Course syllabus
Riskanalys inom brandteknik
Risk Assessment in Fire Protection Engineering
VBRN45, 7,5 credits, A (Second Cycle)
Valid for: 2017/18
Decided by: PLED BI/RH
Date of Decision: 2017-04-03
General Information
Compulsory for: BI2
Language of instruction: The course will be given in Swedish
Aim
The aim of the course is that, in combination with earlier
courses, the students gain the capability of utilizing tools for
risk assessment and how they can support decisions in the area of
risk management and especially in the area of fire safety
engineering. Furthermore, the course is aimed at providing a
foundation for continuing studies in the risk management field.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
For a passing grade the student must
- be able to describe different perspectives of the concept of
risk and be aware of the implications of adopting the different
perspecives in a risk management context.
- be able to describe risk assessment methods, their areas of
applicability, especially in the area of fire safety
engineering and their strengths and weaknesses.
- be able to describe relevant risk measures, their limitations
and strengths and how they can be applied to evaluate risks.
- be able to describe different types of uncertainty and how they
can be addressed and handled in a risk assessment context.
- be able to describe how input from risk assessments can be
utilised as a basis for decision-making and emergency preparedness
planning.
- demonstrate an understanding of various sources of information
that can be used and the challenges in using them as input to risk
assessments.
Competences and skills
For a passing grade the student must
- be able to utilize, the concepts, methods and tools used in
risk assessment, in new situations and in situations related to
fire safety.
- be able to evaluate the contents of existing risk
assessments.
- be able to report, both orally and in writing, and discuss the
implications of a performed risk assessment in a way understandable
to persons with different knowledge backgrounds.
- be able to utilise material in scientific publications relevant
for risk assessment
- be able to utilise methods and tools for basic decision
problems concerning risks.
Judgement and approach
For a passing grade the student must
- be able to critically reflect on the benefits and limitations
of risk assessments as an input to decision making.
- be able to reflect upon ethical and subjective dimensions of
risk assessments.
Contents
The overriding elements in the course consist of: Introduction
to the field of risk assessment and management, the concept of
risk, risk assessment methodology within the field of fire safety
engineering, uncertainty analysis, risk measures and risk
evaluation.
During the course, a number of individual home assignments, as
well as a group project assignment, are to be completed. The
project assignment contains relevant issues associated to the
engineering field. The project assignment is to be reported in
written form and also orally.
Examination details
Grading scale: TH - (U,3,4,5) - (Fail, Three, Four, Five)
Assessment: The examination represents a combination of results of a written examination, the project assignment undertaken and individual home assignments. The home assignments will primarily focus on demonstration of understanding the theory. The written exam covers both questions of problem solving nature and those focusing more on understanding the theory.
The examiner, in consultation with Disability Support Services, may deviate from the regular form of examination in order to provide a permanently disabled student with a form of examination equivalent to that of a student without a disability.
Parts
Code: 0117. Name: Risk Assessment.
Credits: 4,5. Grading scale: TH. Assessment: Writen examination. Contents: The aim of the course is that, in combination with earlier courses, the students gain the capability of utilizing tools for risk assessment and how they can support decisions in the area of risk management. Furthermore, the course is aimed at providing a foundation for continuing studies in the risk management field.
Code: 0217. Name: Project Assignments.
Credits: 3. Grading scale: UG. Assessment: Successfully completed individual home assignments and group project assignment. Contents: During the course, a number of individual home assignments, as well as one major group project assignment, are to be completed. For the project assignments, tutors are available for consultation. The project assignments are to be reported in written and oral form.
Admission
Required prior knowledge: FMA430 Calculus in Several Variables, Statistics with Decision Theory or equivalent e.g. EXTA60 Statistik. VBRA06 Introduktion to Fire Safety Engineering
The number of participants is limited to: No
The course overlaps following course/s: VBR180, VRSN05, VBRN01
Reading list
- Apostolakis, G.: How Useful is Quantitative Risk Assessment. 2004. Risk Analysis 24(3); 515-520.
- Hazards Evaluation Procedures. CCPS, New York, 1985. Ch. 4.4-4.7.
- Frequency Modeling Techniques. CCPS, New York, 2000. Ch. 3.2.
- Minimal Cut Set Analysis. CCPS, New York, 2000. Appendix D.
- Risk Measures. CCPS, New York, 2000. Ch. 4.
- Case Study. CCPS, New York, 2000. Ch. 8.1.
- Evans, A. W. and Verlander, N. Q.: What is Wrong with Criterion FN-Lines for Judging the Tolerability of risk. 1997. Risk Analysis 17(2): 157-168.
- Hansson, S. O. : Risk: objective or subjective, facts or values. 2010. Journal of Risk Research 13(2): 231-238.
- Henrion, M. and Granger Morgan, M.: Uncertainty: A Guide to Dealing with Uncertainty in Quantitative Risk and Policy analysis. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press., 1990.
- Kaplan, S.: The Words of Risk Analysis. 1997. Risk Analysis 17(4): 407-417.
- Kaplan, S. & Garrick, B. J.: On the Quantitative Definition of Risk. 1981. Risk Analysis 1(1): 11-27.
- Otway, H. and von Winterfeldt, D.: Expert Judgement in Risk Analysis and Management Process, Context, and Pitfalls. 1992. Risk Analysis 12(1): 83-93.
- Paté-Cornell, M. E.: Uncertainties in Risk Analysis: Six Levels of Uncertainty Treatment. 1996. Reliability Engineering & System Safety 54: 95-111.
- Slovic, P., Finucane, M.L., Peters, E. and MacGregor, D.M.: Risk as Analysis and Risk as Feelings: Some thought about Affect, Reason, Risk, and Rationality. 2004. Risk Analysis 24(2): 311-322.
- Nilsson J: Introduktion till riskanalysmetoder, Rapport 3124. Brandteknik, Lund, 2000.
- Handbok för riskanalys. Räddningsverket, SRV, 2003.
- Nystedt, F: Riskanalysmetoder. Brandteknik, LTH, 2000.
- Grimvall m fl: Risker i tekniska system. Studentlitteratur, 2003.
- SFPE Engineering guide Fire Risk Assessment. SFPE, 2006.
- Plan- och bygglagen , SFS 2010:900. 2010.
- Plan- och byggförordningen, SFS 2011:338. 2011.
- Boverkets allmänna råd om analytisk dimensionering av byggnaders brandskydd, BFS 2011:27 BBRAD1. Boverket, 2011.
Contact and other information
Course coordinator: Patrick van Hees, patrick.van_hees@brand.lth.se
Further information: Group assignments and seminars require active participation. Each group member must individually be able to account for the content of the project assignment. If a group member does not fulfil the demands of the group or ignores hers/his commitment, she/he can be reassigned to another group or get a fail result. Some lectures can be given in English.