European Master and Certification Program
in Risk Engineering and Management

B10/F5-4:
Safety and Reliability Analysis

Course code: 181782
Language of instruction: English
Lecturers: Lic.Tech Pertti Auerkari (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland), Dr. Gopika Vinod (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre), Ph.D Knut Ă˜ien (SINTEF Technology and Society)
Assessment: Defined in the module

Short description

This course presents the basic theory for safety and reliability analysis. The starting point is definition and discussion of basic concepts related to reliability and risk analysis. Then qualitative techniques like functional analysis, FMECA and identification and evaluation of faults and hazards are introduced. The next step is to introduce familiar quantification techniques like reliability block diagrams, fault- and event tree analysis, and Markov methods. Special attention is paid to safety-critical systems (IEC 61508) where analysis of systems with common cause failures is important. The course ends with methods for estimation of failure rates and a survey of reliability data sources.



Objectives

The course aims to provide:

Knowledge: The course shall give a thorough introduction to basic concepts and approaches related to analysis and evaluation of safety and reliability of technical equipment – with a special focus on equipment that is used for production and distribution of energy.

Skills: The attendees shall be able to identify and assess failures of single units and of complex systems. They shall be able to assess which parts of a system that are of special importance to prevent system failures. They shall further be able to apply different methods to determine the reliability of single items and complex systems, and identify the pros and cons related to each method.

General competence: The attendees shall learn to understand the importance of safety and reliability in relation to applications within production assurance, quality, risk, environmental protection, and sustainable development. They shall, in addition, gain an understanding of the relationship between costs/disadvantages and benefits related to different safety measures.



Target Attendees / Participants

The course is dedicated to:

  • professionals (engineers, managers, inspectors, legislators, …) who wish to deepen their knowledge in the field of risk based inspection
  • other professionals dealing with risk and safety in industry
  • individuals with no previous experience in the field of risk based inspection, but willing to extend their knowledge and take up new roles in this field within their companies
  • university students of Steinbeis European Master Program in International Business and Risk Engineering, and similar programs.

Course Content by Units

The course is based on the text book: M. Rausand and A. Høyland: System Reliability Theory; Models, Statistical Methods, and Applications, Second Edition, Wiley 2004.

The following topics will be covered with reference to the text book:

Chapter 1:all

Chapter 2:  pp.15-33 (mid); pp.37 (mid)-41 (mid); pp. 43 (mid)-47 (mid)

Chapter 3: pp. 73-133 (mid); pp. 136 (mid)-139

Chapter 4: all

Chapter 5: pp. 183-187 (mid); 188 (mid)-190 (mid); 192 (mid)-204.

Chapter 6: pp.207-214; 217 (mid)-221

Chapter 7: nothing

Chapter 8: pp. 301-346 (mid); 351 (mid)-353

Chapter 9: pp. 361-386 (mid)

Chapter 10: pp. 419-452

Chapter 11: nothing

Chapter 12: nothing

Chapter 13: pp. 539-546

Chapter 14: all

Definition and discussion of basic concepts related to reliability and risk analysis. Functional analysis and identification and evaluation of faults and hazards. System analysis based on FMECA, reliability block diagrams and fault trees. Quantification of reliability and availability of technological systems. Measures for reliability importance. Analysis of repairable systems by Markov methods. Analysis of safety-critical systems (IEC 61508). Analysis of systems with common cause failures. Estimation of failure rates. Survey of reliability data sources.

 



Teaching Methods

The basic theoretical contents of the course are presented in lectures these days. Small exercises and group works are used to get familiar with the concepts. The remaining part of the course is based on self-study with supervision from the professor by email. There are mandatory exercises to be conducted as part of the self-study.

Literature

The course is following the text book:

M. Rausand and A. Høyland: System Reliability Theory; Models, Statistical Methods, and Applications, Second Edition, Wiley 2004.

The following topics will be covered with reference to the text book:

Chapter 1:all

Chapter 2:  pp.15-33 (mid); pp.37 (mid)-41 (mid); pp. 43 (mid)-47 (mid)

Chapter 3: pp. 73-133 (mid); pp. 136 (mid)-139

Chapter 4: all

Chapter 5: pp. 183-187 (mid); 188 (mid)-190 (mid); 192 (mid)-204.

Chapter 6: pp.207-214; 217 (mid)-221

Chapter 7: nothing

Chapter 8: pp. 301-346 (mid); 351 (mid)-353

Chapter 9: pp. 361-386 (mid)

Chapter 10: pp. 419-452

Chapter 11: nothing

Chapter 12: nothing

Chapter 13: pp. 539-546

Chapter 14: all

  • (FMECA)
  • (Fault Tree Analysis)
  • (Event Tree Analysis)

Chapter 4 (Systems of independent components)

Chapter 5 (Component Importance)

Chapter 8 (Markov Processes)

Chapter 9 (Optimization of Replacement Intervals)

  • (Maintenance Planning and Optimization)

Chapter 10 (Reliability of safety instrumented systems [SIS])

  • (Use of Markov processes with SIS) (Markov approach)



For more information about the European Master and Certification Program in Risk Engineering and Management in general, go the Homepage.
For more information about the European Master Program in Risk Engineering and Management in general, go the Master Study page.
To see more courses in the curriculum, go to The curriculum page, or by date and topic go to the Calendar of Courses page.
Contact: via email sti889@risk-technologies.com or phone +49 711 1839 781 or +49 711 1839 647
(Course profile ID: B10/F5-4:, generated on March 28, 2024)