Post updated 2019-07-24. Ed. Safety-Related Software Up to this point, I have been discussing the basic processes used for the design of safety-related parts of control systems. The underlying assumption is…
Read MoreISO 13849 – 1 Analysis — Part 6: CCF — Common Cause Failures
Post updated 2019-07-24. Ed. What is a “Common Cause Failure”? There are two similar-sounding terms that people often get confused: Common Cause Failure (CCF) and Common Mode Failure. While these…
Read MoreISO 13849 – 1 Analysis — Part 5: Diagnostic Coverage (DC)
Post updated 2019-07-24. Ed. What is Diagnostic Coverage? Understanding Diagnostic Coverage (DC) as it is used in ISO 13849 – 1 [1] is critical to analysing the design of any safety function assessed…
Read MoreISO 13849 – 1 Analysis — Part 4: MTTFD – Mean Time to Dangerous Failure
Post updated 2019-07-24. Ed. Functional safety is all about the likelihood of a safety system failing to operate when you need it. Understanding Mean Time to Dangerous Failure, or MTTFD, is…
Read MoreISO 13849 – 1 Analysis — Part 3: Architectural Category Selection
Post updated 2019-07-24. Ed. At this point, you have completed the risk assessment, assigned required Performance Levels to each safety function, and developed the Safety Requirement Specification for each safety…
Read MoreISO 13849 – 1 Analysis — Part 2: Safety Requirement Specification
This article was updated 2019-07-24. Ed. Developing the Safety Requirement Specification The Safety Requirement Specification sounds pretty heavy, but actually, it is just a big name for a way to organize the…
Read MoreISO 13849 – 1 Analysis — Part 1: Start with Risk Assessment
This post was updated 2019-07-24 I often get questions from clients about how to get started on Functional Safety using ISO 13849. This article is the first in a series that will…
Read MoreNew CSA Standard for Machinery Electrical Equipment
Electrical Equipment of Machinery Most modern machinery is controlled electrically, or electronically. There are a number of standards that apply to the design of control systems for machinery, with IEC 60204 – 1…
Read MoreNew Directions in Plastics Machinery
Update to this article, September 2020. ISO 20430 was published in April 2020. ISO/TC 270 is now developing ISO 23582 – 1 — Plastics and rubber machines — Clamping systems — Part 1: Safety requirements for magnetic clamping systems. Public…
Read MoreWorkplace Risk Assessment – CSA Z1002: Love it, Hate it, Tweak it
The CSA Z1002 TC Needs to Know: Love it, Hate it, Tweak it? We need to know: Do you Love CSA Z1002? Hate CSA Z1002? Does it need some tweaking? The First of…
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