Functional safety

Functional safety is the part of the overall safety of a system or piece of equipment that depends on the system or equipment operating correctly in response to its inputs, including the safe management of likely operator errors, hardware failures and environmental changes.

Objective of functional safety

The objective of functional safety is freedom from unacceptable risk of physical injury or of damage to the health of people either directly or indirectly (through damage to property or to the environment).

Functional safety is intrinsically end-to-end in scope in that it has to treat the function of a component or subsystem as part of the function of the whole system. This means that whilst functional safety standards focus on Electrical, Electronic and Programmable Systems (E/E/PS), the end-to-end scope means that in practice functional safety methods have to extend to the non-E/E/PS parts of the system that the E/E/PS actuates, controls or monitors..

Achieving functional safety

Functional safety is achieved when every specified safety function is carried out and the level of performance required of each safety function is met. This is normally achieved by a process that includes the following steps as a minimum:

  1. Identifying what the required safety functions are. This means the hazards and safety functions have to be known. A process of function reviews, formal HAZIDs, HAZOPs and Accident Reviews are applied to identify these.
  2. Assessment of the risk-reduction required by the safety function. This will involve a Safety Integrity Level (SIL) or Performance Level or other quantification Assessment. A Safety Integrity Level (SIL) (or Pl, AgPl, ASIL) applies to an end-to-end safety function of the safety-related system, not just to a component or part of the system.
  3. Ensuring the safety function performs to the design intent, including under conditions of incorrect operator input and failure modes. This will involve having the design and lifecycle managed by qualified and competent engineers carrying out processes to a recognised functional safety standard. In Europe, that standard is IEC EN 61508, or one of the industry specific standards derived from IEC EN 61508, or some other standard like ISO 13849.
  4. Verification that the system meets the assigned SIL, ASIL, PL or agPL by determining the Mean Time Between Failures and the Safe Failure Fraction (SFF), along with appropriate tests. The Safe Failure Fraction is the probability of the system failing in a safe state: the dangerous (or critical) state states are identified from a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis or (Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis) of the system (FMEA or FMECA).
  5. Conduct functional safety audits to examine and assess the evidence that the appropriate safety lifecycle management techniques were applied consistently and thoroughly in the relevant lifecycle stages of product.

Neither safety nor functional safety can be determined without considering the system as a whole and the environment with which it interacts. Functional safety is inherently end-to-end in scope.

Certifying functional safety

Any claim of functional safety for a component, subsystem or system should be independently certified to one of the recognized functional safety standards. A certified product can then be claimed to be Functionally Safe to a particular Safety Integrity Level or a Performance Level in a specific range of applications: the certificate is provided to the customers with a test report describing the scope and limits of performance.

An important element of functional safety certification is on-going surveillance by the certification agency. This follow-up surveillance ensures that that product, sub-system, or system is still being manufactured in accordance with what was originally certified for functional safety. Follow-up surveillance may occur as various frequencies depending on the certification agency, but will typically look at the product's hardware, software, as well as the manufacturer's ongoing compliance of functional safety management systems.

The principles underpinning functional safety were developed in the military, nuclear and aerospace industries, and then taken up by rail transport, process and control industries developing sector specific standards. Functional safety standards are applied across all industry sectors dealing with safety critical requirements. Thousands of products and processes meet the standards based on IEC 61508: from bathroom showers,[1] automotive safety products, medical devices, sensors, actuators, diving equipment,[2] Process Controllers[3][4][5] and their integration to ships, aircraft and major plant.[6]

In Europe, functional safety certification is supported by a well-developed infrastructure.[7][8] The CASS Scheme is the primary method by which products are certified to IEC EN 61508 and related standards, through accredited quality auditors. It is possible to certify both products and processes that manage the life-cycle of the product, (in which case, the company certified would then issue a certificate of conformity to that certification in respect of its relevant products).

The US FAA have similar functional safety certification processes, in the form of US RTCA DO-178B for software and DO-254 for hardware,[9][10] which is applied throughout the aerospace industry.

In the USA, NASA developed an infrastructure for safety critical systems adopted widely by industry, both in North America and elsewhere, with a standard,[11] supported by guidelines.[12] The NASA standard and guidelines are built on ISO 12207, which is a software practice standard rather than a safety critical standard, hence the extensive nature of the documentation NASA has been obliged to add, compared to using a purpose designed standard such as EN 61508 with the CASS Templates. A certification process for systems developed in accord with the NASA guidelines exists.[13]

Modern E/E/PS medical devices are being certified to 510(k) on the basis of the industry sector specific IEC EN 62304 standard, based on IEC EN 61508 concepts.

The automotive industry, has developed the ISO 26262 Road Vehicles Functional Safety Standard based on IEC 61508. The certification of those systems ensures the compliance with the relevant regulations and helps to protect the public. The ATEX Directive has also adopted a functional safety standard, it is BS EN 50495:2010 'Safety devices required for the safe functioning of equipment with respect to explosion risks' covers safety related devices such as purge controllers and Ex e motor circuit breakers. It is applied by Notified Bodies under the ATEX Directive. The standard ISO 26262 particularly addresses the automotive development cycle. It is a multi-part standard defining requirements and providing guidelines for achieving functional safety in E/E systems installed in series production passenger cars. The standard ISO 26262 is considered a best practice framework for achieving automotive functional safety.[14] (See also main article: ISO 26262). The compliance process usually takes time as employees need to be trained in order to develop the expected competences.

Contemporary functional safety standards

The primary functional safety standards in current use are listed below:

The standard ISO 26262 particularly addresses the automotive development cycle. It is a multipart standard defining requirements and providing guidelines for achieving functional safety in E/E systems installed in series production passenger cars. The standard ISO 26262 is considered a best practice framework for achieving automotive functional safety.[15] (_See also main article:_ ISO 26262)

See also

References

  1. ↑ TMV2 and TM3 Approval of Kohler- Radacontrols Shower lists EN 61508 compliance, http://www.radacontrols.com/onlinecatalog/pdf/p4639_2.pdf
  2. ↑ IEC 61508 Safety Case Example: Diving Equipment http://www.deeplife.co/or.php
  3. ↑ ABB Industrial IT, EN 61508 compliant. http://www.abb.co.uk/cawp/seitp202/275AC9A14F5C6F69C1256FA90060650B.aspx
  4. ↑ exida 61508 Certification of Siemens Integrity VeOSity controller and software, http://www.ghs.com/products/industrial_safety.html
  5. ↑ SAFETY AUTOMATION ELEMENT LIST, A regularly maintained list of instrumentation that is functional safety certified per exida standards for use in safety instrumented systems., http://www.exida.com/SAEL
  6. ↑ http://www.capula.co.uk/pr-safetysystems.html
  7. ↑ The 61508 Association http://www.61508.org
  8. ↑ Institution of Engineering and Technology, Safety Zone http://www.theiet.org/
  9. ↑ V. Hilderman, T. Bagha,"Avionics Certification", A Complete Guide to DO-178B and DO-254, ISBN 978-1-885544-25-4
  10. ↑ C. Spritzer, "Digital Avionics Handbook, Second Edition - 2 Volume Set (Electrical Engineering Handbook", CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-5008-5
  11. ↑ NASA Software Safety Standard NASA STD 8719.13A
  12. ↑ NASA-GB-1740.13-96, NASA Guidebook for Safety Critical Software.
  13. ↑ S. Nelson, Certification Processes for Safety-Critical and Mission- Critical Aerospace Software, June 2003, NASA/CR–2003-212806 http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20040014965_2004000657.pdf
  14. ↑ 26262-1:2011 ISO, Retrieved 04/25/2013
  15. ↑ 26262-1:2011 ISO, Retrieved 04/25/2013

External links

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