Hazard and Risk Assessment (HRAS)

This course teaches systematic approaches to hazard identification and risk assessment, including principles of risk reduction and ALARP.

Designed for flexibility, this course can be taken on a stand-alone basis for continuing professional development (CPD) or can count towards the completion of a postgraduate award.

The course effectively covers the first half of the safety process in the system development lifecycle. It encompasses predictive, target-setting techniques and should ideally be taken as a pair with System Safety Assessment, which addresses concepts and techniques appropriate to the later stages of a development project.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of the principles of risk assessment and management throughout the lifecycle of a system or service.
• Apply hazard and risk analysis techniques whilst demonstrating understanding of their strengths and limitations.
• Select and justify the use of appropriate hazard identification and analysis techniques throughout the lifecycle.
• Describe the role of hazard and risk assessment in supporting design trade-offs and operation decisions.

Course delivery

This course is taught in a blended format, comprising face-to-face sessions on campus and online learning. 

Face-to-face teaching will consist of three days of on campus teaching, taking place from Tuesday to Thursday of the teaching week at the University of York. The on-campus teaching will include lectures as well as extensive group exercises where you will have the opportunity to apply what you have learned through case studies.

You will also have 15 hours of self-study to complete in your own time. This includes preparatory work to finish before your on-campus sessions – which we’ll send on Friday 6 November 2027 – as well as materials to review afterward.

Assessment

Once you complete the taught element, you can opt to complete an assessment. The assessment for this course comprises coursework and an online exam.

The assessments are completed remotely and are expected to take 65 hours to complete, including revision and additional reading. The assessment is compulsory for students who require the module to be credited towards a degree award.

Progression to postgraduate awards

This module can count as credit towards the following postgraduate awards, subject to eligibility criteria. 

• Safety Critical Systems Engineering (MSc)
• Safety Critical Systems Engineering (PGDip)
• Safety Critical Systems Engineering (PGCert)

If you pursue further study, you may be eligible to credit a portion of your current course fees toward your future tuition. 

For full details, please see the terms and conditions.

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