Background and activities

Current status:

  • From December 1 2020, I am the director of a new SFI centre, SFI Autoship. This is a new 8 years research centre where the focus is on autonomous ships for safe and sustainable operations. More information is to come though the centre homepage.

 

Background:

I have a master degree in Engineering Cybernetics (1993, NTH - the former name of NTNU) and a PhD in RAMS (2009) from NTNU. My background is a mixture of industry and academic/research experience, as you will see on the list of my former occupations. Since 2014, I would like to highlight that:

  • Head of the RAMS group (2014-2017), while being professor in the departement of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NTNU
  • Co-director in the research driven innovation centre fi subsea production and processing (SFI SUBPRO) (see www.ntnu.edu/subpro). .
  • Co-leader of the area "operations, maintenance, safety and security" in bru21: NTNU Research and Innovation Program on Digital and Automation Solutions for the Oil and Gas Industry (www.ntnu.edu/bru21).
  • From June 2019, I returned to my "roots" as a full professor in the department of Engineering Cybernetics.

My main research interests is safety and reliability of systems critical for safety. This area is sometimes called ensuring functional safety of electrical, electronic and programmable technologies. The industrial applications have been process industry, oil and gas industry (including subsea technologies) and railway signaling. With the new occupation as the centre director of SFI AutoShip, my research is extended to the maritime sector and autonomous ships in particular.  Since 2018, my research has expanded to how functional safety can be ensured when considering the cybersecurity threats, countermeasures and the adaptation of industrial standards.

Current and past employments:

  • Professor at the Department of Engineering Cybernetics (current)
  • Professor at the department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (2010-2012, 2014-2019)
  • Principal specialist DNV-GL in reliability and safety instrumented systems (2012-2014)
  • Postdoc NTNU 2009-2010
  • PhD scholarship in safety and reliability assessment of safety instrumented systems  (2005-2008) (PhD defense february 2009)
  • Researcher SINTEF applied cybernetics (2001-2005)
  • Nidar AS (Trondheim) automation leader (1999-2001)
  • Conoco-Phillips: Trainee, instrumentation engineering, maintenance supervisor electrical and automation department (offshore, Ekofisk & outlying fields) (1994-1998

Competence/interests

  • Safety instrumented systems (SIS)
  • Instrumentation systems, including aspects of industrial communication, ex protection, documentation,..)
  • Reliability assessments
  • Failure classification and analyses including common cause failures
  • Safety SIL
  • SIS related standards (IEC 61508, IEC 61511, OLF 070, En 50126, EN 50129, ISO 26262, IEC 62061, etc) 
  • Cybersecurity related standards for automation systems: IEC 62443 series, ISA84.00.09.

Projects examples (ongoing):

  • SFI SUBPRO - supervisor of PhD students, master students, and heading the RAMS area of the center
  • Management of Safety and Security risks of cyber-physical systems, co-supervisor and project member of DTU-NTNU dual degree progrogram. Two PhD projects, one with host institution at DTU and one with host institution at NTNU.
  • SafeT - Safety assessment framework for railway industry. NTNU member in joint industry project, headed by Bane NOR.
  • Safety 4.0 - Developing framework for novel subsea concepts and technologies. To start up in May/June 2018. 1 PhD project to be launched for period 2018-2021. Joint-industry project funded by Norwegian Research project, lead by DNV-GL, with several industrial partners.
  • APOS: Automatisk Prosess for oppfølging av instrumenterte sikkerhetssystemer. Joint industry project funded by the Norwegian Research Council and selected PDS forum members. 2019-2023.
  • ICT security for industrial safety and automation (ICS) systems. New PhD project starting up. See paper on research focus and recommended directions.

Member of the PDS forum (www.sintef.no/pds), organizing committee NFEA (national) of "Sikkerhetssystemkonferansen", and the maintenance committee for IEC 61511.

Educational focus

Reliablity of safety-instrumented systems, instrumentation systems, safety assessment methods, IEC 61508, IEC 61511, related standards like Norwegian Oil and Gas guideline 070.

Slides prepared from the text book: Reliability of Safety-Critical Systems: Theory and Applications. Rausand. M. 2013. Wiley, where I have given contributions.

Professional career

2014-: Professor, RAMS group at NTNU

2013 : Adjunct Professor, RAMS group at NTNU

2012-2013:  Principal Specialist DNV-GL

2010 - 2012: Professor, RAMS group at NTNU

2009 - 2010  — Post doc position, RAMS Group at NTNU.

