Education and skill development for engineers, operators, and managers. Identify and manage risk across technical and organizational boundaries using MIT-developed methods.
The STPA introductory course, adapted from Dr. Thomas’s MIT curriculum, equips professionals across industries to tackle modern safety challenges.
You will start with the shift from component-failure models to STAMP (System-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes). By studying real-world accidents, you’ll explore the strengths and limitations of common viewpoints like using probabilities and redundancy.
The core of this course is a deep dive into STPA (System-Theoretic Process Analysis). You will learn how to model humans, automation, and other elements in a control structure, how to identify unsafe control actions, explain the reasons why unsafe decisions may appear reasonable at the time, and mitigate risks that are often overlooked until a loss event.
This introductory course is suitable for any engineers, operators, managers, or leaders who are interested in modern safety principles. No specific prior knowledge is required.
In the STPA Hands-on Practicum, you will apply STPA to a real-world system. Dr. Thomas will guide you as you begin the analysis, and you’ll also work with other participants in breakout groups. You may ask questions at any time. Your work will be reviewed with instructor feedback. The class will discuss and apply each STPA step, comparing the class findings to the original project the exercise was based on.
The exercise is designed for participants from any industry. No special industry knowledge is required.
Prerequisite
You must read the STPA handbook chapter 2 before this class. It is recommended, but not required, that you complete the System Safety and STPA Introductory Class first to learn the basics of STPA.
Get the instruction and guided practice needed to qualify for the STPA Practitioner Certificate. It builds on foundational STPA training and leads you through a structured mini-project in which you apply STPA across four iterations, receive instructor feedback, and produce a final STPA project submission to be evaluated against the certification criteria. If successful, you will receive the STPA Certified Practitioner certificate and will have the option to be featured in the STAMP Institute’s global directory as proof of your ability to apply advanced systems thinking to modern safety challenges. The STAMP Institute Practitioner Certification is the gold standard for system safety professionals.
Prerequisite
Prior to this course, you must complete the System Safety and STPA Introductory course to learn the basics of STPA. It is also recommended, but not required, that you attend an STPA Hands-on Practicum.
In this virtual course, you will learn to analyze loss events using CAST (Causal Analysis based on Systems Theory) to develop more effective solutions and recommendations. We will explore the core principles of CAST, demonstrating how it captures complex accident causes in five manageable steps. Throughout the course, you’ll gain the intuition and practical tips needed to master each step of the process using real-world examples.
The second half of the course is a hands-on workshop. Working in small groups, you will apply each step of CAST to a realistic loss event. You’ll be able to ask the instructor questions at any time. After each step, we will review the results in class with instructor comments and feedback.
The course is designed for participants from any industry. No special knowledge or background is required.
