This paper presents proposed models for assessing the aggregate performance of personal flotation devices (PFDs) by using risk methods. The aggregate performance is used to quantify the probability of a PFD saving lives following marine events. The models provide a formal structure and consistency to an approval process for new and novel engineering designs of such devices. They can also aid in identifying critical factors for evaluating the minimum level of performance necessary for approval. Such models could complement and enhance current standards and could result in significant safety improvements through the implementation of new technologies and designs. Such models could also aid in evaluating other new and innovative classes of engineering designs and designs for special needs. Also, they encourage creativity in system design by increasing the design domain and provide an overall performance measure allowing for trade-off analysis. The models can ultimately provide guidance in the development of future standards. The risk-based models consist of three recommended computational procedures for inherently buoyant, inflatable, and hybrid PFDs. Special panels of experts from the CORD Group, Canada, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), IMANNA Laboratories, Inc., and PFD Manufacturing Association (PFDMA) evaluated these models and provided recommended values by using formal expert opinion elicitation.
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March 2015
Research Papers
Risk Models for Evaluation and Type Classification of Personal Flotation Devices
Bilal M. Ayyub,
Bilal M. Ayyub
1
Professor
Center for Technology and Systems Management,
e-mail: ba@umd.edu
Center for Technology and Systems Management,
University of Maryland
, College Park, MD 20742e-mail: ba@umd.edu
1Corresponding author.
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Samuel Wehr
Samuel Wehr
Standards and Regulations,
Mustang Survival Corporation
, Burnaby, BC, Canada
e-mail: swehr@mustangsurvival.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Bilal M. Ayyub
Professor
Center for Technology and Systems Management,
e-mail: ba@umd.edu
Center for Technology and Systems Management,
University of Maryland
, College Park, MD 20742e-mail: ba@umd.edu
Samuel Wehr
Standards and Regulations,
Mustang Survival Corporation
, Burnaby, BC, Canada
e-mail: swehr@mustangsurvival.com
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received April 6, 2014; final manuscript received October 25, 2014; published online February 27, 2015. Assoc. Editor: Phil Cappel.
ASME J. Risk Uncertainty Part B. Mar 2015, 1(1): 011007 (23 pages)
Published Online: February 27, 2015
Article history
Received:
April 6, 2014
Revision Received:
October 25, 2014
Accepted:
December 3, 2014
Online:
February 27, 2015
Citation
Ayyub, B. M., and Wehr, S. (February 27, 2015). "Risk Models for Evaluation and Type Classification of Personal Flotation Devices." ASME. ASME J. Risk Uncertainty Part B. March 2015; 1(1): 011007. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4026399
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