History and Evolution of Risk Assessment
The formal risk and reliability assessment was conceived to monitor engineering in extreme (and therefore exciting) applications:
"The System Safety discipline emerged on the engineering and management scene in 1962 with the dawning of the space transportation era... System Safety principles emphasize the rigorous development of effective safety risk mitigation strategies based on comprehensive and thorough risk assessment." (McIntyre, 2000)
"What do you do?"
As with any business, I often get asked the question "what do you do?" The answer has evolved; also an occurrence with many businesses. One aspect of what dse does is that we teach companies to "fish" with risk assessment. We provide the tools (software), the training, and the resources (books, guidance, etc.) to get folks up to speed and engaged in the risk assessment process. If companies want to do risk assessment on their own, and they should for many reasons discussed in this blog, then we have the tools and techniques to get them up and running quickly and effectively.
Real World Example - Prototype System in the Automotive Industry
A manufacturer in the automotive industry was developing a prototype system for a production line that included robots and operator work stations. Questions arose concerning how to determine the most appropriate risk reduction methods between area scanners, light curtains or fixed guarding. costs of each of these solutions vary, as does the feasibility of their effective use. To determine which solution provided the best risk reduction at a reasonable cost, the company used the risk assessment process. What's New? There are many small changes in the new B155.1 standard, but the basic structure of the standard remains unchanged. The following summarizes the changes to the standard. The Foreword of the standard has been updated to explain how to B155.1 standard compares to the type A/B/C structure used in international standards. B155.1 is primarily an A level standard. The effective date for this revision has also been updated to be six months from the date of publication meaning the requirements will be fully applicable by September 2011. Recall that the effective date for the 2006 publication was 30 months due to the major changes in the standard from a prior version. I just returned from the robot safety standard meeting and thought an update would be appropriate. ISO 10218-1 applies to robot. This standard has been approved. ISO 10218-2 applies to the integration of the robot. This standard is in final review and should be approved by May 2011 after some final changes are discussed in committee.
The NEW 2011 ANSI/PMMI B155.1 Standard
The Status of R15.06 - Robot Standard