Analysis of system failure in industry 

Technical systems are becoming more and more complex and their reliability is often dependent on software, mechanical, electronic and human factors. This applies equally to safety related systems and there may be many failure modes.

COWI has much experience in assessing failure rates and estimating PFD (probability of failure on demand) on the basis of detailed technical knowledge, fault tree analysis, published failure data, human and organizational factors and interviews with operations and maintenance staff at the installation. 

We use these methods for:

• Risk analysis of installations with major hazard potential
• Safety assessment of machinery
• Explosion risk assessment
• Optimizing inspection and maintenance activities
• Estimation of availability or downtime

Over the past 25 years we have developed the barrier diagram method. This is a powerful tool for analysing potential failures of safety measures (barriers) and estimating the resulting frequency of the accidents that occur. The method also provides brief and clear documentation that can be used for operational purposes.