4 th Lecture: Risk Assessment in Civil Engineering
Aim of the present lecture
The aim of the present lecture is to introduce the framework for risk assessment in civil
engineering and to provide a palette of techniques facilitating the various steps of risk
assessment. First a framework for risk assessment is provided which is generic in regard to
the scale of analysis as well as the engineering application area. Thereafter procedures,
techniques and tools for risk assessment and various steps of risk analysis are outlined. On the
basis of the lecture, it is expected that the students should acquire knowledge and skills in
regard to:
Which are the main issues to be considered in a risk based decision analysis?
How is a decision maker characterized?
Why are preferences important in decision making?
How is a system characterized?
What is an exposure event?
How is the vulnerability of an engineered system related to consequences?
How to decide on the level of detail of the system representation in a risk assessment?
In which way is robustness related to direct and indirect consequences?
How may risks be controlled and managed?
In what way may risk communication reduce socio-economical consequences?
Which are the steps of a risk assessment?
How may exposures, events and scenarios, which may lead to consequences, be identified?
Which tools are available for analysis risks and how do they function?