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.

Full paper here: link