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Benner’s Behavior Model in the Modern Era (D.E.C.I.D.E.)

March 24, 2022 | Jon Simpson, Manager Hazardous Materials, Norfolk Southern Corporation

Chances are, if you have been in any discipline or position that requires emergency response to hazardous materials, you are familiar with the name Ludwig Benner. Mr. Benner was a chemical engineer by trade who spent over three decades investigating accidents with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and focused extensively on hazmat transportation and equipment engineering. In addition, and perhaps lesser known, he created a General Hazardous Behavior Model (GEBMO); its creation gives us a model of how every failure of a hazmat container unfolds. Each component or event of the modeling has a subset of categories describing how that event can behave. Based on Mr. Benner’s engineering background and backed by numerous case studies the model is focused on very predictable science.

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