fail-safe mechanisms
Protective backup systems
Fail-safe mechanisms are design features that default to a safe state when something goes wrong.
A dead man's switch stops a train if the operator becomes incapacitated.
Circuit breakers cut power during overloads.
The principle assumes failure will happen and engineers the system to fail harmlessly: The reactor's fail-safe mechanisms prevented a meltdown.
The concept extends beyond engineering to any backup that activates automatically when primary systems fail.
- dead man's switchDevice activated by release
- redundancyNeedless duplication
- belt and suspendersRedundant safety measures
- circuit breakersAutomatic electrical shutoffs
- trip wireConcealed activating filament
surge protectors · interlock · backup system · contingency planning · robustness · safety margin · graceful degradation · breaking point · feedback loops · safety audits · double check · fault tolerance · kill switch · emergency shutoff · pull the plug · failover · abort · reliability
- train brakesair brake, air brakes, brake shoe, brake shoes, brake pad
fail-safe mechanismssingle points of failure
Components whose loss collapses everything
house of cards · weak links · bottlenecks · chokepoints · accident waiting to happen