ABSTRACT
Does valid data exist proving a correlation between Reliability Safety?
We use a generic DIPF curve (Design, Installation, Point of Failure, and Functional Failure) overlaid with a correlation to the Heinrich Pyramid as a starting point. It is widely advocated in the progressive Safety movement that the Heinrich Pyramid has been debunked for decades. So is this true?
We look at this issue from both communities perspective. In Dr. Nancy Leveson’s Engineering for a Safer World, she states “Assumption 1: Safety is increased by increasing system or component reliability. If components or systems do not fail, then accidents will not occur.” This is followed by her “New Assumption 1: High reliability is neither necessary nor sufficient for safety.” Is this true?
From the Reliability perspective, we cited actual field data from a published article entitle “A Reliable Plant is a Safe Plant is a Cost-Effective Plant,” by Ron Moore, that supported such a correlation. Who is right? You decide.
