1st Edition

Choosing Safety A Guide to Using Probabilistic Risk Assessment and Decision Analysis in Complex, High-Consequence Systems

By Michael V. Frank Copyright 2008
242 Pages
by Routledge

242 Pages
by Routledge

The technological age has seen a range of catastrophic and preventable failures, often as a result of decisions that did not appropriately consider safety as a factor in design and engineering. Through more than a dozen practical examples from the author‘s experience in nuclear power, aerospace, and other potentially hazardous facilities, Choosing Safety is the first book to bring together... Read more
1. Making Safe Decisions: An Overview 2. Risk and Safety Concepts 3. Concepts and Methods of PRA 4. A Procedure for Making Safety Related Decisions 5. Principles of Risk Communication within a Project 6. The Blade Trade Study 7. Choosing Among Space Shuttle Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) Safety Improvement Strategies 8. The Decision to Launch the Cassini Spacecraft 9. Micro-Met 10. Concluding Observations

Biography

Michael V. Frank holds a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from UCLA. He has had decades of experience as a consultant in probabilistic risk assessment, decision analysis, and hazard analysis for both private industry and government, in areas ranging over nuclear reactors, aerospace systems, consumer products, nuclear fuel fabrication, and nuclear waste disposal.

'Engaging and fascinating real-world case studies . . .Important material of great interest to many audiences.' Tony Cox, Cox Associates 'The most notable contributions are its practical approach to risk assessment and decisionmaking and the case studies . . . This is a first-rate how-to book. The case studies are particularly valuable for engineering students in aerospace, mechanical, chemical, and nuclear programs.' William E. Kastenberg, University of California, Berkeley