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An Ontological and Semantic Foundation for Safety and Security Science

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Blokland

    (Safety & Security Science Group (S3G), Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Genserik Reniers

    (Safety & Security Science Group (S3G), Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
    Center for Corporate Sustainability (CEDON)—KULeuven—Campus Brussels, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
    Department of Engineering Management, Faculty of Applied Economic Sciences (ENM), University of Antwerp, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium)

Abstract

When discussing the concepts of risk, safety, and security, people have an intuitive understanding of what these concepts mean, and, to a certain level, this understanding is universal. However, when delving into the real meaning of these concepts, one is likely to fall into semantic debates and ontological discussions. In industrial parks, it is important that (risk) managers from different companies, belonging to one and the same park, have the same understanding of the concepts of risk, safety, and security. It is even important that all companies in all industrial parks share a common understanding regarding these issues. As such, this paper explores the similarities and differences behind the perceptions of these concepts, to come to a fundamental understanding of risk, safety, and security, proposing a semantic and ontological ground for safety and security science, based on an etymological and etiological study of the concepts of risk and safety. The foundation has been induced by the semantics used in the ISO 31000 risk management guidance standard. Hence, this article proposes a coherent, standardized set of concepts and definitions with a focus on the notion “objectives” that can be used as an ontological foundation for safety and security science, linking “objectives” with the concepts of safety, security, risk, performance and also failure and success, theoretically allowing for an increasingly more precise understanding and measurement of (un)safety across the whole range of individuals, sectors and organizations, or even society as a whole.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Blokland & Genserik Reniers, 2019. "An Ontological and Semantic Foundation for Safety and Security Science," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-25, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:21:p:6024-:d:281593
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Peter Blokland & Genserik Reniers, 2020. "Safety Science, a Systems Thinking Perspective: From Events to Mental Models and Sustainable Safety," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-18, June.
    2. Peter Blokland & Genserik Reniers, 2021. "Achieving Organisational Alignment, Safety and Sustainable Performance in Organisations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-35, September.
    3. Floris Goerlandt & Jie Li & Genserik Reniers, 2020. "The Landscape of Risk Communication Research: A Scientometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-31, May.

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