ME4702 Engineering Systems Risk Benefit Analysis

This course emphasizes three methodologies, Decision Analysis (DA), Reliability and Probabilistic Risk Assessment (RPRA) and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA). The course is designed to give students an understanding of how these diverse topics can be applied to decision making process of product design that must take into consideration significant risk. The course will present and interpret a framework for balancing risks and benefits to applicable situations. Typically, these involve human safety, potential environmental effects, and large financial and technological uncertainties. Concepts from CBA and RPRA are applied for real world problems resulting in decision models that provide insight and understanding, and consequently, leading to improved decisions.

Prerequisite

Consent of instructor

Lecture Hours

3

Lab Hours

2

Course Learning Outcomes

At the completion of each of the course modules students will be able to:

• Define the various parts of Risk Management according to DoD policy. 
• Be familiar with Risk Terminology.
• Be able to articulate the PRA process.
• Be able to predict a systems reliability based on a system's block diagram.
• Perform multiple simulations at once in Risk Simulator.
• Incorporate correlations into Risk Simulator.
• Understand that cost risk and schedule risk is present throughout a product's lifecycle.
• Convert raw data into probability distributions that one can use in risk assessments or decision trees.
• Define the customer's value and objectives.
• Create a decision table process.
• Discuss why it is important to combine normative and descriptive models.