[SystemSafety] The Rush

[paul_e.bennett at topmail.co.uk]

On 09/12/2016 at 1:18 AM, "Les Chambers"  wrote:      

	Hi  

	There are many things that can spook a herd of bullocks. A possum, a
cracking twig, a flash of lightning or a bush rat chewing on a tender
hoof. One minute the herd is at peace under the stars and the next
the're up and rushing. The Americans call this a stampede, in
Australia it's a rush. All drovers have seen this many times and they
know how to shut one down. They have to before it rolls over the camp
site and kills sleeping men in their swags. Money is at stake too. You
can lose cattle in a bad rush and a drover gets paid on how many
bullocks he delivers at the other end , sometimes more than 2000
kilometres down the track.
[%X]

The state of industry generally is indeed seemingly in a stampede and
with many ill-conceived ideas about getting more autonomy in such 
things as road vehicles, and at the lowest cost to the manufacturer,
it is certainly very like the million head herd stampede.

I know you, Les, have been in the safety systems game about the 
same length of time as I have. I have always steered the development 
line away from the foolhardy stampede like direction, holding my bit
of 
the herd in check.

My efforts attested by systems that started their operational life in 
1985 and which continue to operate today and are likely to continue 
to do so until at least 2030. Still issue one of the software. That
such 
systems still operate is due to the care we had to take in the design 
and development under a very watchful regulatory framework.

I suspect that more recent issues in governments regulatory 
departments, coerced by global businesses, have become a little 
softer of late. Are there too many standards and regulations that
are now becoming a source of confusion for the newer generations
of system developers or is our engineering education beginning to
be dumbed down to the lowest and cheapest denominator.

Is it time to preach to the rest of the world

   SYSTEM DESIGNS SHOULD BE 
            RIGHT FIRST TIME 
               EVERY TIME
              FOR ALL TIME.

Regards
 Paul E. Bennett IEng MIET
 Systems Engineer
 -- 
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 Paul E. Bennett IEng MIET.....
 Forth based HIDECS Consultancy.............
 Mob: +44 (0)7811-639972
 Tel: +44 (0)1392-426688
 Going Forth Safely ..... EBA. www.electric-boat-association.org.uk..
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