Risk Assessment: Tools, Techniques, and Their Applications

6.3 Using PHA for Preliminary Product Design

At the beginning of the chapter, we discussed the injuries that can occur with poor design of infant furniture (3). We will now develop a partial PHA for a proposed piece of infant furniture, a crib, using the PHA technique.

The steps we use to do the analysis are as follows:

1. Determine function(s) of the crib.

2. Determine required specifications for the crib.

3. Determine major systems/subsystems of the crib.

4. Determine important components of each system/subsystem of the crib.

5. Determine operating modes of the crib.

6. Determine hazards associated with each system/subsystem of the crib in the identified operating modes.

7. Determine accident conditions.

8. Determine potential consequences.

9. Determine hazard class, if appropriate.

10. Determine preventative/mitigating measures.

To accomplish the PHA, we do the above steps in sequence.

6.3.1 Step 1: Determine Functions of the Crib

The primary function of the crib is a place for the infant to sleep. There are several secondary functions and/or unintended functions that still can impact the safety of the crib. They can be things such as a changing table or a storage area of baby toys.

6.3.2 Step 2: Determine Required/Critical Specifications

The required/critical specifications of the crib can come from regulations, case law, quality standards, previous accidents, manufacturing requirements, style requirements, and company standards. These types of requirements include ...