Kotek L., Krivánek D., Junga P., Trávnícek P., 2026, Ageing of Safety Barriers: Improving Barrier Management Based on Lessons Learned from Accidents, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 126, 355-360.
The main thesis of the paper is that critical safety barriers themselves are subject to ageing and degradation. A barrier is understood here as a measure of a physical or non-physical nature to prevent or mitigate the effects of unwanted events. Operators cannot rely on "blind faith" in their continued functionality, as this faith can result in an accident. The work is focused on hidden degradation mechanisms that can lead to barrier failure when demanded (escalation factors) or even become a direct initiator of an accident. The article presents a selection of emergency events where the ageing of barriers played a role as an escalating factor or initiator of the event. Subsequently, the possibilities of a systemic solution for barrier management with regard to their ageing are discussed.
