When Swedish Marine consultant Arne Ullman set up a forum to share information and risk expertise in October 1973, little did he know he was laying the foundations for one of the world’s most significant safety and reliability organisations. It was this forum – the European Reliability Data Association (EUReDatA) – which would form the beginnings of ESReDA.

Arne recognised the problems faced by industries across Europe in setting up and managing data banks – pools of shared reference materials crucial to the development of safety and reliability. But he also knew there was a demand for shared experience and generic technical information, which could greatly enhance knowledge, training and education in the field.

The Association was formally launched at the first European Reliability Data Bank Conference in Stockholm, with the support of the Swedish Marine Ministry. A total of 11 pioneering associations from France, Italy, the UK, Norway, Holland and Sweden signed up and Arne was elected as the first President.

 
EUReDATA / ESReDA First General Assembly meeting , Chamonix (Fr) 1992

Arne’s instincts proved to be right and demand for membership of the Association grew rapidly over the following years, carefully overseen and cultivated by successive presidents G.C. Bello of ENI, C.A. Campbell of BP International, Hans Wingender of Nukem and the EDF’s Henri Procaccia - today the treasurer of ESReDA.

It was soon recognised as a European Association with 48 institutional members, and in October 1979 gained the formal support of the Ispra Joint Research Centre of the Commission of the European Communities.

The members’ delegates remained constantly active, organising international conferences and technical seminars on a wide range of critical issues, from the reliability of firefighting equipment, to the use of existing data in assessing major hazards.

The Association also contributed to training with the launch of new courses on Data Analysis and Reliability Data Collection. Members were kept up-to-date with developments through a journal – EuReDatA News – with the support of the Joint Research Council.

A new organisation

In 1986, the Commission of the European Communities launched a new umbrella body – the European Safety & Reliability Association (ESRA) - to encourage the growth of professional societies.

ESRA had a role to play in European coordination, and created the European Safety, Reliability, Research and Development Association (ESRRDA) to stimulate advances in the field. ESRRDA proved to be successful and soon began to work side-by-side with the European Reliability Data Association.

While the latter kept its independence, both organisations worked under the umbrella of ESRA and the chairmen of each served on the ESRA Steering Committee.

But by 1988, it was becoming more difficult to secure and maintain funding in the sector, and the existence of the fledgling ESRRDA was under threat. Its chair, Cyp van Rijn, and Hans Wingender, chair of the European Reliability Data Association, were advised to join forces and merge the two organisations.

The birth of ESReDA

The merger was successfully completed under Belgian law in 1992 by Cyp van Rijn and the last chair of the European Reliability Data Association, Henri Procaccia. Although ESReDA was a new organisation, it carried the same mission as the early pioneers: to champion research, application and training in Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (RAMS).

As a young Association, ESReDA was in severe need of financial and organisational support. Cyp van Rijn, as the first elected President, approached reliability expert Professor Giuseppe Volta of the Joint Research Council for assistance.

Professor Volta recognised the value of the Association and arranged for one of his staff to act as General Secretary for free, as well as finding room in his budget for printing and distributing conference proceedings.

ESReDA’s members were institutions represented by a highly active group of delegates, who exchanged information, data and current research in Safety and Reliability from the outset. Indeed, the Association’s first seminar, based on the use of expert systems in safety assessment and management, was held in London in October 1991, before the merger was officially completed.

Achieving excellence

ESReDA grew steadily in size and confidence, holding specialist seminars every six months across Europe. The diverse range of subject areas has included: equipment aging and maintenance; learning from accident investigations; risk management and human reliability in a social context; and safety in the transportation and process industries.

Meanwhile, project groups were initiated to investigate problems or topical issues identified by industry. The groups reported their findings through reports and high quality scientific and technical books. ESReDA has always encouraged a range of EU experts to contribute to its project groups, regardless of whether they hold membership of the Association.

Cyp van Rijn and his successors, Jean-Francois Raffoux and today’s president, Henrik Kortner, also enabled the organisation to participate in wider European research activities and networks. These have included Metropolis – the environmental monitoring network, and SAFERELNET, a network for the safety and reliability of industrial products, systems and structures.

ESReDA today

The Association today has 52 institutional members – companies and universities with a high level of knowledge and experience in the field – and provides a dynamic forum for discussion. It continues to be a focal point for specialist expertise, furthering the understanding, development and dissemination of RAMS research and knowledge throughout Europe.

In the last decade, an average of three project groups a year have been created, with the most recent studies including land use planning, structural reliability and fire risk analysis. High level books reporting the outcomes are published every 20-22 months – a remarkable output for an association of its size. The Joint Research Council continues to support the Association, through its active membership and the distribution and publication of materials.

Development of ESReDA is now a special point of action. The Association is pleased to be welcoming more members and participation from Eastern Europe, and its 38th seminar will be hosted by the Hungarian Nuclear Power Plant in May 2009. The latest delegate on the board of directors - from the Slovakian Nuclear Power Plant Utility, Vuje - was the host of the 31st seminar in November 2006.

Delegates are also increasingly developing links with EU policy makers to help inform decision-making in the field of safety and risk.

With an ever-changing society, understanding risk and uncertainty has never been more important. As ESReDa looks to the future and its 30th General Assembly in Spring 2009, it will continue to innovate and investigate RAMS to improve Europe's industrial control of safety, security and reliability.