Goal-Based Safety Standards: Promises and Pitfalls

This paper contrasts goal-based and prescriptive safety standards and regulation based on their respective ‘worldviews’ – the assumptions and expectations that lead to a preference for one form of regulation over another. It considers whether these worldviews are entirely subjective, or whether there may be an empirical basis for favouring one worldview over another. Our analysis does not draw definitive conclusions on this matter, but indicates how evidence might be identified. It also indicates benefits of goal-based regulation – which would arise if that worldview ‘holds’, and the pitfalls if it doesn’t. It is hoped that this way of looking at these contrasting approaches to safety standards and regulation will provide some insight for those charged with developing standards.