Safety and Reliability for Managing Risk

Safety is a major concern of society and touches on many areas of human activity. One important component of safety is the reliability of equipment and systems and the actions of the professionals, who design, build and operate them. A variety of modelling methods have been developed to assess the risk associated with taking decisions on the course of action related to the design, maintenance or operation of a system. Such models include the element of uncertainty inherent in the behaviour of any given system. There are a number of theories, techniques and methods available, continuously being developed and improved, which evaluate the safety and reliability of systems, ensuring that these are operated and managed in a way as to keep the associated risks within the boundaries of what is considered tolerable or acceptable. "Safety and Reliability for Managing Risk" contains papers presented at the 15th European Safety and Reliability Conference (ESREL 2006) at Estoril in Portugal, in September 2006. The contributions highlight the fact that the theories and methods used to assess safety and reliability are powerful tools for decision-making and can be used effectively to manage the daily risks to which modern society is exposed.