Quality Management of Safety and Risk Analysis. Edited by J. Suokas & V. Rouhiainen. Elsevier Science Publishers BV, Amsterdam, 1993, 291 pp. ISBN 0 444 89864 6. Price: US$168.50. The book presents the basis for a systematic approach to the quality management of safety and risk. Essentially, it is providing a potential management framework for planning, executing and documenting safety analytical practices. It achieves this objective by linking the thoughts of many authors in a compendium of sections and chapters. Despite the many contributions there is a flow of thought and a coherent pattern of subject development. The work does not attempt to analyse different methods for assessing risk, but focuses upon the kinds of issues and problems that are encountered in safety and risk assessment. The contents of the book are as follows: 1. Introduction (J. Suokas); 2. Safety Analysis, Risk Analysis, Risk Management (J. Suokas & R. Kakko); 3. Quality of Risk Analysis (J. Suokas); 4. Advantages and Limitations of Risk Analysis (J. Suokas); 5. Definition of Goals and Planning of Resources (V. Rouhiainen); 6. Identification of Hazards (J. Suokas et al.); 7. Identification of Human and Organizational Factors (R. Rosness & K. Ruuhilehto); 8. Modelling of Accident Sequences (V. Rouhiainen); 9. Determination of Accident Frequencies (M. Rausand et al.); 10. Modelling of Accident Consequences (J. P. Stensaas & R. Wighus); 11. Determination of Accident Consequences (J. P. Stensaas); 12. Performance of the Analysis (V. Rouhiainen & J. Suokas); 13. Documentation of Safety Analysis (V. Rouhiainen); 14. Evaluation of the Results (J. Suokas & V. Rouhiainen); 15. Measures Necessary after the Analysis (V. Rouhiainen). There is also an Appendix entitled 'Checklist for Quality Control of Safety Analysis', as well as both an Author Index and a Subject Index. This book thus covers a range of topics concerned with safety and its assessment, and takes the reader from the general to the specific. In so doing, it does come over clearly as a set of research and practice papers, 307 Fire Safety Journal (22) (1994)--O 1994 Elsevier Science Limited, England. Printed in Northern Ireland
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Book review
and the orientation of some of the examples given may not be pertinent to every reader. Notwithstanding, this book may serve as an interesting reference for practising professionals and possibly postgraduate readers. Alan Grifl]th