2005-2009 

  •  Ph.D. Scholarship holder, RAMS Group.
  • Awarded the ExxonMobil price for best applied doctorial thesis at the Doctoral Degree Awards Ceremony at NTNU on June 3rd 2009. See here for more information

2001-2005  

Research Scientist, SINTEF Institute ICT, Department for Applied Cybernetics. Group leader for Safety Critical Systems. Specialist areas: Safety Critical Systems, Integrated Operations/E-field, Petroleum Industry and Railway signalling systems.

1999-2001  — Automation Engineer (Automatiseringsleder);
Responsible for Automation systems at Nidar - Campaign based maintenance.

1994-1998

  • Offshore Supervisor Electrical & Automation department, Specialised Maintenance, Phillips Petroleum Co Norway.
  • Instrument engineer, Phillips Petroleum Co Norway; Offshore support and optimisation projects of offshore installations.
  • Trainee, Phillips Petroleum Co Norway.

Publications

Professional memberships

Supervision PhD/Postdoc/Master

Previous (PhD/postdocs):

  • Hui Jin (2013): A contribution to reliability assessment of safety-instrumented systems (co-supervisor, PhD project)
  • Inger Lise Johansen (2014): Risk assessment in risk-informed decision-making: Foundations, challenges, and approaches (co-supervisor, PhD project)
  • Maryam Rahimi (2013): A contribution to reliability qualification of new technical equipment – with focus on subsea production equipment (co-supervisor, PhD project)
  • Geir Ove Strand (2017): Well Safety: Risk Control in the Drilling Phase of Offshore Wells (main supervisor, PhD project)
  • Juntao Zhang (2015->2018): Reliability in early design of subsea systems. Part of SFI SUBPRO (www.ntnu.edu/subpro) (main supervisor, PhD project)
  • HyungJu Kim (2016-2018): Develop a new control and safety philosophy for operation of subsea systems (post doc). Part of SFI SUBPRO (www.ntnu.edu/subpro)

Ongoing Supervision Phd/postdoc:

  • Ludvig Bjørklund (2020-2023). Safety demonstration using digital twin for electrical control systems (all-electric valves). Funded by SFI SUBPRO (www.ntnu.edu/subpro). Collaboration with Aalen university (professor Markus Glaser).
  • Rialda Spahic (2020-2023). Remote operation and future operating models. Funded by Equinor through BRU21 centre (www.ntnu.edu/bru)
  • Tae Hwan (2019-2022). Performance management of safety-instrumented systems for unmanned facilties. unded by SFI SUBPRO (www.ntnu.edu/subpro).
  • Nanda Zikrullah (2018-2021). Demonstrating functional safety in novel subsea technologies. Funded by Safety 4.0. (PhD project, main supervisor)
  • Nelson Humberto Carrras Guzman (2017-2020). Identification of Safety and Security Cascading Risks in Cyber-Physical Systems (co-supervisor, PhD student at DTU)
  • Lin Xie (2017-2020). Performance Analysis of Safety-Critical Systems Under a Complex Environment (PhD project, co-supervisor)
  • Himanshu Srivastav (2017-2020) (PhD project in SFI SUBRO). Optimizing condition monitoring. (co-supervisor)
  • Jin Zhang (2018-2020). Managing safetyand security risks of cyber-physical systems (co-supervisor, PhD student at department of Computer Science)
  • Jan Sramota (2018-2020). Adaptive Multi-Channel Transmission Data Rate Control in LPWAN (co-supervisor, PhD student at Production Systems group, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering)

