Applied safety science and engineering techniques: The ASSET safety management process

Abstract

Applied Safety Science and Engineering Techniques (ASSET™) merge safety science and hazard based safety engineering principles within the overall framework of a safety management process to achieve, maintain and continuously improve the safety of products, processes and services for safer living and working environments. This paper covers the ASSET Safety Management Process and its guiding principles. This process has been synthesized from other current, mainstream principles of risk assessment and risk management, including recent International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) publications. Basic relationships are explored among hazards, exposure and harm to persons, property and the environment. Various potential approaches to safeguard against harm are then explored in the framework of safety management, systems engineering, human factors and other relevant principles. The ASSET Safety Management Process involves stages to (a) formulate the right types of questions to identify the scope of the product, system or service to be evaluated for potential harm, (b) identify and analyze hazards (potential sources of harm), (c) identify, analyze and evaluate protective measures to reduce the risk of harm (e.g., risk of injury from products), (d) assist in the determination of whether or not an acceptable level of safety is achieved, (e) understand and apply methods to maintain and continuously improve safety. This can help explain, apply and enhance existing requirements, and help address emerging technologies, products and applications. ASSET can be applied to virtually any industry and product segment to support informed decisions on solutions to difficult safety issues, using sound safety science and engineering experience and judgment. The ASSET process supports development of safety standards, codes, and regulations, and design, evaluation, compliance, certification and safety management of products, processes and services. This applies to responsibilities of safety designers, regulatory compliance, product safety certifiers, standards/codes developers and product and program safety managers. ASSET can also help to integrate and address the needs of various stakeholders including regulators, AHJs, standards developers, trade and professional organizations, consumer groups, government agencies and the public. The ASSET Safety Management Process can be used as a prospective, proactive tool to anticipate, assess and adequately protect against potential harm, and to support solutions in the immediate term for emerging technologies, products and applications, and in the longer term as new hazard-based or risk-based requirements are developed in standards, codes and regulations. ASSET is a trademark of UL LLC.