Creation of new occupational possibilities taking into consideration the principle “Safety First“ is one of the basic attributes applied in the modern industrial technologies. Another kind of the safety – Security is an everyday integrated part of the human being in the framework of the worldwide civic life and from this reason the Security is a subject of more and more intensive scientific research.

Nowadays the matter of Safety and Security is very important and topical. In the 7th Framework Program of the EU as well as in the project Europe 2020 there are established the six most considerable areas that are relevant strategically for a future of all next generations according to the strategy of the EU development. The Safety and Security is also situated among the above-mentioned strategic areas. This fact confirms an importance and topicality of the Safety and Security.

The characteristic parameter, which is necessary for a qualification of the safety, is a real estimation of the risk values, namely either individually for the area of Safety and for the Security or on a boundary between the Safety and Security. On the present, this second approach is contemporary as an important part of the so-called integrated safety. The risks do not respect borders between the countries; they are not making differences among the individual branches of engineering and technologies as well as among the social life areas. The research of risks requires an interdisciplinary approach. From this reason there are created various international research teams. The technical risks are linked with a human factor mostly, i.e. with individual persons and therefore their health has to be protected.

It is possible to say, in connection with the above-mentioned facts, that also the scientists from the Department of Safety and Production Quality at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Košice are involved into the international scientific groups. Since the 2008 they are members of a team, which is working in solution process of the project „iNTeg-Risk Early Recognition, Monitoring and Integrated Management of Emerging, New Technology Related Risks“. This project is solved as a part of the 7th Framework Program of the EU. The research of risks is a long-time subject of the scientific works performed at the Department of Safety and Production Quality. On the present there are in the solution phase two projects. The first one is the project of the Slovak Research and Development Agency with the title “Research of New and Newly Emerging Risks in the Industrial Technologies in the Framework of the Integrated Safety as an Assumption for Sustainable Development Managing”. The second is the project of the Slovak Scientific Grant Agency VEGA “Research of the Risk Management Process for Machines and Technical Systems on the Safety and Security Boundary.

The Contents and authors of the scientific articles published in this issue of the journal Acta Mechanica Slovaca confirm and document an international character of the research work in the area of safety – Safety and Security.

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