The SCSC is holding a seminar in Germany: Safe Autonomous Transport - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly on Thursday 28 November, 2024 in Munich.
This event looks at progress in autonomous and highly automated transport and problems that have been encountered. It will also cover latest developments in the standards arena. It features industry speakers and a discussion session.

Ada Lovelace Day is on October 8th. This day celebrates the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and is now truly international, https://findingada.com/events/ The role of women in safety engineering and assurance (and indeed in the SCSC) is incredibly important and needs highlighting: we value the women who speak at our events (we had a record number of women at SSS'24), support our working groups, improve our inclusion and provide technical inputs. Thank you all!

(For those who would like a lighter view on what Ada Lovelace achieved - and might have achieved - this book is heartily recommended: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thrilling_Adventures_of_Lovelace_and_Babbage )

What can we learn from Grenfell inquiry report? The terrible tragedy of the Grenfell fire in which 72 people lost their lives is a very human story, and something we shall never forget. Is there anything a systems safety engineer should do? Here's a start: (i) Always take a holistic view of a system and its context, don't just look at its parts, (ii) Assess the impact of all evolutionary changes throughout a system's lifetime, (iii) Take a critical view of rules, regulations and standards as they may be not enough to ensure safety, (iv) Consider independent verification of critical items, and (v) Produce a living safety case for the system.
 

The next SCSC seminar on 26th September is all about putting AI and Autonomy into practice and how to ensure safe operation once in service. More details at: https://scsc.uk/e1133