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…
exida explains Blog
- 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…
- by Todd Stauffer
- Tuesday, March 24, 2020
- Alarm Management
Bow Ties Part II: Do Bow Ties have a place in Alarm Management?
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 bow ties to alarm management.
According to the CCPS book “Bow Ties in Risk Management”,…
- by Loren Stewart, CFSE
- Thursday, March 19, 2020
- Functional Safety
Back to Basics: Failure Rates - λ
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 can be broken down into more specific groupings:
- Safe detected (λSD)
- Safe undetected (λSU) …
- by Ted Stewart, CFSP, exidaCSP
- Tuesday, March 17, 2020
- Certification
The CFSE Exam is Now Offered Online!
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 CACE (IEC 62443 Certified Automation Cybersecurity Expert) Certification programs. This also includes the CFSP and CACS…
- by Casimir-Alvin Musa
- Thursday, March 12, 2020
- Alarm Management
Alarm Philosophy Development – Going to Great Lengths
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. When it comes to using the philosophy document, a common concern is that if the…
- by Loren Stewart, CFSE
- Thursday, March 05, 2020
- Functional Safety
Back to Basics: Failure Rates - FIT
Failures In Time or Failure UnIT
FIT 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 expressed by 109 hours.
Example: 5 FIT is expressed as 5 failures within 109 hours .
When you…