📄 77 — Safety Margins
Definition
Building extra capacity or buffer into a system to handle uncertainty or unexpected stress.
When to Use
• Engineering • Planning • Risk management • Operations • Budgeting
How It Improves Reasoning
It prevents failure when conditions exceed expectations.
Steps
- Identify expected load.
- Add buffer capacity.
- Test under higher loads.
- Adjust margin as needed.
Example
Bridges are designed to hold far more weight than expected.
Prompts
• “Determine appropriate safety margins for this system.” • “Where is additional buffer needed?”