The J-value provides an objective tool that assesses the cost-effectiveness of safety schemes for a wide range of industries.
In every business, public or private, there is a need to balance the effectiveness of planned safety measures against their cost. Available resources must be used wisely, allowing the most important risks to be identified and then reduced as far as possible.
- How much should a nuclear power plant spend on protecting its workers?
- Is it cost-effective to install a new safety system for railway signalling?
- Should the Government be spending more to prevent road deaths?
The J-value is a new approach, based on established economic theory, that balances safety expenditure against the extension of life-expectancy brought about by the safety scheme.
➥ Why we need a new science of safety
The principles behind J-value are presented in a brief overview. For more details, the core ideas describe the key concepts and methodolgy of the J-value, while the applications provide in-depth analyses of the techniques required to use the method, together with examples of how the J-value has been applied.
Recent projects that made extensive use of the J-value include NREFS (an EPSRC-funded consortium that investigated how to cope with a major nuclear accident), and a critique of the VPF (the "value of a prevented fatality").
The J-value team are available for consultation. Contact us for further information.