safety factor
Built-in design cushion
A safety factor is the ratio between the maximum stress a structure can withstand and the stress it's expected to encounter in normal use.
Engineers build in safety factors to account for unexpected loads, material flaws, or calculation errors: The bridge was designed with a safety factor of three.
More broadly, any built-in margin for error: We added an extra day to the schedule as a safety factor.
Edge of a page
- redundancyNeedless duplication
- overdesignExcessive elaboration beyond requirements
- toleranceWillingness to accept difference
- loadCarried weight or burden
stress · yield · ultimate · capacity · specifications · calculation · analysis · criteria
Resistance to failure
- durabilityResistance to wear
- longevityDuration of existence
- fatigueWeariness from prolonged exertion
- wearCarry on person
corrosion · degradation · resilience · endurance · lifespan · serviceability · maintenance · aging
Protecting from harm
- guardingActively protecting something
- barrierObstruction preventing passage
- defenseProtection against harm
- bufferProtective intermediate space
fortification · containment · secondary · tertiary · layered · emergency · fallback
Formal evaluation of worth
- mitigationReduction of severity
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
- hazardSource of potential harm
exposure · consequence · contingency · buffer · insurance · precaution · worst-case · conservatism
margin
Edge of a page
- redundancyNeedless duplication
- overdesignExcessive elaboration beyond requirements
- toleranceWillingness to accept difference
load · stress · yield · ultimate · capacity · specifications · calculation · analysis · criteria · allowance
robustness
Resistance to failure
- durabilityResistance to wear
- longevityDuration of existence
- fatigueWeariness from prolonged exertion
wear · corrosion · degradation · resilience · endurance · lifespan · serviceability · maintenance · aging · deterioration
shielding
Protecting from harm
- guardingActively protecting something
- barrierObstruction preventing passage
- defenseProtection against harm
buffer · fortification · containment · secondary · tertiary · layered · emergency · fallback
assessment
Formal evaluation of worth
- mitigationReduction of severity
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
hazard · exposure · consequence · contingency · buffer · insurance · precaution · worst-case · conservatism · risk-averse
- material mechanicsstress-strain, tensile strength, elasticity, strain, ductility
- structural engineeringstructural design, structural analysis, structural steel, structural engineering, stress analysis
- Technical Referenceshandbook, manual, datasheet, specification, data sheet
- coefficientsbinomial coefficient, correlation coefficient, drag coefficient, activity coefficient
- mechanicsforce, turning, rotation, momentum, velocity
- safety equipmentlife jacket, lifeboat, smoke alarms, smoke alarm, life raft
safety factorbreaking point
Moment of collapse
critical threshold · maximum capacity · load limit · maximum load · red line
safety factorrisk factor
Condition increasing harm probability
danger · hazard · risk · vulnerability · liability
safe, safety, factor, unsafe, safeguard, safely, safeguards, safeguarded, safeguarding