3. Methods for reducing the criticality of the consequences of equipment failures

3.1 Presentation and principles

When the criticality of a piece of equipment is not acceptable, given its consequences on availability, personal safety and the environment, it is essential to implement corrective actions to reduce the risks to an acceptable level, in line with the ALRP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable) concept: "As Low As Reasonably Practicable". This concept stems from the fact that it would be possible to spend resources to reduce a risk to zero, which is totally utopian.

However, methods for reducing the consequences of critical equipment can be divided into two categories. In the first case, if the consequences of failures and the associated level of risk are not subject to regulations, different scenarios may arise. For equipment currently...