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Safety Management Systems - COM00050M

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  • Department: Computer Science
  • Credit value: 10 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2023-24
    • See module specification for other years: 2022-23

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 2 2023-24

Module aims

The aims of the module are:

  • To provide students with an awareness of the issues associated with conducting technical safety activities within an organisational and regulatory environment
  • To develop skills at applying theoretical safety engineering knowledge in situations constrained by available education, resources and organisational culture

Module learning outcomes

  • Discuss the evolution of regulatory and legal context for safety
  • Discuss the relationship between business and safety risk management
  • Evaluate the role of organisational structure in safety performance
  • Differentiate between safety management system documentation and safety management systems
  • List the key activities covered by a safety management system
  • Discuss the role of Philosophy, policy, procedure and practice in a safety management system
  • Characterise the safety culture of an organisation
  • Prepare a work breakdown structure for a safety programme
  • Estimate cost and time for safety activities
  • Appraise a safety management proposal for practicality
  • Describe the requirements for safety competency management
  • Explain the relationship between safety competency and engineering ethics
  • Design a suite of metrics for a safety programme
  • Differentiate between proactive and reactive safety activities
  • Discuss the state of the art and future directions in safety management

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Module feedback

Individual written feedback is provided via the online feedback system.

Indicative reading

** Nancy Leveson, Engineering a Safer World, MIT Press, 2012

** South Shields Committee, Report of the South Shields Committee, Longman, 1843


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.