RMQMP^® Framework

1. Academic Foundation and Intellectual Property

The model is supported by international academic research, professional practice, and publication activities in the fields of accident prevention, safety design, socio-technical systems, and organizational safety management.

RMQMP® is a registered trademark in Japan, the United States, the European Union (EU) and China.

The framework has been developed through multidisciplinary experience in operational practice, accident investigation, international regulatory activities, and academic research.

RMQMP is provided as a consistent theoretical and implementation framework supported by both academic foundations and intellectual property management.

2. Formal Definition

The RMQMP model is an integrated safety design theory and implementation framework based on the concept that accidents, near misses, and routine operations emerge through nonlinear interactions within complex socio-technical systems.

The model systematically explains and analyzes the mechanisms underlying these phenomena by integrating safety constraints, deviations from safety constraints, interaction inconsistencies, and detection-correction-recovery processes, thereby enabling diagnosis of latent risk structures and potential instabilities embedded within routine operations.

The model is structured as a cyclical process integrating prevention, analysis, improvement, education, and safety culture.

The model extends beyond post-accident understanding by treating routine operations themselves as objects of diagnosis, enabling prior identification of accident-generating conditions together with the integrated design, implementation, and continuous improvement of safety measures and detection-correction-recovery mechanisms.

3. Scope of Application

The framework is applicable across a wide range of complex socio-technical systems, including but not limited to:

Industrial sectors

(manufacturing, energy and resources, nuclear power plants, chemical and process industries, and large-scale industrial systems)

Higher education institutions

Healthcare and medical systems

Transportation systems

(aviation, maritime transportation, railways, and automotive systems)

AI-based autonomous driving, automated systems, and other high-risk socio-technical environments

Organizations operating within complex socio-technical environments

The framework may be applied to:

• Accident investigation and analysis
• Near-miss investigation and analysis
• Diagnosis of routine operations and latent operational instabilities
• Design, evaluation, implementation, and continuous improvement of Safety Management Systems (SMS)
• Organizational learning and safety culture development
• Risk visualization, operational diagnosis, and organizational safety design

4. Usage Policy

The RMQMP^® name and framework are protected under applicable trademark and intellectual property policies.

Academic and educational use by higher education institutions is generally permitted with appropriate attribution and citation.

Commercial or organizational applications—including educational programs, implementation support services, software applications and related digital systems, educational materials, and analytical services utilizing RMQMP theory, framework, or implementation methodology—may require separate licensing agreements and usage policies depending on the scope and intended use.

The framework is managed to maintain theoretical consistency, implementation quality, and appropriate use across educational, organizational, and commercial activities.

For additional information:

• RMQMP^® Usage Policy 
• RMQMP^® Commercial Licensing Policy

5. Evolution of RMQMP and Academic Recognition

The development of the model originated from doctoral research conducted at Kobe University in 2016, which systematically analyzed limitations of conventional accident models using real-world accident data and established the theoretical foundation for a systematic approach to accident prevention.

Subsequent publications and studies based on real-world accident data further developed research on accident patterns, accident factors, and preventive mechanisms.

In 2019, Safer Seas: Systematic Accident Prevention was published through CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group). The publication presented a systematic framework for accident prevention within maritime contexts and introduced foundational concepts that later evolved into RMQMP.

In 2025, Dr. Koji Fukuoka published Accident Prevention and Investigation: A Systematic Guide for Professionals, Educators, Researchers, and Students through Wiley.

The book presented a systematic theoretical framework together with practical implementation approaches for accident prevention, accident investigation and analysis, safety design, and operational diagnosis centered on the model. It also presented applications of safety design and organizational implementation within educational and research environments, including universities and research institutions. The publication has been catalogued in major academic library systems, including Stanford University Libraries and Harvard Library, where individual chapters are indexed and searchable for educational and research purposes.

Subsequently, the model expanded both theoretically and practically into broader complex socio-technical systems, including aviation, maritime transportation, nuclear power plants, chemical plants, AI-based autonomous systems, higher education institutions, and other organizational environments.

Through international publications, practical experience, and applications across diverse complex socio-technical systems, RMQMP continues to evolve as an integrated theoretical and implementation framework for accident prevention, safety design, routine operational diagnosis, organizational safety management, implementation, and continuous improvement.