System Safety Engineering for a High-Pressure Experimental Research Facility

This paper will discuss system safety engineering through a case study investigation of an engineering project at Imperial College London, involving a new high-pressure experimental research facility. As part of the establishment of the Institute of Shock Physics, Imperial College is partnered with an industrial organization to create this new facility that will allow research to be undertaken in the area of understanding how materials behave under high strain rates. In order to achieve this objective, new purpose built equipment has been designed and is scheduled to be delivered and installed in 2010. Before the new facility can become operational there is a need to develop a robust safety case and to initiate a new safety management system. To achieve this goal, a set of technology and systems management processes have been employed in order to ensure safety engineering best practice is utilized early in the system lifecycle. The process methodologies adopted include systems design visualizations, such as systems architecting and safety control structure diagramming; failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA); multidisciplinary teaming; benchmarking and enterprise management. The paper will describe these processes, initially through a review of supporting literature and then from the case study investigation, highlighting the merits of the processes as well as any difficulties encountered. The paper will then conclude with a set of recommendations on improving safety management for engineering projects.