Vulnerability Assessment and Risk Prioritization with HRVA Method for Railway Stations

Abstract

We encounter the term of vulnerability in various spheres of life. Vulnerability is most often associated with security issues, but we can also encounter it in the economic, environmental or social spheres. In the security community, it is often associated with addressing natural and anthropogenic risks and analyzing indicators and properties of the environment that could cause undesirable consequences. In the economic sphere, vulnerability is associated mainly with risk management and solutions to those parts of the organization that may endanger her operation or economic tangible or intangible assets. We understand social vulnerability as a predisposition of a social actor to disrupt his existence, stability, development, integrity or damage to his interests or even the needs of life. The article contains a solution to the problem of identification and analysis of vulnerable physical locations of railway terminals with application to a specific object of a railway station.The HRVA (Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Analysis) method was chosen from several world-renowned concepts, methodologies and methods for vulnerability assessment. For the practical application of the method, software support was developed, which was applied in the article in the semi-quantitative assessment of the risk and vulnerability of the railway station. In addition to the HRVA method, the theoretical part clarifies the understanding of vulnerability as a determining parameter for risk management and detection of vulnerable places in the analyzed systems. The aim of the article is proposal and demonstrate a method of threat assessment with potential scenarios for the selected object - the railway station. The article also provides an overview of other, whether direct or indirect ways of assessing vulnerability and risks, in the form of theoretical or software solutions and tools.