Have you even wondered, been involved, or WERE the little kid that didn’t listen to your parents, but always listened to a teacher? This is called the “Third party effect.” In business, it is well known that the power of persuasion can be the most effective by a third…
exida explains Blog
- by Ted Stewart, CFSP, exidaCSP
- Thursday, December 08, 2016
- Certification
The 3rd Party Effect (Part 1)
- by Todd Stauffer
- Thursday, December 01, 2016
- Alarm Management
How to become a world-class expert (the 10,000 hour rule)
In the book “Outliers”, Malcolm Gladwell popularized the notion that to become an expert in a field requires putting in 10,000 hours of practice.
The emerging picture from studies of expertise is that ten thousand hours of practice is required to reach the level of mastery associated with being…
- by Dr. William Goble, CFSE
- Thursday, November 17, 2016
- Functional Safety
Realistic Failure Rate Data – Necessary
Reliability engineers have known for decades that realistic data must ultimately come from one source, quality field failure data for devices operating in a similar application.
Perhaps that is why IEC 61511:2016, Clause 11.9.3 states
“The reliability data used when quantifying the effect of random failures shall…
- by John Yozallinas, CFSE
- Friday, November 04, 2016
- Functional Safety
Back to the Future?
At 7am, my personal robot (I call him ‘Jake’) turns on the bedroom lights to 50% brightness and waits for my body to recognize the onset of morning. If I take longer than 5 minutes, Jake will begin to play some soft music. This is usually enough to get…
- by Rick Smith
- Thursday, October 27, 2016
- Industrial Cybersecurity
Introduction to ICS Security - Pt. 4 - Control System Assessments
Over the last couple of blogs, I mapped out the importance of ISA/IEC-62443/ISA-99 based cybersecurity and how it applies to your work environment.
For part 1, I started from the beginning and outlined what exactly ICS cybersecurity is and why it is important.
For part 2, I explained the difference between…
- by John Yozallinas, CFSE
- Thursday, October 13, 2016
- Functional Safety
Nothing Happens Until Someone Sells Something!
When I first heard this phrase, I was working in an R&D group developing electronic DCS. My first interpretation was that until the Sales Department got an order for a new product, new ideas sort of sat on the shelf with low priority… meaning that people were probably working…
- by Rick Smith
- Thursday, October 06, 2016
- Industrial Cybersecurity
Introduction to ICS Security - Pt. 3 - ISA / IEC 62443 Structure
Over the next couple of blogs, I plan to map out the importance of ISA/IEC-62443/ISA-99 based cybersecurity and how it applies to your work environment. I'll also explain some of our services so that you can see what might pertain to you.
For part 1, I started from the beginning and outlined…
- by John Yozallinas, CFSE
- Sunday, October 02, 2016
- Certification
Welcome to my world
Sure, you might think I’ve got it made… sitting here on my perch telling you what you need to do to meet IEC 61508, while you sit there with all the work to do. Well, it wasn’t always that way. I was in your shoes, responsible for achieving functional…
- by Rick Smith
- Thursday, September 22, 2016
- Alarm Management
The Crossroads of Alarm Management and Process Safety
Recently I was reading The Manufacturing Operations Technology Viewpoints blog and came across an interest post on Alarm Management that cites exida’s Alarm Management cheat sheet. The blog post entitled The Crossroads of Alarm Management and Process Safety is a great summary for any one…
- by Rick Smith
- Thursday, September 15, 2016
- Industrial Cybersecurity
Introduction to ICS Security - Pt. 2 - IT versus ICS Security
Over the next couple of blogs, I plan to map out the importance of ISA/IEC-62443/ISA-99 based cybersecurity and how it applies to your work environment. I'll also explain some of our services so that you can see what might pertain to you. For part 1, I started from…
- by Steve Gandy, CFSP
- Thursday, September 08, 2016
- Industrial Cybersecurity
How Secure Is Your Safety Instrumented System (SIS)?
As the cybersecurity threats in the industrial world continue to rise, the automation world continues to grapple with how to address these issues. As such, the newly released IEC61511-1: 2016 edition has included a new clause to address this (Clause 8.2.4). In essence, End Users have to carry out…
- by Loren Stewart, CFSE
- Thursday, September 01, 2016
- Certification
FMEDA Predictions
The FMEDA technique is performed on a specific device (e.g., ball valve, pressure transmitter, temperature sensor, electronic module, etc.) specified down to the manufacturer and series/model. Based on the specifics of the design, the parts used to execute the design, the design margins, any automatic diagnostics, the…
- by Rick Smith
- Wednesday, August 24, 2016
- Industrial Cybersecurity
Introduction to ICS Security - Pt. 1 - What is ICS Security and Why it Is Important
Over the next couple of blogs, I plan to map out the importance of ISA/IEC-62443/ISA-99 based cybersecurity and how it applies to your work environment. I'll also explain some of our services so that you can see what might pertain to you.
For part 1, I will start from the beginnning…
- by John Yozallinas, CFSE
- Thursday, August 18, 2016
- Certification
Who’s Driving Your Process?
When I start working with new customers for IEC 61508 certification projects, it’s easy to understand why they might not have a compliant development process for functional safety: they’ve never done it before! They understand their market and their products, but they need help to understand the…
- by Dr. William Goble, CFSE
- Thursday, August 11, 2016
- Functional Safety
“Never tell me the odds”
-Han Solo, Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, 1980
I have enjoyed watching and reading about the actions of the fictional Star Wars character Han Solo over the years. I recall hearing the above quotation more than once. And as much as I enjoyed watching this character,…