New safety engineering guide published by Institution of Mechanical Engineers

A new guide from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers looks to update safety guidance for engineers on how to reduce risks to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).

The guide was written by the Institution’s Safety & Reliability Group after it became clear that in recent years courts and regulators have taken different approaches towards the calculation of risk and new guidance was needed for engineers.

Keith Miller, lead author of the report, said:

“The Safety & Reliability Group recognised that developments in both safety engineering and the law had rendered much of the existing ALARP guidance obsolete, even to the extent that it would be inadmissible in court.

The time had come to combine the lessons from different industries and produce a more objective, scientific, and systematic process that would be legally admissible and convincing.  The document debunks some myths and unsound practices and provides practical alternatives, which are backed up by plenty of examples.

The project involved contributions from law firms, regulators, consultants, statisticians, academics and other engineering institutions.

This report has now been re-issued at Rev 1.1, with the main change being an improved Proportionality Matrix.