Risk Informed Design modeling process & design team - Analyst interaction

Abstract

As demand for highly reliable complex systems increases, engineers are being forced to consider the risk implications of design decisions earlier in the conceptual phase of projects and with greater accuracy. Standard probabilistic risk assessments (PRA) usually employed to verify that a product meets requirements are too resource intensive and too slow to keep up with the speed at which the design is maturing; while classical qualitative methods do not provide the level of detail and granularity required by the designers to make high-quality risk informed decisions. The Altair design team was able to overcome these challenges by employing a process of Risk Informed Design utilizing the Valador Reliability Tool [1] (VRT). This tool is able to quickly and accurately produce estimates of the risk of Loss of Mission (LOM) and Loss of Crew (LOC) per mission and provide insight to the designers as to how their decisions will impact overall mission success. The VRT employs a method or risk assessment that is unlike traditional PRA as it effectively engages the designers in the model building process and as a result of this increased Designer - Analyst interaction both the quality of the design and the quality of the PRA model is increased.