Reliability Assessment of Safety and Production Systems

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.

Alain Leroy started his career in offshore engineering and was for ten years with the insurance industry. However, he has worked for most of his career in reliability engineering, focusing mainly on the implementation and use of novel approaches and techniques for assessing dependability parameters in the oil and gas industry. He has delivered courses on reliability at both basic and high levels.

Jean-Pierre Signoret has been in charge of the research and development of methods and tools in reliability engineering, as well as of practical studies related to reliability modelling. He is still involved in the development of several international standards, including IEC and ISO, related to dependability, functional safety, reliability data collection, and production assurance. As a member of TPA, he gives short courses in various universities on this topic.