Abstract
There is no one widely accepted definition of risk. In fact, the meaning of the term risk is widely debated in literature (Holton 2004; Knight in Risk, uncertainty, and profit. Hart, Schaffner & Marx; Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, MA, 1921). However, risk is usually associated with uncertainty. In terms of system life cycle, risk is associated with uncertainty and opportunities related to cost, schedule, and performance (INCOSE in Systems engineering handbook: a guide for system life cycle processes and activities. INCOSE, San Diego, CA, 2011). In the area of decision making, risk is associated with probabilities of unknown outcomes (Gibson et al. in How to do systems analysis. Wiley-Interscience, Hoboken, NJ, 2007). Nonetheless, a classical view of risk considers probability of occurrence of an event that could halt operations and consequences of such an event (ASCE in Guiding Principles for the Nation’s Critical Infrastructure. American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA, 2009). The comprehensive analysis which consists of an objective evaluation of risk in which assumptions and uncertainties are clearly considered and presented is referred to as risk assessment. Risk assessment involves the determination of quantitative or qualitative estimation of risk related to a concrete situation and a recognized threat or hazard.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
ASCE. (2009). Guiding principles for the nation’s critical infrastructure. Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers.
Clemson, B. (1984). Cybernetics: A new management tool. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Abacus Press.
Gheorghe, A. V., Birchmeier, J., Kröger, W., & Vamanu, D. V. (2003). Hot spot based risk assessment for transportation dangerous goods by railway: Implementation within a software platform. In Proceedings of the Third International Safety and Reliability Conference (KONBIN 2003), Gdynia, Poland.
Gheorghe, A. V., Birchmeier, J., Kröger, W., Vamanu, D. V., & Vamanu, B. (2004). Advanced spatial modelling for risk analysis of transportation dangerous goods. In C. Spitzer, U. Schmocker, & V. N. Dang (Eds.), Probabilistic safety assessment and management (pp. 2499–2504). London, UK: Springer London. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-85729-410-4_401
Gheorghe, A. V., Birchmeier, J., Vamanu, D., Papazoglou, I., & Kröger, W. (2005). Comprehensive risk assessment for rail transportation of dangerous goods: A validated platform for decision support. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 88(3), 247–272. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2004.07.017
Gheorghe, A. V., Grote, G., Kogelschatz, D., Fenner, K., Harder, A., Moresi, E., et al. (2000). Integrated risk assessment, transportation of dangerous goods: Case study. Zurich, Switzerland: Target: Basel-Zurich/VCL. ETH KOVERS.
Gheorghe, A. V., Masera, M., Weijnen, M. P. C., & De Vries, J. L. (Eds.). (2006). Critical infrastructures at risk: Securing the European electric power system (Vol. 9). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.
Gibson, J. E., Scherer, W. T., & Gibson, W. F. (2007). How to do systems analysis. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Interscience.
Holton, G. A. (2004). Defining Risk. Financial Analysts Journal, 60(6), 19–25.
INCOSE. (2011) In H. Cecilia (Ed.) Systems engineering handbook: A guide for system life cycle processes and activities (3.2 ed.). San Diego, CA: INCOSE.
Katina, P. F. (2015). Systems theory-based construct for identifying metasystem pathologies for complex system governance (Ph.D., Old Dominion University, United States, Virginia).
Knight, F. H. (1921). Risk, uncertainty, and profit. Boston, MA: Hart, Schaffner & Marx; Houghton Mifflin Co.
Oggero, A., Darbra, R. M., Muñoz, M., Planas, E., & Casal, J. (2006). A survey of accidents occurring during the transport of hazardous substances by road and rail. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 133(1–3), 1–7. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2005.05.053
Quade, E. S. (1980). Pitfalls in formulation and modeling. In G. Majone & E. S. Quade (Eds.), Pitfalls of analysis (Vol. 8, pp. 23–43). Chichester, England: Wiley-Interscience.
Riegel, C. (2015). Spatial criticality—identifying CIP hot-spots for German regional planning. International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 11(3), 265–277. http://doi.org/10.1504/IJCIS.2015.072157
Vamanu, B. I. (2006). Managementul riscurilor privind transportul substanţelor periculoase: aplicaţii ale sistemelor dinamice complexe (Dissertation, Universitatea Politehnica Bucureşti, Facultatea de Chimie Aplicată şi Ştiinţa Materialelor, Catedra de Inginerie Economică, Bucureşti).
Warfield, J. N. (1976). Societal systems: Planning, policy and complexity. New York, NY: Wiley-Interscience.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Vamanu, B.I., Gheorghe, A.V., Katina, P.F. (2016). Risk Assessment. In: Critical Infrastructures: Risk and Vulnerability Assessment in Transportation of Dangerous Goods. Topics in Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality, vol 31. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30931-6_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30931-6_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-30929-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-30931-6
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)