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SAFER guides a real-time monitoring program from sensor to decision in any discipline.
Each stage informs the next. The review of each response informs what the system measures next.
Five stages
Sense
Instruments take readings and the network carries them to a store.
Secure. Each instrument measures its intended quantity. Changes and access between the instrument and the store are controlled.
Assess
People and systems read the data.
Accessible. People and systems that need the data can access it directly, read it with its context and find its documentation.
Forecast
A model, rule or judgement predicts what will happen next or in a given situation.
Functional. The forecast provides information that supports a decision.
Explain
A reading, forecast or alarm is explained in terms of the thing monitored.
Efficient. The cost to install, run and maintain the program is appropriate. People can explain the results without a long discussion.
Respond
A role or an automated system acts, and a decision is made.
Reliable. The response works when it is needed, and does not depend on one person.
The same model in nine disciplines
Water storage
| Monitored quantity | Water level |
| Decision | Start the pump; stop a release |
| Sense | Level sensor, in metres, verified against a staff gauge |
| Assess | Level against the normal range, the trigger and the spill level; volume by a documented model |
| Forecast | Rain forecast and level: when the trigger is reached |
| Explain | The storage reaches the pumping point before morning |
| Respond | A named role starts the pumps before the rain; recorded |
Groundwater
| Monitored quantity | Pore pressure in a stated layer |
| Decision | Change the pumping; stop the excavation |
| Sense | Piezometer in the stated layer, verified against a dip meter |
| Assess | Pressure against the design pressure and the trigger |
| Forecast | Pumping rate and rain: when the pressure reaches the trigger |
| Explain | The pressure in this layer is above the design value and rising |
| Respond | A named role changes the pumping or stops the work; recorded |
Slope
| Monitored quantity | Displacement at depth |
| Decision | Keep operating below the slope; evacuate |
| Sense | In-place inclinometer, verified against a manual survey |
| Assess | Displacement profile against the design expectation and the trigger |
| Forecast | Rate of movement: when the trigger is reached |
| Explain | The layer the design expected to move has moved this much, below the trigger |
| Respond | A named role orders an inspection or a change to operations; recorded |
Blast vibration
| Monitored quantity | Peak particle velocity |
| Decision | Change the blast design |
| Sense | Geophone, calibrated |
| Assess | Velocity against the limit at the nearest structure |
| Forecast | Blast design and distance: the expected velocity |
| Explain | The expected velocity at the nearest house is below the limit |
| Respond | The blast engineer changes the design; recorded |
Dust
| Monitored quantity | Particulate concentration at a boundary |
| Decision | Change haul routes; add water carts; stop |
| Sense | Particulate monitor, calibrated against a reference sampler |
| Assess | Concentration against the limit, with wind direction |
| Forecast | Weather forecast: whether the wind carries dust to the town tomorrow |
| Explain | The town is downwind tomorrow afternoon |
| Respond | A named role moves hauling and adds water carts; recorded |
Air quality
| Monitored quantity | Concentration of a pollutant at a receptor |
| Decision | Delay a blast; reduce an emission source |
| Sense | Gas analyser, calibrated with a reference gas |
| Assess | Concentration against the limit, over the averaging period that applies |
| Forecast | Inversion forecast: a still, cold morning holds emissions near the ground |
| Explain | Emissions will settle over the community in the morning |
| Respond | A named role delays the blast until the air clears; recorded |
Weather
| Monitored quantity | Rainfall; wind speed |
| Decision | Start the pumps; stop crane lifts; stop hauling |
| Sense | Rain gauge and anemometer, verified against a reference |
| Assess | Rainfall against the design storm; wind against the lifting limit |
| Forecast | Forecast and observed: when the total or the speed reaches the trigger |
| Explain | Rain so far is this fraction of the design storm |
| Respond | A named role stops the lifts or starts the pumps; recorded |
Ocean
| Monitored quantity | Wave height; tide; current |
| Decision | Stop vessel operations; close a berth |
| Sense | Wave buoy and tide gauge, verified against the datum |
| Assess | Wave height against the operating limit of the vessel or berth |
| Forecast | Swell forecast: when the limit is exceeded |
| Explain | The swell exceeds the berth limit from this time |
| Respond | The harbour master closes the berth; recorded |
Mobile fleet
| Monitored quantity | Position, speed and proximity of vehicles |
| Decision | Stop a vehicle; change a traffic rule |
| Sense | Position and proximity sensors, verified against a known position |
| Assess | Position against exclusion zones and the speed limit |
| Forecast | Predicted path: whether a vehicle enters an exclusion zone |
| Explain | The truck is heading into the exclusion zone at the crest |
| Respond | An automated alert, and the supervisor stops the vehicle; recorded |
Three uses
Design
For each system to be installed, the criteria of all five stages are met before commissioning.
Output
A purpose statement, a display, a forecast method and a response plan for the system, in place before it is switched on.
Review
Each system is tested against the criteria. Each finding is classified by stage and quality and given an owner and an action.
Output
Findings by stage, each with an owner and an action.
Operation
Every task is assigned to a stage and tested against its quality when done. Events are reviewed.
Output
Records that are current when the regulator or the board asks.