Reframing safety barriers as socio-technical systems: a review of the hydrogen sector

As a result of work carried out within HYINHEAT, we are pleased to share the peer-reviewed open-access publication “Reframing safety barriers as socio-technical systems: a review of the hydrogen sector”, published in the journal Safety Science.

Abstract

Ensuring safety is essential for the widespread deployment of hydrogen technologies and their contribution to industrial decarbonisation. Hydrogen systems are complex and can be exposed to emerging risks, making it necessary to look beyond traditional approaches to safety barriers and consider the interaction between technical, human and organisational factors.

This study conducts a systematic review of the available literature on hydrogen safety barriers and examines them from a socio-technical systems perspective. The analysis incorporates concepts related to emerging risk, Safety-II and resilience engineering, highlighting the importance of understanding safety barriers not only as individual technical measures but as elements interacting within a wider system.

Based on the findings, the authors propose an updated definition of safety barriers that broadens the scope of conventional barrier analysis. The study concludes that future research should place greater emphasis on the interactions between the different components of socio-technical systems, providing a foundation for more comprehensive safety barrier analysis and supporting the development of safer and more resilient hydrogen systems.