Acceptable risks to persons associated with building structures

In routine engineering practice, the risks associated with safety considerations addressed when designing new or assessing existing structures are not quantified and the corresponding acceptance criteria may diverge widely. Although the use of explicit risk analysis methods to quantify structural safety would therefore deliver significant benefits, the implementation of such methods is hindered by a series of technical and administrative obstacles.
The present study explores methods and tools for the practical application of explicit risk analysis methods. Structure-related risks to persons are established on the grounds of the probability of structural failure and its consequences in terms of loss of human life. The procedure adopted is applied to a representative set of building structures. Acceptance criteria for risks to persons associated with such structures are deduced from the findings. These criteria provide a rational basis for decision-making in structural engineering. They may be used in explicit risk analysis or as a basis for the consistent calibration of simplified models for determining partial factors in the design of new or assessment of existing structures.