Published Date: 2022-04-01
| Postmortem Analysis | |
|---|---|
| Timeline | 1. The software failure incident of the integrated trailer braking system in Ford trucks happened around April 2022. [125509] |
| System | 1. Integrated trailer braking system in Ford trucks [125509] |
| Responsible Organization | 1. Ford [125509] |
| Impacted Organization | 1. Ford (Article 125509) |
| Software Causes | 1. The software causes of the failure incident were related to a software error in the integrated trailer braking system, leading to a malfunction that prevented the application of a trailer's brakes [125509]. |
| Non-software Causes | 1. The integrated trailer braking system malfunctioning due to a software error [125509]. |
| Impacts | 1. The software failure incident in Ford trucks led to the malfunction of the integrated trailer braking system, potentially causing the trailer's brakes not to apply as intended [125509]. |
| Preventions | To prevent the software failure incident of the integrated trailer braking system malfunction in Ford trucks, the following measures could have been taken: 1. Thorough software testing: Conducting comprehensive testing, including functional, integration, and regression testing, could have helped identify and rectify the software error before the trucks were released to the market [125509]. 2. Implementing robust quality assurance processes: Establishing stringent quality assurance processes to ensure software quality and reliability could have prevented the occurrence of the software error leading to the braking system malfunction [125509]. 3. Continuous monitoring and feedback: Implementing a system for continuous monitoring of software performance in vehicles and gathering feedback from users could have helped in detecting any anomalies or issues early on, allowing for timely software updates or fixes [125509]. |
| Fixes | 1. Applying a software update by Ford dealers [125509]. | References | 1. Ford's official statement 2. Ford's customer service department 3. Recall number 22S17 4. Ford dealer notifications 5. Vehicle owners affected by the recall 6. Ford models impacted by the software error 7. Details of the software error causing the integrated trailer braking system malfunction [125509] |
| Category | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring | unknown | (a) The article does not mention any previous incidents of the software failure happening again within Ford or with its products and services. Therefore, there is no information available to suggest that a similar incident has occurred before at Ford [125509]. (b) The article does not provide information about similar incidents happening at other organizations or with their products and services. Hence, there is no evidence to suggest that this software failure incident has occurred elsewhere [125509]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) | design | (a) The software failure incident in this case is related to the design phase. The article mentions that the integrated trailer braking system malfunctioned due to a software error, indicating that the issue was introduced during the system development or updates [125509]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) | within_system | (a) The software failure incident reported in Article 125509 is within_system. The article mentions that Ford is recalling nearly 400,000 trucks due to concerns about the integrated trailer braking system malfunctioning because of a software error. The issue is specifically related to the software within the trucks, leading to the failure of the trailer braking system [125509]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) | non-human_actions | (a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions: The software failure in this case is due to a software error in the integrated trailer braking system, which could malfunction without human participation, causing it to not apply a trailer's brakes [125509]. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions: There is no information in the provided article indicating that the software failure was caused by contributing factors introduced by human actions. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) | hardware, software | (a) The software failure incident in this case is due to contributing factors that originate in hardware. The article mentions that Ford is recalling nearly 400,000 trucks over concerns that the integrated trailer braking system could malfunction due to a software error, causing it to not apply a trailer's brakes. The issue specifically relates to the integrated trailer braking system, which is a hardware component, and the malfunction is attributed to a software error [125509]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) | non-malicious | (a) The software failure incident reported in Article 125509 is non-malicious. The failure occurred due to a software error in the integrated trailer braking system of Ford trucks, leading to concerns that the system may not apply a trailer's brakes as intended. Ford is addressing this issue through a recall and software update, indicating that the failure was not caused by malicious intent but rather by a software error introduced during development or implementation [125509]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) | accidental_decisions | The software failure incident reported in Article 125509 was not explicitly attributed to poor decisions or accidental decisions. The article mentions that Ford is recalling nearly 400,000 trucks due to concerns about the integrated trailer braking system malfunctioning because of a software error. The fix for this issue is a software update, indicating that the failure was likely unintentional and not a result of poor decisions or intentional actions. Therefore, based on the information provided, it is unknown whether the software failure incident was caused by poor decisions or accidental decisions. