Weapon System Safety: Bridging the GAP between Hardware and Software.

Abstract

System safety efforts for major weapon systems often provide for the early identification of hazards and the elimination or control of those hazards through system design. Although this process has been proven effective in providing safe and effective weapon systems, significant deficiencies exist when computer programs utilized within the system are not adequately addressed. With the influx of computer programs in today's weapon system designs, it is critical to emure computer program safety analysis is integrated into the system safety analysis process. With the proper analysis effort for all aspects of the system, and the proper integration of those efforts, a thorough identification and resolution of hazards will occur whether those hazards are induced by a failure mode, adverse environment, or computer program condition. This report addresses a system safety methodology and flow of safety-related information from system-related analyses to computer- program-related analyses. Specifically, the identification of safety-critical functions, analysis techniques, and the identification of potential hazards in computer programs are discussed. In addition, a method for accurately assessing risk associated with computer program hazards and documenting their relationship to system-level events is defined.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA328626

Entities

People

  • Michael Zemore

Organizations

  • Naval Surface Warfare Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Deficiencies
  • Digital Information
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Environment
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Identification
  • Risk Analysis
  • Safety
  • Safety Analysis
  • Safety Engineering
  • Surface Warfare
  • System Safety
  • Weapon Systems
  • Weapons

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Aviation Safety Risk Assessment.
  • Computer Science.
  • Software Engineering.