complex cascading events Archives

Recent failure at Pau Branco Mine, MG, Brazil

The recent failure at Pau Branco Mine, MG, Brazil is a classic example of cascading events. At this Vallourec Mineração (VMN) iron ore mine the failure of an uphill structure/slope led to overtopping of a downstream retention structure. As a result a flood reached a highway and the environment. Photograph provided by: Adolfo Tribst Corrêa A bit of Pau Branco innovation history Back in 2015 this mine was touted as a technological success when a new filter press module was installed.…

Event Tree Analysis, ETA

In this blogpost we look at another tool: the Event Tree Analysis, ETA. Event Tree Analysis, ETA In our day to day practice we frequently see risk assessments methodologies stretched to «fit the clients’ case». In other words, people select tools to deliver results out of the initial methodology’s scope. This blogpost is a brief summary for the Event Tree analysis (ETA). It is one of the most common methodologies to evaluate probabilities of complex cascading events in terms of series of conditional probabilities. In reality,…