exida explains Blog

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…

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If you’re like me then you’ve been waiting for the new draft of IEC 61511 to be officially issued since its release has been delayed for some time.  However, a draft has been released and can help in preparing end users for what’s to come.  The question…

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One of the changes that was made in 2016 to the IEC 61511 standard was the inclusion of periodic personnel assessments (clause 5.2.2.3), whereby a procedure is required to manage the competence of all those involved in the SIS lifecycle; “periodic” assessments are to be carried out to document…

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I don’t know whether you’ve noticed recently, but the number of cybersecurity alerts issued by CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) seems to be increasing at an alarming rate.  The latest alert I’ve seen now relates to GPS tracking systems for children.  A device which is supposed to keep…

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Many of you who follow exida’s blogs and webinars will know that we often talk about the requirement for competency.  In fact, the 2016 edition of IEC61511 specifically addresses competency in more detail now than the 2003 version.  The strong emphasis on competency is because the IEC61511 committee recognized that…

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It always amazes me that when teaching our FSE 100 Functional Safety Engineering course, the number of times I find that end users in the class are not really measuring the performance of their SIS. In most cases, they are doing some measurements, but not thoroughly.

It…

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When speaking with several manufacturers’ sales teams recently, it became very evident that some of these sales people, selling into the Industrial Safety and Controls markets, had little or no knowledge of how their products’ failure rate data compared to their competitors and/or another industry benchmark (such as DOW…

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It’s an interesting fact that many end users and engineering companies that I’ve talked to have not or do not undertake Functional Safety Assessments (FSAs).  Why is this?  My view is that many do not realize and/or understand the true purpose of and benefit of performing FSAs.  The IEC61511 standard identifies 5…

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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…

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I was reading an incident report on the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) website the other day, where it was the conclusion of the reviewing team that the incident (which sadly resulted in a loss of life) was the direct result of a poor safety culture across the…

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Those operating in the process world should be familiar with the concept of Functional Safety Management (FSM) and the need to have well defined processes and procedures in place.  Otherwise, how else will they be able to ensure that their Safety Instrumented System (SIS) and plant…

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As an end-user, do you know how reliable and safe your Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS) and Basic Process Control Systems (BPCS) are from potential cyber issues?  Do you rely on your vendor statements regarding the robustness of their products?  If the answer to these questions is “don’t know”…

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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…

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Most end users I teach in our FSE100 class are not really aware of or fully, understand when we talk about failure rates.  For example, what’s a FIT mean?  For those end users more versed in this, they understand what is meant by a FIT.  Essentially a device can have…

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I am often asked whether extending proof test intervals will be a problem. 

This is a tricky question. The design and engineering SIL calculations for the Safety Instrumented Functions (SIFs) are taking credit for a specific proof test interval with a defined level of coverage, as defined within the…

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Some of you reading this may not be aware or familiar with the terms “leading” and “lagging” indicators, when applied to Functional Safety.  The concept isn’t new but does provide significant benefit when applying this to Functional Safety because, if used correctly, these indicators can help significantly improve performance. …

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Part of the changes to the IEC61511 standard in 2016, some five (5) years ago now, was to emphasize the need to do a better job with regards to the Operations and Maintenance phase of the safety lifecycle.  One of the key aspects of the Operation and Maintenance phase…

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It’s an interesting question and one I asked myself.  For any engineer and/or professional working in the controls business or process industries where safety-related equipment is required, it is essential (per IEC61511-1 Clause 5.2.2: Organization and Resources) to prove competency to carry out any safety-lifecycle activities.  So what does…

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I'm sure you are aware of the preliminary findings of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) Refinery explosion. If not, have a look at the video below. It is very interesting, but sad.  I think we all can learn a lot from it.