Application of composite indicator in evaluation of resilience in critical infrastructure system

Abstract

In the field of safety engineering, various approaches can be found using indicators to analyse and evaluate system resilience. Such resilience is generally determined by various factors, i.e., it cannot be defined by a single indicator. A multidimensional approach is needed to evaluate the resilience of such a system. A suitable solution is the use of a composite indicator that aggregates sub-indicators describing or characterising a certain condition. As a complex indicator, a composite indicator is considered to be a very useful means of providing a comprehensible presentation of highly complex phenomena. However, when constructing a composite indicator, it is necessary to follow the principles of its creation and thus avoid distorting the result. This condition also applies when evaluating the resilience of critical infrastructure elements. For this reason, the article focuses primarily on a clear definition of the composite indicator, the procedure for its creation and an analysis of the current use of these indicators in the critical infrastructure system. The benefit of the article is therefore the assessment of the applicability of these theoretical foundations and general principles of composite indicator development for the needs of critical infrastructure protection and their subsequent implementation into a tool for predictive indication of disruption of resilience of critical infrastructure elements.