News & Press

Northeast Chapter News

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 15:29:00 GMT

The ISSS Northeast Chapter produced a newsletter in January 2023.

Connecticut Governor Proclaims System Safety Engineers Day

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 15:30:00 GMT

Connecticut Governor Proclaims System Safety Engineers Day

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has proclaimed July 20, 2022, as System Safety Engineers Day in Connecticut, recognizing that system safety engineers are employed in many of the state's businesses and that current ISSS President Pam Alte lives and works in Connecticut. July 20 was chosen because it marks the anniversary of the first humans landing on the moon.

Our safety profession draws from a broad range of engineering, behavioral, scientific, operations, legal and managerial skills. System safety is integral throughout the product life cycle, beginning in the conceptual design phase, continuing through development, fabrication, testing, production, use, and ultimate disposal.

Read the governor's proclamation:

International System Safety Society Announces New Executive Council Leadership

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 20:17:32 GMT

International System Safety Society Announces
New Executive Council Leadership

Saint Paul, Minnesota, June 2021: The International System Safety Society (ISSS) is pleased to announce its newly elected officers and directors. Congratulations to Pam Alte on becoming the new ISSS president. We thank Chuck Muniak for his service as past president and Russ Mitchell for his years of service as the ISSS President.

President – Pam Alte
Term: July 1, 2021 to June 2023

Past President – Russ Mitchell
Term: July 1, 2021 to June 2023

This year the ISSS membership elected its new Executive Vice President and directors of Member Services, Publicity and Media, and Government and Intersociety Services. Newly elected Society officers and directors take office at the beginning of the Society's fiscal year, July 1, 2021. We welcome the following to their new leadership roles within the Society. We thank all the candidates for their dedication and willingness to serve.

Executive Vice President – David West, Board of Certified Safety Professionals

Dave West is the Examinations Director at the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP). Dave has over 30 years of system safety experience, including the assurance of safety for military, aviation, nuclear, petrochemical, and space flight programs. He holds BCSP's Certified Safety Professional® and Associate Safety Professional® certifications and is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager, a Professional Engineer, and an ISSS Fellow. Dave earned a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Cincinnati. Dave served on BCSP's Board of Directors, 2008-2013. Dave chaired the G-48 System Safety Committee, 2010-2019. Before joining BCSP's staff in October 2017, Dave had worked for over 27 years at SAIC, where he began as a Staff Engineer and ultimately served as Vice President and Deputy Manager of a 1000-person operation. In early 2018, Dave was appointed by the Acting Administrator of NASA to serve a 6-year term on NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, a 9-member panel established by the U.S. Congress over 50 years ago and charged with advising the NASA Administrator and Congress on safety matters involving the U.S. space program. Dave has been a speaker on safety topics at many national and international events, including the First International Helicopter Safety Symposium in Montreal in 2005, the FAA 9th Annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington, D.C., in 2006, the Australian System Safety Conference in Adelaide in 2013, and numerous International System Safety Conferences in the U.S. and Canada from 2001 to the present.

Director of Member Services – Rita Turner, APT Research

Rita has been a Software Safety Engineer with APT Research Inc for 3+ years and has worked in safety, quality, and developer roles over the last 30 years. She has been the president and past president of the ISSS Tennessee Valley Chapter for the past 3 years. She has also held leadership roles in the American Society for Quality (ASQ).

Director of Publicity and Media – Don Swallom, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command

Donald W. "Don" Swallom is a safety engineer with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command Safety Office. Don holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Sciences from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of Science in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. Prior to his current position, he served as a helicopter pilot, staff officer, and developmental engineer in the United States Air Force. His last Air Force assignment was as the chief of safety for the Arnold Engineering Development Center, the world's largest complex of aerospace ground testing facilities. He collaborated on the system safety chapter of the Handbook of Human Systems Integration (John Wiley and Sons, 2003). Don is a Fellow member of the International System Safety Society and a two-time past president of the Tennessee Valley Chapter; he has served as Chapter webmaster since 2005.

Director of Government and Intersociety Services – Yawa Adonsou, U.S. Dept. of the Navy

As a safety analyst, Yawa spent the last seven years providing System Safety Engineering and Management support for military systems. Her interests in System Safety Engineering and Management started in 2014 when she was touring with System Safety Branch in China Lake, California. During her internship, Yawa was excited to learn about system safety engineering principles and their applications to different disciplines; since then, Yawa joined the system safety branch and strives to ensure enough safety measures are implemented in systems where required.

View Leadership

NE Chapter Newsletter

Thu, 31 Dec 2020 15:56:27 GMT

Click Here to view the December NE Chapter Newsletter.

