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The value of RPN Numbers in a DFMEA
  • by Dr. William Goble, CFSE
  • Thursday, August 15, 2024
  • Certification

The value of RPN Numbers in a DFMEA

I learned about the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) process for designs some decades ago. I was Supervisor of an Embedded System development group.  There seemed to be a lot of evidence that an FMEA on a design was a really good way to identify issues (problems) early…

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Why do we do probabilistic models to predict risk reduction?  Check the box only?

Why do we do probabilistic models to predict risk reduction?  Check the box only?

I had an engineer from a European Certification Body ask me why exida would bother paying any attention to these failure rate numbers, especially on mechanical devices? He said that he does not know anyone who actually uses them! To answer why exida pays attention to failure rates, we…

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Most Failures are Systematic - NOT!
  • by Dr. William Goble, CFSE
  • Wednesday, February 16, 2022
  • Certification

Most Failures are Systematic - NOT!

At exida we have studied hundreds of sets of field failure data from various sources.  Some of these data sets have indicated differences in failure rates by two orders of magnitude for the same product type!  After tracing through the data collection process for many of these field failure data sets,…

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Closing Two Common IEC 62443 Compliance Gaps

Closing Two Common IEC 62443 Compliance Gaps

Two common gaps exida encounters when evaluating vendor compliance against the IEC 62443-4-1, IEC 62443-4-2 and IEC 62443-3-3 standards are:

  1. Inadequate or unclear Security Guidelines.    
  2. A lack of documentation on the security audit records (AKA logs).   

Improving compliance in these areas is also a very cost-effective…

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Spend Your Product Development Time Wisely

Spend Your Product Development Time Wisely

Want to improve your safety lifecycle and be more compliant with IEC 61508?  Focus on the things that have the most benefit.  Like what?  What are some of these valuable things?  

One of the major deficiencies I see while doing certification assessments is…

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Safety Application Shortcuts - Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?

Safety Application Shortcuts - Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?

No, you probably don’t want to hurt me.  But if your product is used in a safety application, and my job depends on your product doing its job, will it hurt me if it fails?

With so many of us doing more things differently during the COVID pandemic, I wonder if…

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What is SIL (Safety Integrity Level)?
  • by Dr. William Goble, CFSE
  • Thursday, April 08, 2021
  • Certification

What is SIL (Safety Integrity Level)?

The term SIL is rapidly spreading to Request for Proposals (RFP) and purchase requirements in many industries.  But in many of those industries, few have heard about SIL and fewer have a grasp of the fundamental concepts of SIL.  SIL is a term that means Safety Integrity Level. It is used…

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The CFSE Exam is Now Offered Online!
  • by Ted Stewart, CFSP, exidaCSP
  • Tuesday, March 17, 2020
  • Certification

The CFSE Exam is Now Offered Online!

I Failed the CFSE Exam, HELP!
  • by Dr. William Goble, CFSE
  • Thursday, February 27, 2020
  • Certification

I Failed the CFSE Exam, HELP!

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 study those areas of knowledge more deeply and try again. Given the recognition and prestige…

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Getting the Best IEC 62443 Cybersecurity Certification?
  • by Dr. William Goble, CFSE
  • Thursday, January 09, 2020
  • Certification

Getting the Best IEC 62443 Cybersecurity Certification?

After careful planning and development of your system, the last thing you want to worry about is the credibility of your certification. Although it may seem like a given for your certification to be well accepted by your customers, it is never a bad idea to dig a little…

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Guest Blog: Thar’s Gold in Them Thar Failure Data

Guest Blog: Thar’s Gold in Them Thar Failure Data

Failure data collection can seem tedious, time consuming and expensive.  Just figuring out what data to collect can be challenging.  Failure data analysis can be overwhelming with a sense of “I don’t even know where to begin.”  So it is not surprising that these useful, vital activities are often neglected especially when…

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Why Does My Risk Assessment Require an FMEDA?

Why Does My Risk Assessment Require an FMEDA?

If you find yourself faced with this question you might be wondering why it is that having successfully used risk assessments without FMEDA your team are suddenly faced with the complexity of executing FMEDAs.

Maybe us safety people answer with a follow…

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Personnel Certification Concerns? We are Here to Help.
  • by Ted Stewart, CFSP, exidaCSP
  • Tuesday, September 17, 2019
  • Certification

Personnel Certification Concerns? We are Here to Help.

A few weeks ago, we were asked to help a fellow colleague who received a message regarding their FS Engineer (TÜV Rheinland) certificate :

We are aware, that the validity of your FS Expert (TÜV Rheinland) certificate is expiring this month. Kindly be informed that we have had a…

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Back to Basics 12 –  What is IEC 61508 Certification?

Back to Basics 12 –  What is IEC 61508 Certification?

IEC 61508 Certification is a Third-Party Validation against the standard’s requirements, comprising of:

  • Detailed Analysis of engineering processes to determine Systematic Capability and Cybersecurity Strength 
  • Detailed Analysis of hardware design / design margins resulting in Random Failure Rate in all failure modes
  • Analysis/Testing to show safe, correct operation and Cybersecurity Susceptibility

To achieve an…

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PIU May Only Get You So Far…

PIU May Only Get You So Far…