Journal profile · Engineering, Industrial
Reliability Engineering & System Safety
ISSN 0951-8320 · eISSN 1879-0836 · Elsevier Ltd · ENGLAND · Monthly
Reliability Engineering & System Safety: CAS Zone 1 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 13.7; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,830; review about 201 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: about 37.5%; 1,249 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Reliability Engineering & System Safety is published by Elsevier Ltd and is in Zone 1 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Reliability and Maintenance Optimization, Risk and Safety Analysis and Probabilistic and Robust Engineering Design, together about 44.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Published by Elsevier in association with the European Safety and Reliability Association, and the Safety Engineering and Risk Analysis DivisionReliability Engineering and System Safety is an international journal devoted to the development and application of methods for the enhancement of the safety and reliability of complex technological systems, like nuclear power plants, chemical plants, hazardous waste facilities, space systems, offshore and maritime systems, transportation systems, constructed infrastructure and manufacturing plants. The journal normally publishes only articles that involve the analysis of substantive problems related to the reliability of complex systems or present techniques and/or theoretical results that have a discernable relationship to the solution of such problems. An important aim is to achieve a balance between academic material and practical applications.The following topics are within the scope of the journal: methods for reliability and probabilistic safety assessment; model and parameter uncertainties; aleatory and epistemic uncertainties, sensitivity analysis, data collection and analysis; engineering judgement and expert opinions; human reliability; test and maintenance policies; models for ageing and life extension; systems analysis of the impact of earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, winds, floods, etc.; codes, standards and safety criteria; operator decision support systems; software reliability; methods and applications of automatic fault detection and diagnosis; dynamic reliability; design and evaluation of man machine systems and human interfaces; design innovation for safety and reliability; safety culture; accident investigation and management. The journal does not normally publish articles that involve fuzzy sets and related non-probabilistic methods unless they contribute significantly to the solution of substantive problems related to the analysis of real systems.The journal will contain contributed material in the form of original research papers, review articles, industrial case studies, safety recommendations, and short communications.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Engineering, Industrial
Editor-in-chief Marko CepinPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 14 in mainland China (about 14%); most named United States 26, Mainland China 14, United Kingdom 9, Italy 6, Norway 6 (98 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Reliability and Maintenance OptimizationEngineering16.8%
- Risk and Safety AnalysisDecision Sciences16.7%
- Probabilistic and Robust Engineering DesignDecision Sciences11.2%
- Software Reliability and Analysis ResearchComputer Science7.5%
- Infrastructure Resilience and Vulnerability AnalysisEngineering5.1%
- Statistical Distribution Estimation and ApplicationsMathematics4.9%
- Occupational Health and Safety ResearchHealth Professions4.8%
- Machine Fault Diagnosis TechniquesEngineering3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Industrial | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Operations Research & Management Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Industrial | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Operations Research & Management Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Industrial | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Operations Research & Management Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 13.7LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 13.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 21.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 21.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.84LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.76LetPub ·
- h-index
- 119LetPub ·
- h-index
- 226OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 7,662OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 10.88OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 33.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 14.29%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,146LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 11,929 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1,258 | 254 | 1,381 |
| 2025 | 1,249 | 245 | 12,604 |
| 2024 | 749 | 165 | 21,446 |
| 2023 | 748 | 197 | 29,410 |
| 2022 | 610 | 153 | 29,407 |
| 2021 | 688 | 213 | 35,502 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
201 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports about 12 months
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 12 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 37.5%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 82 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 201 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,830 / EUR 4,520 / GBP 3,870 / JPY 599,060 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,750 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers4, by deadline
- Toward Resilient Intelligent Structural Systems in Earthquake EngineeringDeadline
- AI-empowered reliability, resilience and sustainability analysis for geotechnical and underground engineeringDeadline
- Reliability of complex systems with multi-source uncertain informationDeadline
- Advanced resilience assessment & enhancement for complex engineering systems exposed to multi-hazardsDeadline
What to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
Article types accepted13
- book reviewOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- book reviewsOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- case studiesOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- case studyOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- letterOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- letters to the editorsOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- original paperOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- original papersOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- reports and announcements of conferences and meetingsOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- review articleOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- review articlesOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- short communicationOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
- short communicationsOriginal papers, review articles, case studies, short communications, reports and announcements of conferences and meetings, book reviews, and letters to the Ed…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
1 to 7 keywords required Model summary
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- Multi-Language
- Frequency
- Monthly
- ISSN
- 0951-8320
- Electronic ISSN
- 1879-0836
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Reliability Engineering & System Safety
What CAS zone is Reliability Engineering & System Safety in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Reliability Engineering & System Safety is in Zone 1 of Engineering, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Engineering, Industrial / Operations Research & Management Science; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Reliability Engineering & System Safety?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 13.7; CiteScore 21.9, h-index 226.
How long does peer review take at Reliability Engineering & System Safety?
The publisher reports about 201 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 12 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 37.5%”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Reliability Engineering & System Safety?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: 1–7. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Reliability Engineering & System Safety based?
Of the 98 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 14 (about 14%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (26), Mainland China (14) and United Kingdom (9). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Reliability Engineering & System Safety?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Reliability Engineering & System Safety is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Reliability Engineering & System Safety open access, and what is the APC?
Reliability Engineering & System Safety is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,830.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .