In comparison with the amount of damage and injuries the Dutch society has paid little attention to safety from the beginning of the industrialisation. Change in a number of factors in society in the mid sixties have made it possible to develop a scientific approach towards safety problems, aimed at analysis, modelling and problem solving. This approach is no longer connected with the question of guilt and reliability. A scientific approach is based on systems theory and is characterized as interdisciplinary and problem oriented. The use of systems theory makes it possible to deal with safety in different areas, among them the field of transport systems, in a similar way. A scientific approach towards safety problems makes it possible to formulate an objective for research and a process of safety problem solving. This publication is related to the doctoral thesis 'Safety and the Design Process' (See PB 29826) and contains material used as background to the first two chapters of the thesis.
Abstract