Safecomp 93

The safe operation of computer systems continues to be a key issue in many applications where people, environment, investment, or goodwill can be at risk. Such applications include medical, railways, power generation and distribution, road transportation, aerospace, process industries, mining, military and many others. This book represents the proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer Safety, Reliability and Security, held in Poznan, Poland, 27-29 October 1993. The conference reviews the state of the art, experiences and new trends in the areas of computer safety, reliability and security. It forms a platform for technology transfer between academia, industry and research institutions. In an expanding world-wide market for safe, secure and reliable computer systems SAFECOMP'93 provides an opportunity for technical developers, users, and legislators to exchange and review the experience, to consider the best technologies now available and to identify the skills and technologies required for the future. The papers were carefully selected by the International Program Com mittee of the Conference. The authors of the papers come from 16 different countries. The subjects covered include formal methods and models, safety assessment and analysis, verification and validation, testing, reliability issues and dependable software tech nology, computer languages for safety related systems, reactive systems technology, security and safety related applications. As to its wide international coverage, unique way of combining partici pants from academia, research and industry and topical coverage, SAFECOMP is outstanding among the other related events in the field.

The world-wide market for safe, secure and reliable computer systems is expanding. For many high technology applications, safety is one of the top priorities. Among the industrial and business sectors which are especially concerned with safety are: certification, regulation/licensing, standards making, insurance, military, medical, rail, power, road, shipping, aerospace, process industries, manufacturing and machinery control, water treatment, and mining. SAFECOMP '93 is an opportunity for technical developers, users and legislators to exchange and review their experiences, to consider the best technologies now available, and to identify the skills and technologies required for the future. It focuses on critical computer applications, presenting current research and new trends in computer safety, reliability and security, and providing a platform for technology transfer between academia, industry and research institutions. It is outstanding for its international breadth (authors from 16 different countries), its unique way of combining participants from academia, research and industry, and its wide topical coverage. This book is the proceedings of SAFECOMP '93: the 12th International Conference on Safety, Reliability and Security of Computer Systems, Poznan, Poland, 27-29 October 1993. It includes four invited presentations by highly regarded international experts who review the present status of safety, reliability and security technology. The refereed papers discuss a broad spectrum of subjects including formal methods and models, safety assessment and analysis, verification and validation, testing, reliability issues and dependable software technology, computer languages for safety related systems, reactive systems technology, security and safety related applications. SAFECOMP '93 is for all those in universities, research institutions, industry and business who want to be well-informed about the current international state of the art in computer safety, reliability and security. The book provides a representative sample of recent research results and applications problems, presented by experts from industrial and academic institutions.

Safety-related computer systems are those which may lead to loss of life, injury or plant and environmental damage. Such systems therefore have to be developed and implemented so that they meet strict require and security because their applications cover ments on safety, reliability nearly all areas of daily life and range from controlling and monitoring industrial processes, through robotics and power generation, to transport systems. Highly reliable electronic systems for safety-related applications represent an area in which industry has been involved for many years and which is now gaining increasing importance in academia. Their relevance also results from an increased perception of safety by society. Therefore, not only are technicians involved in this area, but psycho logical and sociological aspects also play a major role. Dealing with safety-related systems we have to consider the whole lifecycle of these systems, starting from specification up to implementation, assessment and operation. All those issues mentioned above are covered in this book, which represents the proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Computer Safety, Reliability and Security, SAFECOMP '95, held in Belgirate, Italy, 11-13 October 1995. The conference continues the series of SAFECOMP conferences which was originated by the European Workshop on Industrial Computer Systems, Technical Committee 7 on Safety, Security and Reliability (EWICS TC7) and reflects the state of the art, experience and new trends in the area of safety-related computer systems.

SAFECOMP '96 contains papers presented at the 15th International Conference on Computer Safety, Reliability and Security held in Vienna, Austria, 23-25 October 1996. The conference aimed to provide an opportunity for technical developers and users to discuss and review their experiences, to consider the best technologies currently available, and to identify the skills and technologies required for the future. SAFECOMP '96 focuses on critical computer applications and is intended as a platform for technology transfer between academia, industry and research institutions. SAFECOMP '96 will be of interest to all those in universities, research institutions, industry and business who want to be well-informed about the current international state of the art in computer safety, reliability and security.

This book contains the Proceedings of the 6th Safety-critical Systems Sympo sium, the theme of which is Industrial Perspectives. In accordance with the theme, all of the chapters have been contributed by authors having an industrial af filiation. The first two chapters reflect half-day tutorials - Managing a Safety-critical System Development Project and Principles of Safety Management - held on the first day of the event, and the following 15 are contributed by the presenters of papers on the next two days. Following the tutorials, the chapters fa~l into five sub-themes - the session titles at the Symposium. In the first of these, on 'Software Development Tech nology', Trevor Cockram and others report on the industrial application of a requirements traceability model, Paul Bennett on configuration management in safety-critical systems, and Brian Wichmann on Ada. The next 5 chapters are on 'Safety Management'. In the safety domain, the fundamental business of management is increasingly being addressed with respect not merely to getting things done, but also to controlling the processes by which they are done, the risks involved, and the need not only to achieve safety but to demonstrate that it has been achieved. In this context, Gustaf Myhrman reveals recent developments for safer systems in the Swedish De fence, and Shoky Visram reports on the management of safety within a large and complex Air Traffic Control project.

The contributions to this book are the invited papers presented at the fifth annual Safety-critical Systems Symposium. They cover a broad spectrum of issues affecting safety, from a philosophical appraisal to technology transfer, from requirements analysis to assessment, from formal methods to artificial intelligence and psychological aspects. They touch on a number of industry sectors, but are restricted to none, for the essence of the event is the transfer of lessons and technologies between sectors. All address practical issues and of fer useful information and advice. Contributions from industrial authors provide evidence of both safety con sciousness and safety professionalism in industry. Smith's on safety analysis in air traffic control and Rivett's on assessment in the automotive industry are informative on current practice; Frith's thoughtful paper on artificial intelli gence in safety-critical systems reflects an understanding of questions which need to be resolved; Tomlinson's, Alvery's and Canning's papers report on collaborative projects, the first on results which emphasise the importance of human factors in system development, the second on the development and trial of a comprehensive tool set, and the third on experience in achieving tech nology transfer - something which is crucial to increasing safety.

Each year there are improvements in safety-critical system technology. These arise both from developments in the contributing technologies, such as safety engineering, software engineering, human factors and risk assessment, and from the adoption or adaptation of appropriate techniques from other domains, such as security. For these improvements to be of real benefit, they need to be applied during the appropriate stage in the life cycle of the system, whether it be development, assessment, or operation. For this to occur, they must be communicated and explained. Each year the Safety-critical Systems Symposium offers a distinguished forum for the presentation of papers on such developments, and also for papers from industry on the lessons learned from the use of technologies and methods. The results of many collaborative research projects, with components from both industry and academia, are reported in a universally understandable form. In 1995 the Symposium was held in Brighton, a venue calculated to stimulate not just the presenters of papers, but all the delegates. Yet, this book of Proceedings is intended not only for the delegates but also for readers not able to attend the event itself. We welcome both categories of reader. Delegates have the benefit of attending the presentations and the opportunity to participate in the discussions; those who take up this book after the event can peruse it attheir leisure and, perhaps, on account of it will resolve to attend subsequent symposia.