Safety Cases and Safety Reports: Meaning, Motivation and Management

The safety case and its associated reports are quickly becoming not only a mechanism for achieving safety goals, but also a valuable decision-support asset, and a vital industrial liability management tool. Recent developments in industry have led to safety cases being frequently required as contractual deliverables as part of large and complex commercial programmes. A safety case consists of a rational argument and detailed evidence to justify and demonstrate that a system or product is tolerably safe in its use, and that it has a management programme to ensure that this remains so. The safety case report is the snap-shot presentation of the arguments and evidence demonstrating the contemporary safety performance of the system and the programme that is in place. This book, written from personal experience and reference, provides a concentrated source document for assessing and constructing safety cases and safety case reports - from understanding their purposes, through their development and on to their presentation.