Ruben Van Coile
Fri 17 Mar 2017, 11:30 - 12:30
Classroom 2, Sanderson Building

If you have a question about this talk, please contact: Martina Manes (s1688520)

Abstract: Perfect safety does not exist and consequently all safety systems inherently have a probability of failure. By increasing investments in safety, the safety level or reliability can be increased, but large overinvestments in safety deprive society from valuable limited resources that can be put to more efficient use in other areas of public health and wellbeing.

These fundamental considerations underlie the Life Quality Index (LQI) proposed by Nathwani et al. (1997). As a simple compound social indicator, the LQI can be applied for evaluating the societal acceptability of decisions related to Life Safety. Since its introduction, the LQI has found considerable support in the structural reliability community and there have also been applications in the field of fire safety engineering.

An (at first sight) alternative methodology is known as Lifetime Cost Optimization (LCO). When applying this concept, the level of safety investment is determined which minimizes the total cost over the lifetime of the structure or system (maximum total utility).

The lunchtime seminars aims to introduce the decision making concepts of both the LQI and LCO methods. Simple application examples from the field of fire safety engineering are presented, and the relationship between the LQI and LCO is discussed in some detail.

Bio: Ruben Van Coile holds degrees in Civil Engineering, Law and Fire Safety Engineering from Ghent University and worked for WSP|PB in London as part of the Fire Safety team. He joined the University of Edinburgh as a post-doctoral research associate, aiming to determine risk- and reliability-based targets for (structural) fire safety engineering – and to better understand structural fire engineering in general. His research interests combine technical investigations into the safety of structures exposed to fire with fundamental questions of cost-optimization and the appropriateness of (legal) fire safety requirements.

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