| Skydiving is a sport that involves many | | | | technology. |
| risks. Safety and risks are different thing. | | | | |
| While the risks are measured, the safety is | | | | The risks are also directly connected to the |
| judged. The safety can be defined as a | | | | complexity of the system. The difficulty to |
| personal or social acceptance of a given | | | | understand a system is given by its |
| risk. | | | | complexity and together with this difficulty; |
| | | | the necessity increases because only by a |
| In what regards the risks, they are measured | | | | better acknowledgement of the system, the |
| as quantities. The probability of something | | | | corrections and the ways of preventing events |
| to happen combined with the severity of the | | | | are obtained. |
| repercussions give the risks. The | | | | |
| probabilities and the severity are divided | | | | The assessment of risks |
| into categories. The probabilities have five | | | | |
| such categories: Frequent, Probable, | | | | Understanding a system fully and without gaps |
| Occasional, Remote and Improbable and the | | | | will decrease the risks of unfortunate |
| severity of the action has four categories: | | | | events. A system must have no secrets for the |
| Catastrophic, Critical, Marginal and | | | | person that operates it because if there are |
| Negligible. For instance, a rubber band | | | | things that are not understood, complications |
| breaking the risk is "frequent - negligible" | | | | may appear if an event is generated by that |
| while for a double malfunction the risk would | | | | unknown element. Also, in a system, not only |
| be "remote - catastrophic". "Occasional - | | | | its components should be well known, but the |
| catastrophic" or "occasional - critical" are | | | | reasons of failure too. This is obtained |
| the risks encountered most often for | | | | through observation and continuous monitoring |
| malfunctions. | | | | of the system's performance. Risks can be |
| | | | reduced by prevention of failure or |
| In skydiving, a risk value can be assigned to | | | | corrective plans. The causes for system |
| any event, based on the given definition. | | | | failure can be human, mechanical or |
| Observation over the years and the | | | | environmental. |
| measurements from the test drops should be | | | | |
| the base for the value of a risk. Yet, this | | | | The risks involved by skydiving |
| doesn't always happen. | | | | |
| | | | Values of risks can be given to any event in |
| The perception of risk | | | | skydiving. The gear and technique knowledge |
| | | | in skydiving is the primary base of the risk |
| The perception of risk is sometime done on a | | | | value assessment. If a person knows the |
| subjective base. The values of risks are | | | | equipment, the parachute, the |
| higher in case of voluntary events within | | | | characteristics, the techniques and all the |
| control of the beholder than in the case of | | | | other factors involved by skydiving, he or |
| mandatory events that put a person beyond | | | | she greatly reduces the risks of an event. If |
| control. Thus, skydiving presents a greater | | | | the equipment is very well known, the system |
| risk than breathing air. | | | | performance monitoring is accurate and |
| | | | malfunctions can be discovered in time if |
| The events followed by dreaded results or | | | | they appear, decreasing thus the risks. |
| catastrophic consequences present a higher | | | | Different ways to escape injuries also reduce |
| risk. The sports and occupations also have | | | | the risks, therefore emergency procedures and |
| different values of risk depending on the | | | | alternative plans have been elaborated. |
| amount of fatalities encountered. | | | | |
| | | | Understanding the gear, the parachute, its |
| The perceptions of risks can also be affected | | | | characteristics, acknowledging and using the |
| by the maturation of technology. Taking the | | | | controls properly and having preventing and |
| example of the power plants, a coal power | | | | correcting plans will reduce the risks and |
| plant is less risky than a nuclear power | | | | increase the effectiveness or risks |
| plant because people know much more things | | | | assessment. |
| about burning coal than about nuclear | | | | |