RISKS AT THE HEART OF TRANSITIONS

Old certainties are shaken. New visions of society are proposed, either because some technologies advance let glimpse for a short while unthinkable possibilities, or because alarmist messages merge and question our civilization excesses. Between yesterday and tomorrow an uncertain today is sketched, at the pace boosted by the technical development and by necessary changes asserted urgency.

 

Being either energetic, climatic, ecologic, digital or generational, the transition notion is born in all the societal and technical debates. Considered as an opportunity, perceived as fears generator or expected as an ultimate chance to limit our ways of life consequences, transition already present or taken for granted, announces a passage. Passage from a reality devoted to join the past to evolve towards a future with still uncertain outlines, in which our society, our activities and projects have to be redefined. 

 

The energetic transition  proposes to transform our energy production modes towards an decarbonized and sustainable mix in order to reduce our CO2 emissions as climatic change requires .Thousands of windmills have been installed in highways accesses, hills crests, countries and coastal zones. Inescapable solution for some, visual and sound pollution for others, they are from now part of our everyday life. Same for photovoltaic panels which fill a growing number of roofs. Their increasing penetration in electricity production and their priority in the energetic mix management transform the electric network operators daily work. New risks appear face to intermittence of these renewable sources and the geographic remoteness between zones favorable to production and loads to feed : safety of short and long term supply, network stability, new investments eventually not justified  in the network infrastructure, windmills and photovoltaic panels life cycles not mastered, expertise maintenance in other technologies of production, intermittence compensated by fossil energies…and the present electric transition of the automotive park reinforce some of these  problematics, while partially contributing to solving of others, by the expected capacity, but hardly controllable , of electricity storage in periods of high renewable production and weak load  .

 

This energetic transition contributes to a larger aspiration to an ecologic transition, to a transformation of our modes of life towards a better equilibrium with our environment. The analysis of our products life cycle is a major stake of their marketing. The development of innovative technologies respectful of environmental resources is inescapable for industry. The management of logistic and supply systems should integrate short circuits within well established practices. Our life spaces are designed to be less energy consuming and more consistent with the ecosystem, and our buildings become passive. Our activities environmental impact is at the heart of their acceptance and regulation. These new society paradigms give birth to new technologies and practices aiming at a better management of environmental consequences. They also call for development of new methods of dependability, which eventually allow to sort between good and good likely ideas in terms of life cycle, performance and safety.

 

Our society, more digital than ever, is witness of a marking transition. Our lives have been invaded by smart technologies, mobile applications and networks in a manner often positive. Driving assistance, remote consumption management, on line trading and orders with one click have become quasi daily for a people growing part .Artificial intelligence and big data have been introduced in industrial processes which they drastically change. Robots of forms and functions more and more various replace man in number of dangerous situations. The opportunities of this digital transition seem infinite. The risks associated in terms   of data safety, people protection, private life and democracy, cyber attacks including for more classical technologies are in phase with this new possibilities. This field so rich in terms of risks mastering has widely fed the previous issue of our symposium. It will be with no doubt a major guest of this λμ (Lambda Mu) table.

 

These technical evolutions are associated to an obvious generational transition. Young people who enter today in the world of work cannot be considered as a simple replacement generation of their predecessors. Having grown with internet and intuitive tools in economical, geopolitical, ethical...contexts so different as those known by their predecessors, they bring salutary opportunities to change our practices and thought modes. But to what extent safety procedures, established and validated by the previous generation, are susceptible to be understood in a different manner as the one required by the designers? How the expertise intergenerational transfer can be reinvented to optimize heritage and building of new approaches? What risk perceptions will influence our future standards, what new ethical reference marks will define the acceptable risk?

 

The transitions thematic comes and feed as well as question our jobs of risk and dependability. The 22nd issue of Lambda Mu symposium will be held in Le Havre from October 12th to 15th, 2020. It will be once again a favorite cenacle where industry people, consultants, regulatory and academic people will explore new approaches, methodologies or applications of established practices, aiming thus at bringing answers and opportunities to new risks nested in the heart of transitions which transform our world.

 

In order to go and discover these new territories to conquest for dependability and risk mastering, it is my pleasure to invite all the stakeholders of these disciplines to clear off with us. The whole of the IMdR team is already active to optimize your boarding with us towards these new horizons.

 

Pierre-Etienne LABEAU, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Chairman of the Programme Committee