Operating and support hazard analysis

Operating and Support Hazard Analysis (OSHA) is an analysis performed to identify those operating functions that may be inherently dangerous to test, maintenance, handling, transportation or operating persoimel or in which human error could be hazardous to equipment or people. The information for this analysis is normally obtained from the PHA. The OSHA should be performed at the point in system development when sufficient data is available, after procedures have been developed. It documents and evaluates hazards resulting from the implementation of operations performed by personnel. It also considers  

The planned system configuration at each phase of activity. 

Regulatory or contractually specified personnel safety and health requirements. 

The potential for unplanned events including hazards introduced by human error. 

OSHA identifies the safety requirements (or alternatives) needed to eliminate identified hazards or to reduce the associated risk to an acceptable level. 

The purpose of the operating and support hazard analysis (O SHA), sometimes called the operating hazard analysis (OHA), is to 

Identify aU hazards in the operation of a system that are inherently dangerous to personnel, or in which a human error could be hazardous to equipment or people 

Provide recommended risk reduction alternatives during all phases of tasks or operations that are controlled by written procedures (TAI 1989 Stephenson 1991). 

Simply stated, the O SHA encompasses an analytical review of the controlling documents to ensure hazard elimination or control and concentrates heavily on the performance of people (human factors and human behaviors) and their relationship to the hazards within the task. The focus is primarily on the maintenance and operation of the system, rather than the system components themselves. 

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The prioritized list of controls for hazards may be called the safety precedence sequence, the hazard reduction precedence, the hazard control sequence, the system safety sequence, or any of several other terms. The only real difference between an operating hazard analysis (OHA) and an operating and support hazard analysis (O SHA) is the name. 

The operating hazard analysis (OHA) analyzes hazards associated with the maintenance and operation of the system, with emphasis on human factors, training and procedures, and the person-machine interface. The OHA is sometimes called the O SHA (operating and support hazard analysis). 

Operating and support hazard analysis (O SHA) As described in NHB 1700.1(V1-A) and this document. The O SHA is to identify hazards and recommend risk reduction alternatives in procedurally controlled activities during all phases of intended use (NSTS 22254). 

The information recorded on the PHA worksheet, together with the PHA report, will greatly facilitate the performance of other benehcial system analyses (such as the subsystem hazard analysis, the failure mode and effect analysis, and the operating and support hazard analysis) that may be accomplished during the remaining phases of the product life cycle. 

The ETBA is an analytical technique that can be of great assistance in preparation of the preliminary hazard list (PHL). It can also be quite useful in the development of a preliminary hazard analysis (PHA), subsystem hazard analysis (SSHA), or the more general system hazard analysis (SHA). The ETBA can also be used, depending on the specific system under consideration, in the development of the operating and support hazard analysis (O SHA), and, of course, during the MORT process from which the ETBA evolved. 

The second and more common hardware FMEA examines actual system assemblies, subassemblies, individual components, and other related system hardware. This analysis should also be performed at the earliest possible phase in the product or system life cycle. Just as subsystems can fail with potentially disastrous effects, so can the individual hardware and components that make up those subsystems. As with the functional FMEA, the hardware FMEA evaluates the reliability of the system design. It attempts to identify single-point failures, as well as all other potential failures, within a system that could possibly result in failure of that system. Because the FMEA can accurately identify critical failure items within a system, it can also be useful in the development of the preliminary hazard analysis and the operating and support hazard analysis (Stephenson 1991). It should be noted that FMEA use in the development of the O SHA might be somewhat limited, depending on the system, because the FMEA does not typically consider the ergonomic element. Other possible disadvantages of the FMEA include its purposefiil omission of multiple-failure analysis within a system, as well as its failure to evaluate any operational interface. Also, in order to properly quantify the results, a FMEA requires consideration and evaluation of any known component failure rates and/or other similar data. These data often prove difficult to locate, obtain, and verify (Stephenson 1991). 

Operating and Support Hazard Analysis A system safety analytical technique (also know as the operational hazard analysis) which focuses primarily on the hazards associated with or caused/enhanced by the human/task interface of system operations. 

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