The travel and group meeting restrictions from COVID-19 have allowed me to catch up on some reading about viruses; not the type that get transmitted to humans. This article is about the Stuxnet virus…
The travel and group meeting restrictions from COVID-19 have allowed me to catch up on some reading about viruses; not the type that get transmitted to humans. This article is about the Stuxnet virus…
At exida, we just finished a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) on a medical ventilator. This was done for a new manufacturer who needed independent design verification. It was a fascinating job. We…
One of the commonly targeted pathways into an Industrial Automation and Control System (IACS) is through compromised remote access such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). During the Stay at…
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since the Deepwater Horizon incident on April 20th 2010. Even today, the Gulf Coast is still feeling the effects. In its latest estimates, BP is looking at a…
Get your priorities (distribution) straight
A very common question is posed during alarm management training. Does the recommended alarm priority distribution of ~5% / ~15% / ~80% for high / medium / low priority alarms…
The Greek symbol λD represents dangerous failure rates in functional safety, usually expressed in the unit of measurement of FITs, and can be determined through FMEDAs. (FITs (λ) are failures per billion hours,…
Hey everybody. I hope this blog finds you, your family, and your colleagues well. At exida, we appreciate the trust you place in our solutions and services to support you in achieving your
As discussed in Part I, bow tie diagrams provide an easy-to-understand visual representation of risk management information (hazards, potential consequences, barriers, degradation factors and controls). In this article we examine the applicability of…
The Greek symbol lambda, λ, represents failure rates in functional safety, usually expressed in the unit of measurement of FITS.
λ can be expressed as a total failure rate for a device (λT), or it…
exida, the global leader in functional safety, industrial automation cybersecurity, and alarm management is thrilled to announce a new online testing platform for their CFSE (Certified Functional Safety Expert) and Read More...
Creating an alarm philosophy document is often the entry point into the ISA-18.2/IEC 62682 alarm management lifecycle. Many tasked with developing one are discouraged by its length and the barriers it creates.…
Failures In Time or Failure UnIT
FITs is the number of failures per billion hours for a piece of equipment.
It is mentioned in both IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 standards as a preferred unit of measurement…
It is tough to receive an email with this message from a prospective CFSE candidate. I know that when I have failed exams, I want to understand what was wrong so I can…
Failure rates are the number of failures per unit time for a piece of equipment which are usually assumed to be a constant value. They can be broken down into several categories, such as…
The bow tie methodology, originally developed by ICI in the late 1970’s, has seen increasing industry adoption over the last 20 years. Bow tie diagrams build on the “Swiss Cheese Model” of hazard escalation…