System Safety Working Group

Working to accelerate the maturity of practice of System Safety Engineering

Working Group Purpose & Mission

Mission:

The purpose of the INCOSE System Safety Working Group (SSWG) is to accelerate the maturity of the practice of system safety engineering as part of the wider systems engineering practice.

Safety is an emergent property of a system, dependent on how a system behaves when used, and sustained, in a specific way in a specific environment. Safety management, therefore, should be an integral part of the systems engineering process.

Unfortunately, this is not, universally, the case. Specifically,
• In some highly regulated environments (such as rail, aerospace or medical devices) the safety management process can be an additional layer of process on top of the systems engineering process. This can increase time to market, increase costs and potentially reduce the overall safety of deployed systems.
• In some organizations and sectors, safety management practice lags behind systems engineering practice. The level of effectiveness of safety management practice varies across different sectors and countries.
• Different organizations at different positions in the supply chain can have different perspectives on safety management that can have significant impact on safety, cost and effectiveness.

Increased complexity, driven by increased use of software and automation, systems-of-systems, internet of things, closed loop control and ‘inexpert operators’ is making the safety management challenge harder. In some cases, unsafe systems may be being deployed; in others the inability to demonstrate that systems are safe are limiting the deployment of new types of system

Analytic Enablers

TechOps Domain

245

Members

2012

Established


Chairs

Duncan Kemp

Meaghan O'Neil

Co-Chair

Bruno J Correia Gracio


Scope

This WG will address activities relating to best practices for systems safety engineering throughout the systems lifecycle. Including:
  • A whole range of system types - including products, services, capabilities and systems of systems
  • Practice across multiple sectors
  • Perspectives from a range of different players in the supply chain

Goals

To Understand:

  • The state of the art and state of the practice in system safety management in different sectors and geographies
  • The implications of the changing nature of systems from a safety perspective
  • The overall relationship and coupling between different players in the supply chain, including regulators, asset owner operators and product/service suppliers

To identify ways to make the practice more effective, efficient and timely

To build a network across the practice of system safety

Outcomes

  • To improve the state of the practice of system safety engineering
  • To develop and maintain a community for system safety engineers

System Safety Webinar Series

The working group will host guest speakers for virtual presentations related to a wide range of System Safety topics.

To receive an invitation for upcoming virtual presentations, please ensure you have joined the working group by selecting System Safety in your INCOSE member profile.  We will also provide a notification via INCOSE yammer.

All are welcome to nominate a future speaker by email the details of the proposed topics and relevant speaker qualifications to [email protected] with the subject line “Webinar Proposal”.

International Symposium 2025

IS2025 will provide a wide range of content related to the System Safety including paper presentations and tutorials.  This will include an introductory tutorial on STAMP based methods, CAST and STPA.

Planned Activities

  • Continue to progress the perspectives on system safety work
  • Progress system safety primer
  • Work on series of presentations to engage wider group
  • Continue to support updates to INCOSE handbook
  • Continue collaboration with Loss Driven SE Initiative
  • Continue engagement with UK Royal Academy of Engineering on System Safety for Complex Systems
  • Continue engagement with Safety Critical Systems Club and STAMP initiatives

Planned Work Products

  • Perspective on System Safety Paper
  • System Safety Primer
  • Updated System Safety INCOSE Handbook section

 

Yammer is INCOSE's social media platform for members. Use your INCOSE-issued Microsoft credential to login and join the conversation. INCOSE credentials are in the form of [email protected] or [email protected].   

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