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) | accidental | (a) The software failure incident in the Ford truck recall was not explicitly attributed to development incompetence. The article mentions that the issue was a software error causing the integrated trailer braking system to malfunction, leading to a failure to apply a trailer's brakes. The fix for this issue is described as a relatively simple software update that Ford dealers will apply to the affected vehicles [125509]. (b) The software failure incident in the Ford truck recall was described as being due to a software error, indicating an accidental introduction of the contributing factor that led to the malfunction of the integrated trailer braking system. The article does not suggest any intentional or deliberate actions behind the software error, pointing more towards an accidental cause [125509]. |
| Duration | temporary | The software failure incident reported in Article 125509 is temporary. The article mentions that the issue with the integrated trailer braking system in nearly 400,000 Ford trucks is due to a software error. Ford plans to address this issue by applying a software update, indicating that the failure is not permanent but can be rectified through a specific action, in this case, a software update [125509]. |
| Behaviour | crash, value | (a) crash: The software failure incident in the Ford trucks is related to a malfunction in the integrated trailer braking system due to a software error, causing it to not apply a trailer's brakes. This can be considered a crash as the system is losing its intended function of applying the brakes correctly, leading to a potential safety issue [125509]. |
| Layer | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Perception | sensor, processing_unit | (a) sensor: The software failure incident reported in Article 125509 is related to the integrated trailer braking system malfunctioning due to a software error. This error causes the system to not apply a trailer's brakes, indicating a failure related to the sensor aspect of the cyber physical system, where the sensor is not detecting the need to apply the brakes correctly. The fix for this issue involves applying a software update, indicating that the root cause of the failure lies in the sensor's input being misinterpreted by the software controlling the braking system [125509]. (c) processing_unit: The software error causing the integrated trailer braking system to malfunction in the Ford trucks is related to the processing unit of the system. The processing error in the software leads to the system not applying the trailer's brakes as intended. The solution to this issue involves updating the software, indicating that the failure is rooted in the processing unit's incorrect handling of the braking system's functionality [125509]. |
| Communication | connectivity_level | The software failure incident reported in Article 125509 is related to the communication layer of the cyber physical system that failed at the connectivity_level. The issue with the integrated trailer braking system malfunctioning due to a software error points to a failure introduced by factors related to the network or transport layer, rather than the physical layer (link_level) [125509]. |
| Application | TRUE | The software failure incident reported in Article 125509 was related to a software error in the integrated trailer braking system of Ford trucks. The article mentions that the malfunction was due to a software error, causing the system to not apply a trailer's brakes. This aligns with the definition of a failure related to the application layer of the cyber physical system, as it involves bugs and errors in the software application itself [125509]. |
| Category | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Consequence | property, non-human | (a) death: There is no mention of any deaths resulting from the software failure incident in the article [125509]. (b) harm: The article does not mention any physical harm caused to individuals due to the software failure incident [125509]. (c) basic: The software failure incident did not impact people's access to food or shelter as per the article [125509]. (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data were potentially impacted by the software failure incident as Ford is recalling nearly 400,000 trucks due to the integrated trailer braking system malfunction caused by a software error [125509]. (e) delay: There is no mention of any activities being postponed due to the software failure incident in the article [125509]. (f) non-human: Non-human entities, specifically vehicles (trucks), were impacted by the software failure incident as Ford is recalling a significant number of trucks to address the issue with the integrated trailer braking system [125509]. (g) no_consequence: The software failure incident led to a tangible consequence, as Ford is recalling the affected trucks to address the issue, indicating there were observed consequences [125509]. (h) theoretical_consequence: There were no theoretical consequences discussed in the article [125509]. (i) other: The article does not mention any other specific consequences of the software failure incident beyond the impact on the integrated trailer braking system in the affected trucks [125509]. |
| Domain | transportation | (a) The software failure incident reported in Article 125509 is related to the transportation industry. Ford is recalling nearly 400,000 trucks due to a software error in the integrated trailer braking system, which could malfunction and fail to apply a trailer's brakes [125509]. This incident directly impacts the transportation of goods and people using these affected vehicles. |
Article ID: 125509