Who We Are
We are experts in the areas
of system safety and software
safety providing both consulting
services and courseware. We are the gold standard. People seek us out for this reason.
We are renowned experts in software
safety being some of the early pioneers.There are different pedigrees of system safety and software safety engineers. The main reason for this is the lack of certification requirements.
There are many "safety engineers" out there who are an embarrassment to the profession.
They expound utter nonsense leading to misspent money and poor safety coverage.
Yet they get away with it largely due to the fact that their clients cannot see through the smoke and mirrors.
The next time you go shopping for system safety expertise, we recommend that you test your candidates to ensure that they have broad and in-depth knowledge in a number of areas (e.g., terminology, electrical, electronic, pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical, software, operating systems, programming languages, FPGAs, ASICs, COTS, system safety and software safety standards and guidelines, system safety and software safety documentation and analytical methods).
There is a famous quote of Will Rogers. "The problem in America isn't so much what people don't know; the problem is what people think they know that just ain't so".
We are seasoned system safety and software safety engineers.
We have electrical (or electronic) engineering and computer science degrees.
Earlier in our careers, we were designers of systems, hardware and software.
We have managed multiple multi-year system safety programs.
We have expertise in reliability, availability, maintainability, testability, and technical writing.
We stand behind our reputation.
Our Experience
We have experience designing
safety into and assessing the safety of complex
safety-critical and mission-critical systems such as:
- missiles,
- submarines,
- armored fighting vehicles,
- CNS/ATM,
- weapons control systems,
- military aircraft,
- commercial aircraft,
- nuclear reactor control and shutdown systems,
- medical devices,
- space station systems,
- light rail transportation systems,
- heavy rail transportation systems, and
- high speed rail transportation systems.
Courseware
Our courseware,
dating back to 1992, is exceptional. Many of
our clients are repeat clients because they are
comfortable with us and view our courses as the
very best. They appreciate their inherent
practical insight and "how to" nature.
Confidentiality
Non-disclosure agreements? Nothing new here, right?
FACT: There are consultants that we know who do not honor these. One divulged confidential information to a third party who then wrote a book disclosing the details. Others have casually mentioned confidential information (perhaps yours) to us; we disassociate ourselves from these people.
HCRQ holds non-disclosure agreements in high esteem. Rest assured. We safeguard your confidential information. Just don't take our word for it. Take a look at the caliber of our clients. These people have come to trust us and, in many cases, became repeat customers.
Our employees sign confidentiality agreements. These agreements also cover ITAR and EAR. Violation of this agreement results in immediate dismissal. Our employees attend our mandatory yearly confidential information seminars.
Information is also safeguarded within our offices and between our employees. The minimum security level of our shredders is 4.
FACT: There are consultants that we know who do not honor these. One divulged confidential information to a third party who then wrote a book disclosing the details. Others have casually mentioned confidential information (perhaps yours) to us; we disassociate ourselves from these people.
HCRQ holds non-disclosure agreements in high esteem. Rest assured. We safeguard your confidential information. Just don't take our word for it. Take a look at the caliber of our clients. These people have come to trust us and, in many cases, became repeat customers.
Our employees sign confidentiality agreements. These agreements also cover ITAR and EAR. Violation of this agreement results in immediate dismissal. Our employees attend our mandatory yearly confidential information seminars.
Information is also safeguarded within our offices and between our employees. The minimum security level of our shredders is 4.
HCRQ Speaks Your Language
Take your pick:
SSMP/SMP,
SSPP,
SwSPP,
SSP,
PHL,
PHA,
HAZOP,
Hazard Log,
SSHA,
SHA,
O&SHA,
OSHA,
SAR,
FFT,
FTA,
SFTA,
FHA,
PSSA,
SSA,
CCA,
ZSA,
PRA,
CMA,
FMEA,
FMES,
SFMEA,
FMECA,
SFMECA,
SRHA,
SDHA,
SCHA,
HHA,
CSA,
HTDB,
HRI,
RAC,
MIL-STD-882,
GEIA-STD-0010,
ED-79A/SAE ARP4754A,
ED-135/SAE ARP4761,
SAE ARP5580,
SAE J1739,
AMCOM 385-16,
AMCOM 385-17,
EN 50126,
EN 50128,
EN 50129,
DEF STAN 00-56,
IEC 61508,
IEEE 1483,
IEEE 1228,
FAA System Safety Handbook,
FAA SRMGSA,
Joint Software Systems Safety Engineering Handbook,
AOP-52,
EurcoCAE ED-153,
EUROCONTROL ESARR 4, ESARR 6,
NAVSEA Weapon System Safety Guidelines Handbook,
49CFR236 Subpart H,
49CFR236 Subpart I,
49CFR238.105,
IEC 60880,
STANAG 4404,
STANAG 4671,
Yellow Book Engineering Safety Management,
NASA Software Safety Standard,
NASA Software Safety Guidebook,
NASA Facility System Safety Guidebook,
UL 1998,
IEC 15026,
IEC 60601-1-4,
ISO 14971,
ED-12C/RTCA DO-178C,
RTCA DO-248C,
ED-80/RTCA DO-254,
ED-109A/RTCA DO-278A,
AC 25.981-1C,
Safety Integrity Levels (SILs),
Development Assurance Levels (DALs),
SoftWare Assurance Levels (SWALs),
Software Control Categories (SCCs),
Software Safety Analysis,
Safety Case,
Safety-Critical, Safety-Related, Safety-Significant,
et al.
Forensic Analysis
We also provide reactive
safety analysis services. Our assistance
has also been requested following accidents
where the costs incurred have been huge. Our
services in this mode were first requested by the
manufacturer of the THERAC-25
cancer therapy machine following accidents which
resulted in severe patient injury and eventual
death due to severe radiation overdoses.
Our Clients
We have an impressive list
of clients.
Testimonials
This is some of the feedback
we have received regarding our consulting services.
This is some of the feedback
we have received regarding our courseware.
The late Jo Ann Davis, Member of Congress, stated "I thank you for your hard work, and for the many ways HCRQ
contributes to making our country safer." Rest well Jo Ann.
Our Memberships
We are members of the High Integrity Systems Engineering Safety Critical Mailing List.
We are members of IEEE.
We are members of LinkedIn.
Some Questions For You
- Do you have a challenging contract?
- Do you have a challenging client?
- Do you need training in either system safety or software safety either in general or in specific areas?
- Have you under- or over-specified safety? Many of our clients were victims of either over-confidence or under-estimation.
- Are you pleased with your present safety consultants?
- Are you ready for your client's safety audit? As a result of our training, clients are more knowledgeable now - they are able to identify "the good", "the bad", and "the ugly".
- Is your client armed to the teeth with consulting engineers ready to bombard you with seemingly never-ending safety critiques?
- Have you experienced a software-related, or worse still, software-caused accident?
- Are you having a difficult time, perhaps in conflict with your client, knowing when you are "done"?
Get HCRQ On Your Team!
- We will help protect you.
- We will help protect those that use your system.
- We can save you tens of thousands of dollars in your safety budget.
- We can protect you against multi-million dollar law suits.
- We can give you an additional edge over your competition within your bids!
Don't Wait Too Long!
- One of our clients spent 5 times their safety budget before bringing us in.
- Another was horribly embarrassed in front of their client.
- Yet others had fatalities and law suits before calling us.
- One executive asked us to call him at home as he was tendering his resignation in an attempt to evade prosecution.
- One aviation company performed the wrong "type" of FMEA, had to throw it in the garbage, and start all over again.