A safety function deployment approach to risk management of HazMat highway transportation

Various methods have been developed to ensure the safe transportation of hazardous materials (HazMat). These methods span from conventional statistical methods to modern risk management approaches. An essential question is how to establish the linkages between the regulatory requirements and the safety measures. The analysis of historical data from the past accident report databases would limit our focus on the specific incidents and their causes. Thus, we may overlook some critical elements in risk management, including regulatory compliance, expert opinions, and suggestions. It is necessary to develop a systematic approach that can translate the regulatory requirements of HazMat transportation into specified safety measures (both technical and administrative) to support the risk management. This study develops a structured and transparent method that integrates the quality function deployment (QFD) and risk assessment, namely, safety function deployment (SFD), to identify potential risks and find critical safety barriers for HazMat highway transportation. The proposed method is demonstrated by a hypothetical case study. The approach can serve as a tool to map the safety requirement into specific safety barriers to minimize the risk of HazMat highway transportation.