CSP-11 CSP-11 D2.06 · Domain 2 · Program Management · 25%
Safety Case
A client asks for a safety case on a major fire. The team emails an FMEA with RPNs and a TRIR chart. You are the CSP. The question is what a safety case / bowtie actually has to show.
Updated . Independent CSP-11 practice. Not BCSP-endorsed. No pass guarantee.
Decision rule
A safety case is evidence that the control argument is true. A slide deck is not a case.
Claim, argument, evidence. Update the case when the plant or the claim changes.
In 20 seconds
- A safety case is evidence that the control argument is true.
- A slide deck is not a case.
- A safety case argues risk is acceptable with evidence — not slogans.
- Claims, arguments, and evidence must connect (CAE thinking).
How to apply Safety Case
THEORY: Goal-structured safety cases (claim → argument → evidence) used in high-hazard sectors. Evidence is tests, inspections, and independent review, not intent. CALC: None. FIELD: Case claims dual isolation; evidence is two valves on one air header. The case fails. ASSESS: A glossy binder dated before the last MOC is stale.
Worked case
Wrong first move: reprint last year’s case after a pump upsize. Correct move: reopen the claim, attach new relief and independence evidence.
Why the rule holds
Related: 03, 22, 23.
Same rule, different setting
A regulator asks for a safety case on a well-control major accident. The team emails an FMEA with RPNs and a TRIR chart. You are the CSP. The question is what a safety case / bowtie actually has to show.
A client asks for a safety case on a collapse major accident. The team emails an FMEA with RPNs and a TRIR chart. You are the CSP. The question is what a safety case / bowtie actually has to show.
Picture / model
Construct a major-accident barrier argument that distinguishes hazard, threat, top event and consequence; credits preventive and mitigative barriers only when their function, ownership, performance evidence, impairments and dependencies are understood.
Exam traps
Original SafePath contrasts for Safety Case. These are study traps, not recalled BCSP items.
| Trap | Correct read |
|---|---|
| Safety case / bowtie | Demonstration of barriers on both sides of a top event |
| FTA | Logic/quantification of how the top event becomes true |
| FMEA | Single-point RPN ranking — not a major-accident demonstration |
| ALARP | Further risk reduction grossly disproportionate to the benefit — not “we are tired of spending” |
Field move
A major-fire safety case is a demonstration, not a dashboard.
Scenarios
Scenario 1 · Fundamental · CSP-11 D2.06
A regulator asks for a safety case on a major fire. The team submits FMEA RPNs and last year’s TRIR. Best CSP call?
Best action: Wrong method: deliver a bowtie/case that identifies the top event and demonstrates preventive and mitigative barriers with evidence.
Why: Evaluate the best response. A regulator asked for a safety case on a major fire. The team submitted rankings and last year's rate. The best call is the wrong method. Deliver a case that names the top event and demonstrates preventive and mitigative barriers with evidence. A ranking plus a rate is n…
Scenario 2 · Applied Scenario · CSP-11 D2.06
Two independent isolation valves must both fail to reach the top event. Which tool quantifies that combination inside the case?
Best action: FTA (AND gate / cut set) under that branch of the bowtie.
Why: Evaluate the best response. Two independent isolation valves must both fail. The best tool inside the case is a fault tree, an AND gate or cut set, under that branch of the bowtie. A score for one valve does not quantify both valves failing. The mean of last year's first aids is not the combination…
Scenario 3 · Applied Scenario · CSP-11 D2.06
The only preventive “barrier” on a major fire bowtie is a hot-work video. Substitution to a non-flammable fluid is still open. Best action?
Best action: Substitute or inherently reduce inventory; video is not a sufficient preventive barrier while design is open.
Why: Evaluate the best response. The only preventive barrier on the major-fire bowtie is a hot-work video, and substitution to a non-flammable fluid is still open. The best action substitutes or reduces inventory. The video is not a sufficient preventive barrier while design is open. Keeping the video b…
If the stem says this
| Stem signal | Best direction |
|---|---|
| evidence does not support the claim | fix evidence or weaken the claim — do not paper over |
| MoC changed a key assumption | update the safety case before normalizing |
| only ERT capacity is offered as the main claim | strengthen engineered claims first |
| two answers work | higher hierarchy / system / design |
| the case is never reviewed after startup | set periodic and MoC-triggered review |
Check before you leave
- ✓ A safety case argues risk is acceptable with evidence — not slogans.
- ✓ Claims, arguments, and evidence must connect (CAE thinking).
- ✓ Operating limits and assumptions must be stated and owned.
- ✓ Changes that break the argument trigger MoC and case update.
- ✓ A thick binder without evidence links is not a safety case.
- ✓ Independence and hierarchy of controls still sit inside the argument.
Blueprint mapping
Safety Case is the SafePath study class for CSP-11 D2.06 inside CSP-11 Domain 2, Program Management (25%). A high-weight management domain focused on measuring performance, investigating incidents, managing change, building systems, leading people, controlling records and resources, and interpreting data.
SafePath uses the publicly posted CSP-11 outline as a study map. It does not reproduce official exam content, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by BCSP or Pearson VUE.
Practice / flashcards / formulas
More classes in Program Management
Nearby lessons mapped to the same CSP-11 domain.
CSP-11 D2.06
Other classes on this task
Guides that use Safety Case
- Oil and gas safety study guideProcess safety, change, and investigations
- CSP application and exam guideEligibility, scheduling, and exam method
- CSP-11 exam prep guideDomain weights, sample items, and a study sequence
- CSP-11 blueprint and weightsSeven published domains and the class map
- Seven-domain study directoryScope, tasks, and links into each lesson
Safety Case study questions
- What decision does the Safety Case class train?
- A safety case is evidence that the control argument is true. A slide deck is not a case. This is independent SafePath CSP practice for CSP-11 D2.06. It is not an official BCSP item and it is not a pass guarantee.
- What exam trap shows up in Safety Case?
- A common miss treats this as sufficient: Safety case / bowtie The stronger read is: Demonstration of barriers on both sides of a top event
- How does Safety Case map to the CSP-11 blueprint?
- SafePath maps this class to CSP-11 D2.06 in Domain 2, Program Management (25% of the published blueprint). Use the public outline for study planning. SafePath is not affiliated with or endorsed by BCSP.
Verify
Verify: Confirm current certification requirements with BCSP and technical requirements with the cited authoritative standard.