Designing for safety is a crucial skill for engineering students, as it can prevent injuries, errors, and failures in real-world applications. But how can you teach engineering students to design for safety effectively and efficiently? In this article, we will explore some strategies and tips that can help you foster a safety culture in your engineering courses and projects.
The first step to design for safety is to identify and define the safety requirements for the engineering problem or solution. These requirements are specifications, standards, and regulations that ensure the protection of people, property, and the environment from potential hazards. To teach engineering students how to define safety requirements, introduce them to relevant safety codes, laws, and guidelines for their discipline and industry. Additionally, encourage them to research and analyze the potential risks and consequences of their design choices and alternatives. Finally, involve them in setting safety goals, criteria, and metrics for their projects and deliverables.
This article does not adequately address either Systems Engineering or System Safety Engineering. Before any requirements can be defined we need to know what type of losses we are concerned with, which requires us to know broadly what “The System” is. Then we can do some Hazard Identification and some Hazard Analysis*, perhaps even some early preliminary Risk Assessment… at that point we can define some Safety Requirements. We also need to consider what relevant safety standards exist and be sure to drive out necessary activities and requirements so that we can apply those to the development of the System. *STPA Hazard Analysis can help with this, as can the safety process described by Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) 4761.
Introduce real case studies to explain how safety can be implemented. Introduce incidental scenarios to explain how concatenation of events lead to incident.
Comece ensinando aos estudantes a importancia de identificar e definir claramente os requisitos de seguran?a para um projeto. Isso envolve a compreens?o dos padr?es, regulamentos e normas relevantes, bem como a considera??o dos possíveis riscos e amea?as associados ao projeto. Incentive os alunos a realizar uma análise de riscos abrangente e a estabelecer metas específicas de seguran?a desde as fases iniciais do projeto
First hand experience...Teach all students how to do this...Define the system… 1 Define the system needs 2 Define the system 3 Decompose the system 4 Perturb system 5 Develop and define risk criteria 6 Design adverse progressions 7 Define risks with minimal controls 8 Design controls to enable acceptable levels of risk 9 Rank risks and address high to low risks 10 Develop and design system monitoring: early detection, isolation, correction, contingency and recovery 11 Continually validate and verify risk controls 12 Monitor the system and revise analyses due to system dynamics....
The second step to design for safety is to apply the safety principles that guide the engineering design process and decision making. These principles are general rules or best practices that help engineers avoid or reduce hazards and ensure reliability and robustness. To teach engineering students about applying safety principles, it is important to provide them with examples and case studies of successful and unsuccessful safety designs in engineering history and practice. Additionally, they should be exposed to different safety methods, tools, and techniques, such as hazard analysis, fault tree analysis, failure mode and effects analysis, and risk assessment. Lastly, it is essential to challenge them to incorporate safety considerations into every stage of their design cycle, from conceptualization to testing and evaluation.
...by making them aware that safety by design is a discipline and not an afterthought. You wouldn't just go and design a high-density power converter circuit on your own right? Ok, nvm :) Pack your own parachute then kids. Start from 3 ft. It will still hurts. Cheers!
Ensine aos alunos os princípios fundamentais de engenharia de seguran?a e como aplicá-los em seus projetos. Isso inclui o design seguro de sistemas, a integra??o de medidas de seguran?a desde o início do processo de design, a implementa??o de redundancias e fail-safes, e a considera??o da seguran?a cibernética em sistemas conectados. Encoraje os estudantes a adotar uma abordagem proativa para identificar e mitigar potenciais vulnerabilidades de seguran?a durante todas as etapas do ciclo de vida do projeto
The third step to design for safety is to incorporate safety features into the engineering solution or product. Safety features are the elements or components that provide protection, prevention, or mitigation of hazards. You can teach engineering students to incorporate safety features by demonstrating how they can enhance the performance and functionality of the engineering solution or product, encouraging them to design user-friendly, cost-effective, and compatible safety features, and requiring them to test and verify the effectiveness and reliability of their safety features under various scenarios and conditions.
The fourth step to design for safety is to communicate the safety information to the relevant stakeholders and users. Safety information includes data, instructions, warnings, and recommendations that inform and educate the stakeholders and users about the safety aspects of the engineering solution or product. You can teach engineering students to communicate safety information by introducing them to principles and standards of technical communication, such as clarity, accuracy, conciseness, and consistency. Additionally, it is important to encourage students to use appropriate formats, media, and channels to convey their safety information. Furthermore, they should tailor their safety information to the needs, expectations, and backgrounds of their target audience, such as engineers, managers, customers, regulators, and operators.
When teaching engineering students to design for safety, especially within the context of .NET or any other technological framework, there are additional considerations that can enhance their learning experience and effectiveness in integrating safety into their designs: 1. Interdisciplinary Learning 2. Understanding Regulatory and Legal Frameworks 3. Emphasizing Human Factors 4. Leveraging Emerging Technologies 5. Continuous Learning and Adaptability 6. Incorporating Sustainability 7. Mentoring and Peer Review 8. Encouraging Innovation in Safety 9. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving
The fifth step to design for safety is to learn from the safety feedback that is collected and analyzed from the engineering solution or product. Safety feedback is the information that reflects the performance, quality, and satisfaction of the engineering solution or product in relation to its safety requirements and features. To teach engineering students how to learn from safety feedback, you can provide them with opportunities and resources to collect and analyze it from various sources such as tests, inspections, reviews, surveys, and complaints. Additionally, encourage them to use safety feedback to identify and address the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of their engineering solution or product. Finally, require them to use safety feedback to improve and innovate their engineering design process and outcome.
The sixth and final step to design for safety is to cultivate a safety mindset among the engineering students. This attitude, belief, and value prioritize safety as a core aspect of engineering practice and profession. To do this, you should model and reinforce positive safety behaviors, create and maintain a supportive safety culture, and inspire and motivate them to pursue lifelong learning in safety engineering. This could involve following safety rules, reporting safety issues, seeking advice, sharing knowledge, celebrating achievements, learning from mistakes, attending workshops, joining organizations, and reading publications.
A great starting point would be to grab a pdf copy of the DOE STANDARD HUMAN PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT HANDBOOK VOLUME 1: CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES. Read through and embed what you learn from it into your organizations procedures.
The fact that humans are remarkably adept at operating a system completely differently to the manner in which the system designer expected it to be used. If switches can be mis-selected they will be, if limits can be over-ridden they will be, if the system can be assembled incorrectly it will be. And the designer will wonder how that could possibly happen. Hence testing should include challenging people to "break" the system not just confirm it works as requested.
Risk Assessment: Guide students to identify potential hazards and assess the associated risks in their design. standards and Regulations: Familiarize students with relevant safety standards and regulations applicable to their field, such as ANSI, or local building codes.