will be useful to product designers, system engineers, safety specialists, graduate and senior undergraduate students, researchers and manufacturers, industrial engineers, safety engineers, and engineers-at-large.




Safety Engineering


Book Description

The third edition of Safety Engineering: Principles and Practices has been thoroughly revised, updated, and expanded. It provides practical information for students and professionals who want an overview of the fundamentals and insight into the subtleties of this expanding discipline.Although this book primarily serves as a textbook, managers and technical personnel will find it a useful reference in dealing with complex safety matters and in planning worker training. This edition includes topics such as identifying regulatory requirements, handling contemporary problem that affect the modern worker, complying with record-keeping requirements, and much more. Many courses and curriculum focus on purely theoretical and scientific aspects of safety and related topics. Often, these students are lacking the fundamental concepts and principles that are required in the real world. Safety Engineering: Principles and Practices helps bridge the gap between what is typically taught and what is truly needed.




Systems Analysis and Design for Safety


Book Description

Systems analysis and synthesis; Hazard analysis and cost effectiveness; Logical analysis; Probabilistic reliability considerations; Fault-tree analysis; Statistical analysis; Safety information system desing; Allocation of the safety budget; Case study: budget allocation applied to traffic safety; The right to be unsafe.




Requirements Engineering for Safety-Critical Systems


Book Description

Safety-Critical Systems (SCS) are increasingly present in people's daily activities. In the means of transport, in medical treatments, in industrial processes, in the control of air, land, maritime traffic, and many other situations, we use and depend on SCS. The requirements engineering of any system is crucial for the proper development of the same, and it becomes even more relevant for the development of SCS. Requirements Engineering is a discipline that focuses on the development of techniques, methods, processes, and tools that assist in the design of software and systems, covering the activities of elicitation, analysis, modeling and specification, validation, and management of requirements. The complete specification of system requirements establishes the basis for its architectural design. It offers a description of the functional and quality aspects that should guide the implementation and system evolution. In this book, we discuss essential elements of requirements engineering applied to SCS, such as the relationship between safety/hazard analysis and requirements specification, a balance between conservative and agile methodologies during SCS development, the role of requirements engineering in safety cases, and requirements engineering maturity model for SCS. This book provides relevant insights for professionals, students, and researchers interested in improving the quality of the SCS development process, making system requirements a solid foundation for improving the safety and security of future systems.




Automotive System Safety


Book Description

Contains practical insights into automotive system safety with a focus on corporate safety organization and safety management Functional Safety has become important and mandated in the automotive industry by inclusion of ISO 26262 in OEM requirements to suppliers. This unique and practical guide is geared toward helping small and large automotive companies, and the managers and engineers in those companies, improve automotive system safety. Based on the author’s experience within the field, it is a useful tool for marketing, sales, and business development professionals to understand and converse knowledgeably with customers and prospects. Automotive System Safety: Critical Considerations for Engineering and Effective Management teaches readers how to incorporate automotive system safety efficiently into an organization. Chapters cover: Safety Expectations for Consumers, OEMs, and Tier 1 Suppliers; System Safety vs. Functional Safety; Safety Audits and Assessments; Safety Culture; and Lifecycle Safety. Sections on Determining Risk; Risk Reduction; and Safety of the Intended Function are also presented. In addition, the book discusses causes of safety recalls; how to use metrics as differentiators to win business; criteria for a successful safety organization; and more. Discusses Safety of the Intended Function (SOTIF), with a chapter about an emerging standard (SOTIF, ISO PAS 21448), which is for handling the development of autonomous vehicles Helps safety managers, engineers, directors, and marketing professionals improve their knowledge of the process of FS standards Aimed at helping automotive companies—big and small—and their employees improve system safety Covers auditing and the use of metrics Automotive System Safety: Critical Considerations for Engineering and Effective Management is an excellent book for anyone who oversees the safety and development of automobiles. It will also benefit those who sell and market vehicles to prospective customers.




Safety and Human Error in Engineering Systems


Book Description

In an approach that combines coverage of safety and human error into a single volume, Safety and Human Error in Engineering Systems eliminates the need to consult many different and diverse sources for those who need information about both topics. The book begins with an introduction to aspects of safety and human error and a discussion of mathematical concepts that builds understanding of the material presented in subsequent chapters. The author describes the methods that can be used to perform safety and human error analysis in engineering systems and includes examples, along with their solutions, as well as problems to test reader comprehension. He presents a total of ten methods considered useful for performing safety and human error analysis in engineering systems. The book also covers safety and human error transportation systems, medical systems, and mining equipment as well as robots and software. Nowadays, engineering systems are an important element of the world economy as each year billions of dollars are spent to develop, manufacture, and operate various types of engineering systems around the globe. A rise in accidental deaths has put the spotlight on the role human error plays in the safety and failure of these systems. Written by an expert in various aspects of healthcare, engineering management, design, reliability, safety, and quality, this book provides tools and techniques for improving engineering systems with respect to human error and safety.




Engineering Safe and Secure Software Systems


Book Description

This first-of-its-kind resource offers a broad and detailed understanding of software systems engineering from both security and safety perspectives. Addressing the overarching issues related to safeguarding public data and intellectual property, the book defines such terms as systems engineering, software engineering, security, and safety as precisely as possible, making clear the many distinctions, commonalities, and interdependencies among various disciplines. You explore the various approaches to risk and the generation and analysis of appropriate metrics. This unique book explains how processes relevant to the creation and operation of software systems should be determined and improved, how projects should be managed, and how products can be assured. You learn the importance of integrating safety and security into the development life cycle. Additionally, this practical volume helps identify what motivators and deterrents can be put in place in order to implement the methods that have been recommended.