Dr Ben Seligmann

Ben specialises in applying risk management and hazard identification methods in the process industries, with applications into systems theory and complexity.

Ben is a risk specialist, systems thinker and teacher. Over the last 10 years he has worked in academia, engineering consulting, HSE and risk and compliance, across mining, infrastructure, healthcare and the education and industries. He currently focusses on risk management research at the Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre (MISCH). His particular research interests are new frontiers of risk management, risk assessment in practice, modelling of accident scenarios and trying to engage with the complexity of socio-technical industrial systems.

Research Interests

> Risk Assessment

Studying how risk assessment is actually performed in industry, to learn how best to support those efforts. This included deconstructing past, current and emerging hazard identification methods to understanding which methods can best be fitted to specific work contexts. The limitations of risk management are also studied, with a special focus on understanding the quality of risk assessments performed.

> Modelling Accident Scenarios

Accident scenarios, whether emerging from accident investigations or proactively generated from hazard identification methods, are modelled as causal network. The topology of these network representation are interrogated to ask and answer system-level questions for supporting risk treatment decision making.

> Engaging with the complexity of socio-technical industrial systems

As modern industrial systems become more highly connected to each other, society and the internet, predicting their behaviour and controlling their outcomes becomes difficult. It is said that the complexity of these systems is the cause of this difficulty. This research stream is about defining, understanding and engaging with the complexity of such systems, to inform how they may be influenced to be successful.

Qualifications

• PhD (Chemical Engineering), University of Queensland, 2011
• Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical), University of Queensland, 2006

Publications

Journal Papers

• Benjamin J. Seligmann, Erzsébet Németh, Katalin M. Hangos and Ian T. Cameron (2012), “A blended hazard identification methodology to support process diagnosis”, Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, Volume 25, Issue 4, July 2012, Pages 746–759.
• Ian Cameron, Sam Mannan, Erzsébet Németh, Sunhwa Park, Hans Pasman, William Rogers, Benjamin Seligmann (2017), “Process hazard analysis, hazard identification and scenario definition: Are the conventional tools sufficient, or should and can we do much better?”, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, In-press, Corrected Proof, Available Online 3^rd February 2017: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2017.01.025
• Benjamin J. Seligmann, Jiayi Zhao, Sophia G. Marmara, Tayla C. Corbett, Michael Small, Maureen Hassall, Jesse T.Boadle (2019), “Comparing capability of scenario hazard identification methods by the PIC (Plant-People-Procedure Interaction Contribution) network metric”, Safety Science, Volume 112, February 2019, Pages  116-129

Conference Papers

• Cameron, B. Seligmann, K. Hangos, R. Lakner, E. Nemeth (2007), “The P³ Formalism: A Basis for Improved Diagnosis in Complex Systems”, CHEMECA 2007: the 37th Australasian Chemical Engineering Conference.
• T. Cameron, B. Seligmann, K. M. Hangos, E. N´emeth, and R. Lakner (2008), “A functional systems approach to the development of improved hazard identification for advanced diagnostic systems”, 18th European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering (ESCAPE 18).
• B. J. Seligmann, E. N´emeth, K. Hockings, C. O’Brien, and I. T. Cameron (2009), “A Novel Hazard Identification Approach to Support Intelligent Diagnosis of Process Systems”, CHEMECA 2009: the 39th Australasian Chemical Engineering Conference.
• T. Cameron, E. Nemeth, B. Seligmann, M. Hassal, P. Sanderson, K. Hangos, K. Hockings and C. O’Brien (2010), “An integrated functional systems approach to improving diagnosis in complex process systems”, CHEMECA 2010:  the 40th Australasian Chemical Engineering Conference, ISBN: 978-085-825-9713.
• B. Seligmann, E. N´emeth, K. Hockings, I. McDonald, J. Lee, K. M. Hangos, and I. T. Cameron (2010), “A structured, blended hazard identification framework for advanced process diagnosis”, 13th International Symposium on Loss Prevention and Safety Promotion in the Process Industry (Loss Prevention 2010).
• E. N´emeth, B. Seligmann, K. Hockings, J. Oakley, C. O’Brien, K. M. Hangos, and I. T. Cameron, (2011), “Generating cause-implication graphs for process systems via blended hazard identification methods”, 21st European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering (ESCAPE 21).
• T. Cameron, B. J. Seligmann and E. N´emeth (2015), “Visualizing Process Design, Operation and Failure Impacts through State Space Representations”, Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center International Symposium 2015.
• T. Cameron, E. N´emeth and B. J. Seligmann (2016), “New visualizations in the development of function and failure in process design and operations”, 15th International Symposium on Loss Prevention and Safety Promotion in the Process Industry (Loss Prevention 2016).
• Benjamin J. Seligmann, Hans J. Pasman, Sarah J. Domanti, Jesse T. Boadle, Adam C. Staples, Ashley Bels, Michael Small, Mistrel Fetzer Boegheim, “A refreshing take: analysing accident scenarios through causal network topology metrics”, 21^st Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center International Symposium 2018, October 23-25, 2018, College Station, Texas.