Reliability Assessment of Safety and Production Systems

Book excerpt: This book provides, as simply as possible, sound foundations for an in-depth understanding of reliability engineering with regard to qualitative analysis, modelling, and probabilistic calculations of safety and production systems. Drawing on the authors’ extensive experience within the field of reliability engineering, it addresses and discusses a variety of topics, including: • Background and overview of safety and dependability studies; • Explanation and critical analysis of definitions related to core concepts; • Risk identification through qualitative approaches (preliminary hazard analysis, HAZOP, FMECA, etc.); • Modelling of industrial systems through static (fault tree, reliability block diagram), sequential (cause-consequence diagrams, event trees, LOPA, bowtie), and dynamic (Markov graphs, Petri nets) approaches; • Probabilistic calculations through state-of-the-art analytical or Monte Carlo simulation techniques; • Analysis, modelling, and calculations of common cause failure and uncertainties; • Linkages and combinations between the various modelling and calculation approaches; • Reliability data collection and standardization. The book features illustrations, explanations, examples, and exercises to help readers gain a detailed understanding of the topic and implement it into their own work. Further, it analyses the production availability of production systems and the functional safety of safety systems (SIL calculations), showcasing specific applications of the general theory discussed. Given its scope, this book is a valuable resource for engineers, software designers, standard developers, professors, and students.