I got a new car.  The process was a bit disturbing. It took over an hour to go through the “set-up” menu. And it was suggested that I return for a second training session after spending time studying the manual and testing different settings.  I was thinking how different things were from the time I bought a new car in 2005.  Then I thought about the Site Safety Index (SSI) model exida uses to more accurately calculate dangerous failure probability. 

As a result of several field failure studies done by exida over many years, evidence is clear that failure rates for the same product vary from site to site. The ratio ranged from 2X to 4X based on product type. The differences seem to be related to site training, site procedures and other variables that some have called “Safety Culture.”

Two issues have a big impact on safety in the SSI model:

• operations / maintenance capability at a site
• product operational complexity.  

The highest levels of safety are achieved when a site has an SSI > 2 rating and simple to use products are purchased.  For sites where SSI < 2, I would recommend they purchase cars made prior to 2005.