Master students supervised

  • Andreas Jakobsen (2020), Assessment of Network architecture and communication technologies for Elkem Thamshavn
  • Christoffer Grytøyr (2020). Design implications for robotized testing and inspection of fire and gas detectors.
  • Sigurd Skaret (2020). Cybersecurity for process control with cloud solutions.
  • Waleed Aslam (2020)
  • Plovnikova, Ekaterina (2019):  Contribution to Management of Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS) in Furnace Water Cooling Systems on Elkem Plants
  • Raden, Mailisa Fitria (2019): Use of Operational Data for SIS Follow-up Activities
  • Johansen, Gunnar (2019): Reliability and Safety Assessment of All-Electric Subsea Concepts
  • August, Vincent Harahap (2019): Recommendations to Improve The Quality and The Automation of The OREDA Data Process
  • Hansen, Sunniva (2018). SafeT - next generation safety assessment framework for railway : development of a framework for the practical implementation and facilitation of STPA
  • Zikrullah, Nanda Anugrah (2018). Prioritization Approach for Systems-Theoretic Process Analysis (PA-STPA) : Applied for Subsea Systems 
  • Xie, Lin (2017): Modifid Failure Rates for Safety Instrumented Systems baesd on Operational Experience from the Oil and Gas Sector
  • Huse, Kristine (2017): Bruk av risikoakseptkriterier for sammenligning av traséløsninger (jernbane).
  • Halvorsrud, Gunhild (2017): The Development of Risk Acceptance Criteria for Railways in Norway (Master in Continuing education program)
  • koo, kwiyeon (2017): Common Cause Failure Analysis - Improved Approach for Determining the Beta Value in the PDS Method
  • Kalvakunta, Raja Gopal (2017): Reliability Modelling of ERTMS/ETCS (co-supervision)
  • Arismendi Torres, Renny Jose (2017): Hybrid Modelling for Dynamic Reliability Assessments in Subsea Oil and Gas Processing Systems
  • Sun,Tianqi (2017: Production Availability Analysis:
    Implications on Modelling due to SubseaConditions
  • Ole-Henrik Dag Olsen (2016): Implementing IEC 61508 for Qualification of Safety-Instrumented Systems for Submergible Tube Bridges
  • Lars Hauff (2016): Optimization of Design, Safety and Cost of Pressure Protection Systems
  • Mohammad Amin Ghanooni (2015): Spurious activations of safety-instrumented systems
  • Godziuk, Anna Magdalena (2015): A proposal for a RAMS engineering process for blowout preventers
  • Mari Krogness Fornes (2015): Risk assessment of strait crossing bridges
  • Caroline Dutard (2015): Management of SIL performance of safety-instrumented systems
  • Zeba Gul (2015): Application software development for safety instrumented systems
  • Ingrid Zafira Harvinia (2015): Risk Assessment and SIL Allocation of Safety Instrumented Functions for Open Water Workover System
  • Eleojo Samuel Ocheni (2015): Impact of partial and imperfect testing on reliability assessment of safety instrumented systems - Possible approaches for inclusion of its effects in reliability assessments
  • Yining Dong (2015): Methodology for Identification of Dangerous Combinations of Output States of SIS (co-supervisor)
  • Can Li (2015): Safety Instrumented Systems on Older Facilities
  • Mbah Rowland (2014): Using reliability growth testing to reveal systematic faults in safety-instrumented systems (co-supervisor)
  • Åsa Snilstveit Hoem (2014): Use of field experience to improve the treatment of CCFs in reliability assessment of safety instrumented systems
  • Jon Mikkel Haugen (2014) Reliability Allocation and Assessment of Safety-Instrumented Systems (co-supervisor)
  • Martin Brataas (2014): Management of the integrity of safety instrumented systems
  • Wilmer Alberto Aguilar Marinez (2014): Methods for determining PFD/SIL for workover control systems with short test-intervals and imperfect testing
  • Tormod Danielsen Udnæs (2012): Reliability and Availability Assessment of Topologies for Subsea Control Systems
  • Remi Pinker (2012): Improved methods for reliability assessments of safety critical systems: An application example for BOP systems
  • Sondre Klakegg (2012): Improved methods for reliability assessments of safety-critical systems: An application example for BOP systems
  • Ishita Dash (2012): Provision of Reliability Data for New Technology Equipment in Subsea Production Systems
  • Henrik Finnema Moen (2012): Reliability Assessment of Safety Instrumented Systems: An Application Example For A Ballasting System 
  • Kristian Amundsen (2012):  A method for combining well safety risk and businessimpact risk
  • Ingunn Kristensen (2011):Balancing production availability and safety in subsea production systems
  • Yangjiao Liao ( 2011): SIL Follow-Up in the Operational Phase of Safety Instrumented System
  • Cuixin Shi (2011): Validation of non-compliant products for use with safety instrumented systems
  • Astrid Folkvord Janbu (2009): Treatment of Uncertainties in Reliability Assessment of Safety Instrumented Systems (co-supervisor)

Master supervision (EVU):

  • Bye, May Irene (2018). Hvordan bør sikkerhetsmål og sikkerhetskrav utformes i selskaper hvor funksjoner er distribuert?
  • Halvorsrud, Gunhild (2017). The Development of Risk Acceptance Criteria for Railways in Norway.
  • Rokne, Øyvind (2016). Improvements to the technology qualifiction program for subsea equipment

Scientific, academic and artistic work

A selection of recent journal publications, artistic productions, books, including book and report excerpts. See all publications in the database

Journal publications