2. Analytical versus Monte Carlo

Before focusing on the subject of this dossier, it's a good idea to tackle the common misconception - still propagated by certain cultists - that the analytical approach is clean, while Monte-Carlo simulation is dirty.

To distinguish between them, it is sufficient to note that the problems encountered by reliability engineers can be broadly classified into two major families, security and availability, which have different purposes:

• safety is concerned with rare events whose occurrence has extremely serious consequences, and is at stake from the very first accident. Studies generally serve to demonstrate to the competent safety authorities granting operating permits that the risk of the industrial facility concerned is acceptable. Safety is therefore satisfied with conservative approaches;

• ...