Feilsikker

Feilsikker, a Norwegian term, translates to "fail-safe" in English. It describes a design principle and a state where a system or device is designed to revert to a safe condition upon failure. This safe condition typically prevents harm to people, property, or the environment. The core idea is to mitigate the negative consequences of unexpected malfunctions.

In practice, fail-safe mechanisms are integrated into various systems. For instance, in industrial machinery, a fail-safe might involve a system that automatically shuts down the equipment if a critical sensor detects an anomaly. In software, a fail-safe approach could mean that if an error occurs during a data transfer, the system reverts to a previous stable state or discards the incomplete operation rather than proceeding with potentially corrupted data.

The implementation of fail-safe measures often involves redundancy, checks, and balances. These can include multiple sensors that must agree on a reading, automatic shutdown procedures, or the use of materials that will fail in a predictable and non-hazardous manner. The goal is not to prevent failure entirely, as that is often impossible, but to ensure that when failure does occur, the outcome is as safe as possible. This contrasts with "fail-operational" systems, which are designed to continue functioning, perhaps at a reduced capacity, even after a failure.