What is BS EN 62502 - Event tree analysis about?
BS EN 62502 discusses analysis techniques for dependability. BS EN 62502 specifies the consolidated basic principles of Event Tree Analysis (ETA) and provides guidance on modelling the consequences of an initiating event as well as analysing these consequences qualitatively and quantitatively in the context of dependability and risk-related measures.
More specifically, BS EN 62502 deals with the following topics in relation to event trees:
- Defining the essential terms and describing the usage of symbols and ways of graphical representation
- Specifying the procedural steps involved in the construction of the event tree
- Elaborating on the assumptions, limitations and benefits of performing the analysis
- Identifying relationships with other dependability and risk-related techniques and elucidating suitable fields of applications
- Giving guidelines for the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the evaluation
- Providing practical examples
Who is BS EN 62502 - Event tree analysis for?
BS EN 62502 on analysis techniques for dependability is applicable to all industries where qualitative and quantitative dependability analyses are performed. Specific users of BS EN 62551 can be the following:
- Reliability engineers
- Risk analysts
Why should you use BS EN 62502 - Event tree analysis?
Over the following years, ETA has gained widespread acceptance as a mature methodology for dependability and risk analysis and is applied in diverse industry branches ranging from the aviation industry, nuclear installations, the automotive industry, chemical processing, offshore oil and gas production, to the defence industry and transportation systems.
The event tree analysis described in BS EN 62502 has the following merits:
- It is applicable to all types of systems
- It provides visualization of event chains following an initiating event
- It enables the assessment of multiple coexisting system faults (states causing an inability to perform a required function, e.g., defect of a surveillance system) or failures (termination of the ability to perform a required function, e.g., the event of a valve being stuck open) as well as other dependent events
- It functions simultaneously in the failure or success domain
- It identifies end events that might otherwise not be foreseen
- It identifies potential single-point failures, areas of system vulnerability, and low-payoff countermeasures. This provides for the optimized deployment of resources, and improved control of risk through improved procedures and safety functions
- It allows for identification and traceability of failure propagation paths of a system
- It enables the decomposition of large and complex systems into smaller more manageable parts by clustering it into smaller functional units or subsystems
