Continuous Learning Approach to Safety Engineering
Rolf Johansson & Philip Koopman / CARS @EDCC 2022
Abstract:
A phase change moment is upon us as the automotive industry moves from conventional to highly automated vehicle operation, with questions about how to assure safety. Those struggles underscore larger issues with current functional safety standards in terms of a need to strengthen the traceability between required practices and safety outcomes. There are significant open questions regarding both the efficiency and effectiveness of standards-based safety approaches, including whether some engineering practices might be dropped, or whether others must be added to achieve acceptable safety outcomes. We believe that rather than an incremental approach, it is time to rethink how safety standards work. We propose that real-world field feedback for an initially safe deployment should support a DevOps-style continuous learning approach to lifecycle safety. Safety engineering should trace from a safety case to engineering practices to safety outcomes. Such an approach should be incorporated into future safety standards s (including ISO 26262) to improve safety engineering efficiency and effectiveness.
