ABSTRACT
The chapter analyses the development of safety issues from the dawn of time to the present day. It presents the most important definitions and assumptions on which the foundations of safety science were built. Three most important trends in the construction of models of hazard and accident occurrence were discussed, namely, simple linear accident models, complex linear accident models, and complex non-linear accident models. The advantages and disadvantages of models based on metaphors such as the domino effect, Swiss cheese, and epidemiological model are presented. The second part of the chapter presents the most important Safety Engineering methods and tools. The limitations of using classical models based on the principle of causality in practice were analysed, and modern complex models were presented against this background. It focuses on two different approaches to the safety of complex systems, namely the Systems-Theoretic Accident Mode and Processes/Systems Theoretic Process Analysis (STAMP/STPA) and Functional Resonance Accident Model (FRAM). Their characteristics and basic advantages are presented. Areas of practical applications and development trends are indicated.
