Overview of the Electric Power Research Institute Research Program on Common-Cause Failures

The Electric Power Research Institute research project on common-cause failures (CCFs) is the main vehicle for presenting a survey of developments in the field over the last 5 yr. The roles of other organizations worldwide are highlighted to show the international and synergistic character of the work accomplished. Included are aspects of data analysis, modeling approaches, and defensive strategies and tactics that can lessen the impact of CCFs on risk and plant operations. The emphasis is on how the available approaches can be seen to contribute to a more systematic and integrated treatment of CCFs in applied risk and reliability analyses than has been available in the past. Opportunities for future research are also briefly discussed.