[HN Gopher] The Hierarchy of Hazard Controls
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       The Hierarchy of Hazard Controls
        
       Author : surprisetalk
       Score  : 17 points
       Date   : 2025-03-05 02:52 UTC (3 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.hillelwayne.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.hillelwayne.com)
        
       | nonrandomstring wrote:
       | Love this synthesis of safety and software thinking that seems
       | apropos Ross Anderson's musings on software safety engineering.
        
       | AlotOfReading wrote:
       | I haven't encountered the hierarchy in years, but I've always
       | felt it was a bit of a weird idea.
       | 
       | The first and third tiers (elimination and controls) are the same
       | thing: separating the hazard from potential injury conditions.
       | This can be spatial separation, temporal separation, or a dozen
       | other kinds. A real-world example is how xray techs have to
       | physically leave the exposure area and stand behind a lead panel
       | to turn on the beam. The hazard (radiation exposure) remains, but
       | the system is safe because the tech can't be exposed to it. We
       | use this all the time in software. Process boundaries are a form
       | of spatial separation, mutexes enforce temporal separation.
       | test/prod systems, principle of least privilege, separation of
       | concerns, etc.
        
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       (page generated 2025-03-08 23:01 UTC)