Residual risk is alive and ever present in machine safety
Machine safety and product safety are alike when it comes to the
issue of residual risk. Engineers are supposed to hold public
safety as paramount and prevent bad things from happening. How?
Machine safety and product safety are alike when it comes to the
issue of residual risk. From recent news headlines: Miners
killed in an explosion; Workers missing after oil drilling
platform burns and sinks; Cars accelerate out of control;
Volcano threatens airliners; Storms destroy buildings and kill
10 people. These aren’t supposed to happen.  Engineers are
supposed to hold public safety as paramount and prevent bad
things from happening. Recognizing hazards and mitigating them
can be complex. The dangers involving products and machines
change over time; the dangers when a machine is being built are
different after it is installed and are different again when it
is decommissioned and disposed.  Take for example the recent
sudden acceleration problems an autom