Do you use ISO 13849 – 1 or IEC 62061 to define and analyze the safety related parts of the control systems used on your machinery? Have you been frustrated by trying to…
Read More31-Dec-2011 – Are YOU ready?
31-December-2011 marks a key milestone for machine builders marketing their products in the European Union, the EEA and many of the Candidate States. Functional Safety takes a positive step forward with the…
Read MoreInterlock Architectures – Pt. 5: Category 4 – Control Reliable
Ed. note: I’ve made a few updates to this article since it was first published in 2011, with the most recent on 2020-05-11. – DN – The most reliable of the five…
Read MoreInterlock Architectures – Pt. 4: Category 3 – Control Reliable

This post was updated on 2020-03-28. Category 3 system architecture is the first category that could be considered to have similarity to “Control Reliable” circuits or systems as was defined in…
Read MoreUnderstanding Risk Assessment

When people discuss ‘Risk’ there are a lot of different assumptions made about what that means. For me, the study of risk and risk assessment techniques started in 1995. As a technologist…
Read MoreMissing MTTFd data
Dealing with the huge information void that exists while trying to complete reasonable control reliability assessments is a major challenge for every engineer or technologist tasked with this activity. Here are a few thoughts on what to do now, and where things may be going…
Read MoreIEC/TR 62061 – 1 Reviewed
Why You Need to Spend More Cash on Yet Another Document Standards organizations publish documents in a fairly continuous stream, so for those of us tasked with staying current with a large…
Read MoreInterlock Architectures – Pt. 3: Category 2

This article explores the requirements for safety related control systems meeting ISO 13849 – 1 Category 2 requirements. “Gotcha!” points in the definition are highlighted to help designers avoid this common pitfalls.
Read MoreNew Guide to Applying ISO 13849 – 1 and IEC 62061
IEC and ISO have published a new guide to help users select between ISO 13849 – 1 and IEC 62061. This new Technical Report will replace Table 1 in both standards.
Read MoreSafety is Good Business
In this excellent article from Rockwell Automation’s The Journal, Mike Miller and Wayne Solberg explain how EN ISO 13849 – 1 and EN IEC 62061 mesh for machine builders.
Well worth the read in my opinion!
The Journal: Safety is Good Business – Marshall & Solberg