System Safety for the 21st Century, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 7Tasks

The tasks required to establish, conduct, and maintain an ongoing system safety effort fall into three broad categories: planning tasks needed to initiate the program, primary system safety tasks (identifying, analyzing, and controlling hazards) needed to conduct the program, and support tasks needed to maintain the program.

Planning tasks are the responsibility of line management and are normally performed by a system safety planning group, supported by the safety staff, and reviewed and approved by corporate and project management. These tasks generally involve developing requirements, policy, and criteria and are discussed in detail in Chapter 9.

The primary system safety tasks are hazard identification, hazard analysis, and hazard control. Primary system safety tasks are normally prepared by an SSWG consisting of representatives from management, safety, engineering (the design organization), and the end user organization or group.

Support activities such as training, documentation, and data collection are normally performed by the safety staff.

These tasks must be performed throughout the life cycle of any project. The phases of the life cycle are as follows (Fig. 7‐1):

• Concept phase: The initial phase of any project, during which general objectives and specifications are developed.
• Design phase: General objectives and specifications are made specific.
• Production phase: The plans and specifications are converted into the end product.
• Operations phase: The ...