Keynote: Safety Case vs Safety Assessment

When a system (e.g. an aircraft) is delivered and in its pristine condition, it has an initial level of safety often justified by the designer's "Safety Assessment", which is often archived after certification. However, safety is not self-sustaining [ARP 5150] - it depends on numerous factors, including the original design; manufacturing; operating crew and maintenance actions; operational and environmental effects; quality of spare parts; modifications; configuration control; etc.

Duane Kritzinger (CEng, PrEng, MRAeS, MBA) has been practising aircraft system safety engineering since 1994. A commissioned Officer in the South African Air Force (since 1989), he represented the Military Airworthiness Board on a range of aircraft projects in South Africa, Israel, and the UK. Appointed in 2001 as Principal Safety & Certification Engineer at Marshall Aerospace (Cambridge), he participated in the certification of a variety of aircraft modifications (structural and avionic) for a range of international customers and regulatory authorities.

In 2006, he was responsible to establish and manage an international and multi- organisational Technical Support Team for the RAF HIOS (Hercules Integrated Operational Support) contract. He returned to the safety field in working for BAE Systems (as Head of Safety Engineering in Australia) and RGW Cherry & Associates.  Contracted back to Marshall Aerospace in 2009, Duane is currently a Business Development and Programme Manager for fuel tank inerting projects, but remains active in the SMS and SSA fields (conducting, training and consulting).