Search

Hazards are situations that can result in accidents. Depending on the domain, this can include loss of lives, injuries and economic or environmental disasters. For example, a common hazard in the aviation domain is in flight engine shutdown. Hazard analysis is the process of discovering hazards in a system. This activity has been performed for many years in safety engineering and is a straightforward activity in most domains. In recent years a new class of systems has emerged, distinguished from traditional (monolithic) systems by a combination of characteristics such as autonomous and independently developed components, increased complexity and geographic dispersion. These characteristics introduce a number of challenges for traditional hazard analysis. This paper describes these challenges and proposes two complementary approaches that address them: Dependability Deviation Analysis (DDA) and simulation-based hazard analysis (SimHAZAN). The paper then describes a model-driven approach that combines the two and thereby provides an underlying framework for their application during system development.