Barrier Analysis Method
Updated 2026-09-11
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Barrier analysis examines the successive defenses separating a hazard from harm, such as procedures, physical guards, training, and monitoring, and evaluates each one's reliability and failure modes. It is closely related to James Reason's Swiss cheese model, in which each layer has holes and an accident occurs when the holes align. The core claim is that accidents are rarely single-point failures, so analyzing one defense at a time systematically understates risk. The qualification is that barriers can also fail together through shared causes, which is why independence between layers must be checked rather than assumed.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Barrier inventory: list every layer that stands between the hazard and harm. - Failure mapping: describe how each layer fails and what would let a hazard pass through. - Alignment check: look for scenarios where several layers fail for the same reason.
Anchor fast decisions
Each barrier reduces the probability that a hazard reaches the target, so the combined protection is strong only if the failures are independent. When layers share a cause, such as a common power supply or a single training programme, one event opens holes in several at once and the hazard passes through the aligned gaps. The analysis therefore searches for common causes rather than only for weak individual layers.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrier_analysisverified
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