ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the importance of uncertainty, identify the barriers that currently hinder the adoption of new standards, and propose a process by which performance-based standards can be applied to fire protection systems. Human behavioral uncertainties concern both how people act in a fire and how their actions should be considered during steps in the design process. The same design may be judged on two performance criteria or by two critical values of the same performance criterion. Human behavioral uncertainties concern both how people act in a fire and how their actions should be considered during steps in the design process. Few studies have been conducted that clearly demonstrate how society values fire safety risks at the level needed to support performance-based trade-offs. Aside from the considerable obstacle of confronting and integrating uncertainty into the design and evaluation process for a fire protection system, several other significant barriers make the successful adoption of performance-based standards difficult at the current time.
