Laboratory for Safety Analysis LSA

Prof. Wolfgang Kröger

The laboratory is providing advanced techniques for modelling and optimization of large-scaled technical systems, in general, and energy systems in particular, with respect to performance, reliability, and risks. The increasing complexity and connectedness of today's and future systems and the emergence of new aspects (e.g. in terms of vulnerability of vital infrastructures) needs new approaches providing an adequate technical input to assist decision making processes. In this framework, examples of the Laboratory’s activities cover extended Petri Net modeling of chemical production plants among other complex facilities such as information and communication systems. The analysis of infrastructures is exemplified by transportation of dangerous goods by rail and road. Besides common risk related tasks (e.g. frequency and consequence estimates of an accidental release of a hazardous substance), the development of integrative software tools for risk assessment (e.g., CARGO) and vulnerability analysis purposes plays an important role.

The laboratory’s activities are internationally linked with other risk research organizations, e.g. the EC Joint Research Centre Ispra, and provide scientific input for the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) Geneva, in particular for its project on critical infrastructures and their connectedness.