29th International System Safety Conference (2011)

Title:Adaptation of Software Hazard Risk Assessment

Mok Boon Eang and Ng Suk Yen, ST Electronics (Info-Software) Pte Ltd; Singapore

The paper introduces an adaptation of software control categories definition for
performing Software Hazard Risk Assessment. The adaptation was to address the difficulties in using the recommended software control categories in MIL-STD-882C which considered the potential hazard severity and the degree of control that software exercises over the hardware. This paper also compares the MIL-STD-882C software risk assessment method with methods of assessment in other standards and guidelines followed by giving the rationale in adapting the recommended software control categories in MIL-STD-882C to include additional elements for local needs.

Title: Origin of Test Requirements and Passing Criteria for the Qualification of Primary and Booster High Explosives

Ken Tomasello; Navy Insensitive Munitions Office; Indian Head, MD USA John Adams; Associate, Booz Allen Hamilton; Arlington, VA USA Michael Sharp; MSIAC/NATO, Brussels, Belgium

The development of explosives requires a rigorous regimen of tests, both small-scale, and large-scale, before explosives can be judged safe and suitable for service use. The paper puts the purpose of test requirements and associated pass/fail criteria in perspective. It puts the qualification of explosive in a historical context to stimulate discussion within the energetic material community as to the validity of these requirements in current work environment. This paper explores each test and examines the genesis of the test requirements and pass/fail criteria.

Title: Learning From Major Accidents

K.R. Alderson, Author, Senior System Safety Manager, BMT Designers & Planners, Inc. Alex Ruttenberg, Co-author, System Safety Group Manager, BMT Designers & Planners, Inc.

The world is still coming to terms with the tragedy of Japan’s recent nuclear accident, and fairly recent memory of the Deepwater Horizon incident. The two accidents are, however, very different when one analyzes their root causes. Deepwater is the latest of major accidents stretching back decades (if not centuries) that post investigations have shown could and should have been avoided. This paper looks at some of those accidents and seeks to question what exactly we have learned from them.

Title: Is the “System of Systems” a Useful Concept for Hazard Analysis?

A.J. Rae; University of York; Heslington, North Yorkshire, UNITED KINGDOM
R.D. Alexander; University of York; Heslington, North Yorkshire, UNITED KINGDOM

Safety analysis is an activity governed by pragmatism and practicality rather than formal abstractions. Even the concept of a “hazard” has no universally-agreed definition, and there is no deterministic method for finding the set of hazards for a system. In this context, any claims about new challenges or methods must be tested according to their usefulness.

In this paper the authors investigate the concept of a “system of systems”. The rise of network-enhanced capability, particularly in the military domain, has led to differentiation between “large integrated systems” and “true systems of systems”. This distinction has been rightly questioned by researchers who point out that all safety analysis should involve socio-technical considerations, and claim that there is no advantage in treating so-called systems of systems with separate methods.

The paper identifies a range of circumstances where existing hazard identification techniques, including those explicitly designed for socio-technical analysis, are unreliable in finding certain types of hazard. Distinguishing these circumstances will improve management of hazard identification and assessment in organizations with multiple interacting equipment programs. The authors support this claim with observations related to existing difficulties that organizations have with the “system of systems safety” issue.

The authors recommend a cautious investment in system of systems safety including a strong focus on measuring the costs and benefits of new modeling and hazard identification techniques.

Papers from Singapore: