If the answer to this question at the top of the page is yes, a functional safety assessment must be carried out to determine the level of risk reduction required in the system in accordance with the International Standard IEC61508. The standard covers “Functional Safety of Electrical/Electronic/Programmable Electronic Safety-related Systems (E/E/PE, or E/E/PES)”;. For more details visit the ‘Standards’ section.
When using programmable systems to mitigate risks IEC61508 outlines the life cycle obligation to systematically manage the safety of the system at all stages of the system lifecycle from system concept to final decommissioning.
This is a specialist task requiring input from everyone involved in the specification, design, development, programming, testing, implementation, commissioning and lifecycle support of the completed system.
During the assessment, a safety requirements specification must be developed. This is a formally approved document which feeds into the development of the functional design specification.
Safewell can assist clients to manage the functional safety aspects of the automated system development within the context of the Safewell SafeProcess and is already helping oil and gas operators and commercial diving organisations to manage this risk in their business.
