Shuttle tragedy shows value of fault tree analysis
In light of the February 1 Columbia shuttle tragedy, the importance of fault tree analysis and how it relates to the safety profession has garnered greater interest, says Mark Hansen, CSP, PE, president of the American Society of Safety Engineers.
"Fault tree analysis is a logical and structured process that can help identify potential causes of system failure before the failures actually occur," says Hansen. "This powerful technique has long been a staple of safety engineering and the safety profession and is often used as a design tool, which can help ensure that product performance safety objectives are met. Fault tree applications are used extensively in analyzing manufacturing equipment, automotive subsystems, aircraft, nuclear power plants, public utilities, or other complex technical systems.