A structured procedure for dependent failure analysis (DFA)

Abstract

A recent European Benchmark Exercise has once again provided some evidence that dependent failures can dominate a reliability assessment by three or four orders of magnitude. In any reliability analysis the effect of dependent failures must therefore be assessed. Methods and procedures currently exist which make a dependent failure assessment possible. The best general approach available now, it is contended, is a systems approach which takes account of system defences in evaluating the contribution of dependent failures. A structured procedure for such an approach is presented.