“…there is a belief amongst many engineers and managers that human error is both inevitable and unpredictable.
However, human error is inevitable only if people are placed in situations that emphasize human weaknesses and that do not support human strengths”
Martin Anderson, IChemE Safety and Loss Prevention…
exida explains Blog
- by Todd Stauffer
- Wednesday, July 22, 2020
- Functional Safety
Know Your Human Error (Part II)
- by Steve Gandy, CFSP
- Tuesday, July 14, 2020
- Functional Safety
Functional Safety Management Systems & Engineering Companies
In recent discussions with several engineering and integrators of Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), it’s become very clear to me that the majority I have spoken to, don’t have any form of Functional Safety Management System (FSMS) in place. This is interesting because one of the changes in the…
- by Dr. William Goble, CFSE
- Tuesday, July 07, 2020
- Functional Safety
OLD component data = Bad FMEDAs
When we first invented the FMEDA technique in the late 1980s the biggest problem was the component failure rate and failure mode data. Still is. I picked up a well-known standard for component failure rates and saw a date of 2010. The technology world has gone through an order of…
- by Loren Stewart, CFSE
- Tuesday, June 30, 2020
- Functional Safety
Back to Basics: Failure Rates - λDD
The Greek symbol λDD is the detectable dangerous failure rate in functional safety expressed in the unit of measurement of FITs which can be determined through FMEDAs. (FITs (λ) are failures per billion hours, expressed by 10-9 hours).
λDD is the number of…
- by Dr. William Goble, CFSE
- Tuesday, June 23, 2020
- Functional Safety
Risk Management in the News
I just read a great article in the May issue of IEEE Spectrum magazine called “Managing Risk and Responsibility During a Crisis.” The author Robert N. Charette says “If the American people desire the federal government to be their risk manager of first resort, then an open and…
- by Steve Gandy, CFSP
- Tuesday, June 16, 2020
- Functional Safety
What is Prior Use Justification?
When it comes to IEC61511 and the selection of equipment for use within Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS) and Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF), there are only two methods that can be used to justify selection: IEC61508 Certified devices for the required SIL or Prior Use Justification. Just…
- by Todd Stauffer
- Thursday, June 11, 2020
- Functional Safety
Know Your Human Error (Part I)
Increases in levels of automation and system complexity impact human error. Medical errors in hospitals and clinics result in approximately 100,000 people dying each year and cost the healthcare industry between $4B – $20B each year. In the petrochemical industries, operational error can cost upwards of $80M per incident. “Operator error”…
- by Loren Stewart, CFSE
- Thursday, June 04, 2020
- Functional Safety
Back to Basics: Failure Rates - λDU
The Greek symbol λDU is the undetectable dangerous failure rate in functional safety expressed in the unit of measurement of FITs which can be determined through FMEDAs. (FITs (λ) are failures per billion hours, expressed by 10-9 hours).
λDU is the number of dangerous undetected failures…
- by Todd Stauffer
- Tuesday, May 19, 2020
- Industrial Cybersecurity
Grasping the Power of the (Stuxnet) Virus (or What I did during the COVID-19 Pandemic)
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 and what I learned from the book “Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of…
- by Dr. William Goble, CFSE
- Tuesday, May 12, 2020
- Functional Safety
What’s inside a COVID-19 Ventilator?
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 found lots of pneumatic devices very similar if not identical to the kind used in…
- by Patrick O'Brien
- Thursday, May 07, 2020
- Industrial Cybersecurity
With Many Automation Professionals Working From Home Cybersecurity Exposure is Rising
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 Home Orders and other self-quarantining measures around the globe to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, many…
- by Steve Gandy, CFSP
- Thursday, April 30, 2020
- Functional Safety
10 Years After, Has Anything Been Learned from Deepwater Horizon?
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 total loss of $65Bn USD, in settlements, fines and compensation. This latest estimate was published in…
- by Todd Stauffer
- Tuesday, April 14, 2020
- Alarm Management
Which Measure (Rationalized or Annunciated) is More Important?
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 apply to the rationalized alarm priority distribution (as configured in the control system) or to the annunciatedalarm priority distribution…
- by Loren Stewart, CFSE
- Thursday, April 02, 2020
- Functional Safety
Back to Basics: Failure Rates - λD
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, expressed by 10-9 hours).
λD is the number of dangerous failures per…
- by Rick Smith
- Tuesday, March 31, 2020
- News
Training in 2020 and Beyond. Adapting to COVID-19 with Online Solutions.
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 functional safety, cybersecurity, and alarm management needs. We are committed…