Accidents And Risks

Question 1

Critical Systems Essentials

Answer 1

1. Safety: The system should not harm people or the system’s environment
2. Reliability: The system must operate without serious failures
3. Availability: The system must be available to deliver services when requested to do so
4. Security: The system must be able to protect itself and its data from malicious use

Question 2

Risk is a combination of

Answer 2

1. The likelihood of an accident
2. The severity of the potential consequences

Question 3

Risk Factors in Technological Societies

Answer 3

Increasing complexity
Increasing exposure
Increased automation

Question 4

Linear temporal logic

¬

∨

∧

→

Answer 4

Not

Or

And

Implies

Question 5

Linear temporal logic

X

F

G

U

Answer 5

Next

Future

Globally

Until

Question 6

Three fallacies around accidents:

Answer 6

• Assuming human error
• Assuming technical failures
• Ignoring organisational factors

Question 7

Why is human error so often assumed?

Answer 7

• Convenience and Simplicity: Blaming human error is an easy explanation, avoiding deeper systemic investigations.
• Cognitive Bias: Hindsight and confirmation bias lead to focusing on human mistakes rather than system flaws.
• Final Line of Defense: Humans are often relied upon to catch and fix errors, so their failure is assumed to be the cause.
• Systemic Neglect: Underlying issues like poor training, fatigue, or bad design are often ignored.
• Lack of Human Factors Awareness: Systems are not designed to account for human limitations in complex or stressful environments.
• Organizational Pressures: Companies shift blame to individuals to protect reputations, reduce liability, or avoid costly changes.

Result: Oversimplifying accidents as human error prevents addressing root causes, leading to repeated failures and unfair blame.