Part Time - This course is available full time or part time. 6 Assessed Modules - 5 of which are Core (C) and 1 Optional (O). Upgrade is possible to the Diploma SCSE and MSc SCSE courses. This modular postgraduate Certificate course is designed to prepare students for work in the demanding field of Systems Safety Engineering (SSE) by exposing them to the latest science and technology within this field. The discipline of SSE has developed over the last half of the twentieth century. It can be viewed as a process of systematically analysing systems to evaluate risks, with the aim of influencing design in order to reduce risks, i.e. to produce safer products. In mature industries, such as aerospace and nuclear power, the discipline has been remarkably successful, although there have been notable exceptions to the generally good safety record, e.g. Fukushima, Buncefield and the Heathrow 777 accident. Various trends pose challenges for traditional approaches to SSE. For example, classical hazard and safety analysis techniques deal poorly with computers and software where the dominant failure causes are errors and oversights in requirements or design. Thus these techniques need extending and revising in order to deal effectively with modern systems. Also, in our experience, investigation of issues to do with safety of computer systems have given some useful insights into traditional system safety engineering, e.g. into the meaning of important concepts such as the term hazard. The optional module allows students to investigate such areas as the contribution of software, human factors or operational factors to SSE in more depth.

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