Hazards & System Safety

Identify hazards, assess risk levels, and track mitigation controls for system safety analysis.

The Hazards page provides a structured approach to system safety analysis. Identify potential hazards, assess their risk using industry-standard severity and likelihood scales, and document the controls that reduce risk to acceptable levels.

Accessing Hazards

Open the Hazards page from the left sidebar. The page displays all identified hazards with their risk levels, and you can switch between list view and risk matrix view.

Creating a Hazard

1. Click New Hazard to create a new hazard record.
2. Enter a descriptive name (e.g., “Battery thermal runaway”).
3. Add a description explaining the hazardous condition.

Each hazard automatically receives a sequential ID (HAZ-001, HAZ-002, etc.) for traceability.

Risk Assessment

Every hazard is assessed using two dimensions that combine to determine the overall risk level.

Severity Levels

How bad could the outcome be?

Level	Description
Catastrophic	Death, system loss, severe environmental damage
Critical	Severe injury, major system damage
Marginal	Minor injury, minor system damage
Negligible	Less than minor injury or damage

Likelihood Levels

How often might this occur?

Level	Code	Description
Frequent	A	Likely to occur often
Probable	B	Will occur several times
Occasional	C	Likely to occur sometime
Remote	D	Unlikely but possible
Improbable	E	Very unlikely to occur

Risk Matrix

Severity and likelihood combine in a 5×4 matrix to determine the risk level:

Risk Level	Color	Meaning
Extreme	Red	Unacceptable — must eliminate or reduce
High	Orange	Undesirable — senior management decision required
Medium	Yellow	Tolerable with review
Low	Green	Acceptable

Use the Matrix View toggle to see all hazards plotted on the risk matrix. Click any hazard to see its mitigation path traced across the matrix.

Potential Harm Classification

Beyond the hazard condition itself, document what harm could result:

Harm Types

• Fatality
• Severe injury
• Moderate injury
• Minor injury
• Mission loss
• System loss
• Major damage
• Minor damage
• Environmental damage

Loss Domains

Who or what is affected:

• People — Personnel safety
• Mission — Operational objectives
• Asset — Equipment and systems
• Environment — Environmental impact

Risk Control Path

The Risk Control Path shows how controls reduce risk from the initial assessment to the residual (final) level. Each control action is added in order of effectiveness.

Adding Control Actions

1. Click Add Control in the Risk Control Path section.
2. Select the control type from the hierarchy of controls.
3. Enter the resulting severity and likelihood after this control is applied.
4. Document the rationale explaining why this control reduces risk.

Control Type Hierarchy

Controls are ordered by effectiveness (most effective first):

Type	Description	Example
Elimination	Remove the hazard entirely	Redesign to eliminate the failure mode
Substitution	Replace with less hazardous alternative	Use non-flammable materials
Design	Engineer out the risk	Add redundant systems
Guard	Physical barriers or interlocks	Install protective covers
Warning	Alerts and indicators	Add caution labels, alarms
Procedure	Administrative controls	Operating procedures, checklists
PPE	Personal protective equipment	Require safety gear
Training	Knowledge and skills	Operator certification

Control Status

Track the implementation state of each control:

Status	Meaning
Planned	Control identified but not yet implemented
Implemented	Control in place but not yet verified
Verified	Control verified effective through test/analysis

Verification Evidence

For verified controls, document:

• Verification method — Test, analysis, inspection, or demonstration
• Verification date — When verification was completed
• Evidence reference — Test report ID, analysis document, etc.

Disposition

The disposition indicates the current risk acceptance state:

Disposition	Meaning
Unacceptable	Risk level requires action
Controlled	Controls in place but not yet accepted
Accepted	Risk formally accepted by authority
Eliminated	Hazard eliminated by design

When accepting a residual risk, document:

• Accepted by — Name or role of accepting authority
• Acceptance date — When acceptance was granted
• Rationale — Why the residual risk is acceptable
• Scope — What configuration or version this applies to

Traceability

Assigned Systems

Link hazards to the Parts that could cause them or be affected. This maintains traceability between your safety analysis and system architecture.

Mitigating Requirements

Link requirements that implement hazard controls. This ensures your requirements trace back to safety needs and vice versa.

Interfaces

Link interfaces that are relevant to the hazard. This helps identify critical connections where hazards could propagate between system components.

Views

List View

The default view shows hazards as expandable cards with:

• Hazard ID and name
• Current risk level badge
• Severity and likelihood
• Disposition status
• Quick access to edit details

Risk Matrix View

Toggle to the matrix view to see:

• All hazards plotted by severity (X-axis) and likelihood (Y-axis)
• Color-coded cells showing risk levels
• Mitigation paths showing how controls reduce risk
• Click hazards to see their control path traced across the matrix

Filtering and Search

Use the filter bar to narrow the hazard list by:

• Risk Level — Extreme, High, Medium, Low
• Severity — Catastrophic through Negligible
• Likelihood — Frequent through Improbable
• Disposition — Unacceptable, Controlled, Accepted, Eliminated

Search by hazard name or ID using the search bar.

Best Practices

1. Write clear hazard descriptions — Describe the unsafe condition, not the consequence. “Battery overheating” not “Fire causes injury.”

2. Be consistent with severity/likelihood — Use your organization’s definitions or adopt MIL-STD-882 criteria.

3. Document rationale for risk assessments — Explain why you chose a particular severity or likelihood level.

4. Apply controls in priority order — Start with elimination and work down the hierarchy. Lower-tier controls should supplement, not replace, higher-tier ones.

5. Verify controls before acceptance — Don’t accept residual risk until controls are verified effective.

6. Maintain traceability — Link hazards to affected Parts and mitigating Requirements for complete coverage.

Permissions

Hazard management respects model permissions:

Role	Can Create	Can Edit	Can Delete
Owner	✓	✓	✓
Admin	✓	✓	✓
Editor	✓	✓	✓
Viewer	—	—	—

Viewers can browse hazards but cannot modify them.