ISSS Announces 2020 Award Recipients

Wed, 2 Dec 2020 14:50:21 GMT

ISSS Announces 2020 Award Recipients

St. Paul, Minn. (November 2020) – Each year, the International System Safety Society (ISSS) recognizes exceptional individuals and organizations. The following awards were presented as part of the 38th annual International System Safety Conference.

The Professional Development Award is the highest honor presented by ISSS. It recognizes sustained, significant achievement in advancing the system safety profession. We are proud to present Dr. Malcolm Jones of the Atomic Weapons Establishment with the 2020 award. His association with nuclear weapon safety stretches back more than 40 years.

ISSS presented John P. Rankin of Madison, Alabama, with our Pathfinder Award. In his long career at Boeing, John supported hundreds of NASA projects, including the International Space Station. He first joined ISSS in 1973 and led digitization of all Society publications. John continues to support meetings of the ISSS Tennessee Valley Chapter and presents at system safety conferences, sharing his insights with new generations of system safety engineers and managers.

Tony Zenga of CMTIGroup in Montreal, Quebec, was presented with the ISSS Manager of the Year Award in recognition of his significant contributions through the implementation of an effective system safety management program. He recently worked with his staff to develop a comprehensive automated (Inter/Intranet-based) Hazard Tracking System to enhance the System Safety hazard analysis management, documentation, review and risk assessment process.

Rita Turner of A-P-T Research in Huntsville, Alabama, received the ISSS Engineer of the Year Award. She has 30+ years of aerospace & defense industry experience and participates in hazard working groups, integrated product teams and safety boards. Rita has served as a leader in the ISSS Tennessee Valley Chapter.

Jennifer Del Mastro of Nova Systems Australia in Melbourne, Victoria, was presented with the ISSS International Award. She is a Senior Systems Safety Engineer with 20+ years of experience. With her deep understanding of domain standards, she has contributed to Land and Maritime systems safety. She has also worked to bring younger generations to the profession of system safety.

A-P-T Research, based in Huntsville, Alabama, received the Scientific Achievement Award, recognizing significant contributions to the advancement of system safety through research and development programs. The Population Risk for Explosives Transportation by Truck (PRET-T) is a ground-breaking risk management tool developed by A-P-T’s Safety Engineering and Analysis Center in support of the Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). A-P-T employees who contributed to this work included Tom Pfitzer, Nina Donath, Katie Byers, Brandon Whitworth, Megan Stroud, T. Hooker, E. Montgomery and M. Civil.

Pam Kniess of Hazel Green, Alabama, received the ISSS President’s Achievement Award. As current Society Treasurer, Pam has overseen massive shifts in workload, operating paradigms and processes. Pam tirelessly injects her deep consideration and careful inputs across the Society. Quick to step in where she can, but willing to allow others to grow and meet their individual challenges, Pam has been indispensable on our Executive Council.

The ISSS Chapter of the Year Award recognizes exceptional effort by a Chapter’s members to promote system safety and the Society. Our Northeast Chapter members were unstoppable this year, with sixteen planning meetings and four virtual events. Chapter members also gave a presentation to high school students to promote system safety as a career.

ISSS also recognized our Canada Chapter and Sierra High Desert Chapter officers and members for helping to unite the chapters in one common goal—to promote system safety.

More information about ISSS and all of our award recipients can be found on our website.

The International System Safety Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Safety Professional in the application of Systems Engineering and Systems Management to the process of hazard, safety and risk analysis. The Society is international in scope and draws members from throughout the world. It is affiliated with major corporations, educational institutions and other agencies in the United States and abroad.

New Member Publication

Wed, 15 Jul 2020 20:50:37 GMT

ISSS Member Richard Zito published a new book titled Mathematical Foundations of System Safety Engineering: A Road Map for the Future.

Learn More

EASA published Review of Aviation Safety Issues Arising from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 22:24:54 GMT

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is working closely with Member State regulators and industry partners to identify the new or emerging safety issues arising from COVID-19. This review took the form of a survey and follow-up virtual meetings with the different stakeholder groups. The work presented mirrors the collaborative activities that the Agency normally carries out in identifying safety issues and managing risks as part of the European Safety Risk Management (SRM) process. Naturally, the process has been adapted to take account of the new working environment.

Fault Tree Analysis: Understanding Importance Measures

Mon, 6 Apr 2020 20:48:52 GMT

What are Fault Tree importance measures?

Fault Tree importance measures provide a quantitative approach to help in pinpointing areas for risk reduction in Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). Importance measures help to target those events which are likely to have the most effect on improving your overall system performance measures, such as availability and reliability.

Read the Full Article from Relyence