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This chapter discusses Safety and Performance Criteria whose formulation constitutes the first phase of the design concept.

Safety and performance criteria are important because they provide a yardstick against which the safety and performance of the proposed design can be measured. Identified during initial project planning, these criteria may be translated into project and/or design objectives (see Part B) which accompany the project throughout its life-cycle. These ‘benchmarks’ remain constant throughout the development of the Terminal Airspace design project though the extent to which they can be successfully ‘measured’ may be affected by the project phase. For example, it may not be possible during the concept design phase to measure whether a capacity performance target is met, though this can be determined during the validation phase using the appropriate tool. In order for a proposed and implemented design change to be considered successful in safety and performance terms, the selected criteria need to be satisfied.
Although safety and performance criteria have always been important, their significance has increased since the introduction of mandatory ICAO and European requirements for States to undertake a safety assessment when making changes to their airspace design – See Part A, Chapter 2, General Principles.
Since entering into force of ICAO and EUROCONTROL1 provisions in 2001 and 2003 respectively, expressions such as ‘safety case’, ‘safety argument’, ‘safety assessment’ and ‘safety criteria’ have become common-place. Sometimes, these terms are not necessarily used in a consistent manner and this has generated some confusion e.g. the expressions ‘safety argument’ and ‘safety case’ are sometimes used interchangeably. An awareness of this has influenced the layout of this chapter:
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Attempts have been made to align safety-related terms with their ICAO and ESARR equivalents. However, as this has not been entirely successful (because a one-on-one correlation between ICAO and ESARR terminology is not necessarily provided for), a section of this chapter has been devoted to several ‘key’ terms/concepts so that they can be recognised and understood irrespective of the nomenclature used.

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‘Safety Criteria’ are not discussed in isolation but rather described within the greater context of safety case development. The latter is a generally accepted way of undertaking safety assessments.

Despite the above, attention is drawn to the fact that the aims of this document do not include providing guidance for the undertaking of safety assessments. It is therefore
stressed that the Terminal Airspace design team bears the responsibility for complying with the safety policy prescribed by the National Regulator, and that none of the material contained in this chapter should be construed as relieving the TerminalAirspace design team of such obligations.
1 See Part C, Chapter 1, Attachment C.1-1 for reference material related to Safety.
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本文鏈接地址：EUROCONTROL MANUAL FOR AIRSPACE PLANNING 2(17)