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Recorded Webinars: The Fundamentals of SIL Verification
Are you falling into the "Numbers Trap" in functional safety? Many practitioners mistakenly assume that meeting a PFDavg or PFH target automatically guarantees SIL compliance. However, a truly safe and compliant Safety Instrumented Function (SIF) requires much more than just a passing mathematical probability.
In this webinar, Steve Gandy breaks down the three mandatory performance criteria mandated by IEC 61511 and IEC 61508. He explores why the SIL achieved is only as strong as its weakest link, and how ignoring structural rules can lead to over-designed capital expenses or dangerous, hidden operational risks. Learn how to move beyond simple calculations toward a holistic, compliant, and defensible safety lifecycle!
Key Discussion Points
- The Three Barriers: A deep dive into the mandatory criteria for true compliance: Probabilistic Performance (PFDavg/PFH), Minimum Architectural Constraints (HFT), and Systematic Capability.
- Hardware Fault Tolerance (HFT): Navigating the complexities of Route 1H vs. Route 2H, and understanding how equipment selection directly impacts your redundancy requirements.
- The SIDA Requirements: How to ensure your SIF functions as a truly Independent Protection Layer by making it Specific, Independent, Dependable, and Auditable.
- Use of Realistic Failure Data: Crucial insights on how to verify that the failure rate data you are using in your calculations is both credible and realistic.
- Avoiding the Pitfalls: How to prevent costly nuisance trips and operational burdens through correct, comprehensive SIL Verification.
Blog Entry: SIL Verification - Beyond PFDavg / PFH
Have you ever heard people say, “I’ve met the PFDavg target, so I’ve met my SIL target?” It’s true that in low demand we need to meet the PFDavg (or PFH for High/Continuous mode) requirement for the Safety Instrumented Function (SIF) but this is just one of three requirements to…
Training Course: Alarm Management Operation and Maintenance
The course is structured around the operational and maintenance aspects of alarm systems. It begins with an introduction to Alarm Management, covering key concept. such as alarm rationalization, basic alarm design, HMI design, dynamic alarming, and designed alarm suppression. The course then delves deeply into operational and maintenance tasks, including…
News Item: Now Back in Stock - Practical SIL Target Selection Book
Practical SIL Target Selection - Risk Analysis per the IEC 61511 Safety Lifecycle is now back in stock and available for purchase through the exida online store ! This book is a must read for Process Safety Engineers, PHA and LOPA facilitators, and anybody active in the Analysis phase of…
Recorded Webinars: Introduction to OEMx
This video reviews the different modules of the OEMx tool talking about the key capabilities of each and how they fit into the Development process.
Yokogawa Electric Corporation - ICSS CENTUM and ProSafe-RS
IEC 62443, ISASecure in the Security Automation Equipment List
Blog Entry: Why PLCs Are Not Hardware Security Boxes Under the EU CRA
Introduction Under the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) , product classification drives the compliance path—including the depth of required evidence and whether conformity can be supplier-led or requires third-party involvement. This post explains why programmable logic controllers (PLCs) used in operational technology (OT) environments are generally not “ Hardware Security…
Recorded Webinars: When “worst-case” isn’t good enough: Why Your LOPA Might be Underestimating Risk
Overview: In process safety, many engineers default to the "worst-case" event as their sole design basis for a SIF during Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA). While this feels conservative, analyzing initiating events in isolation often ignores significant residual risk. If your LOPA doesn't account for the summation of all initiating events, you are likely underestimating your demand frequency—and potentially your required Safety Integrity Level (SIL).
In this webinar, Alejandro Esparza dives into how to handle multiple initiating events in LOPA. We will demonstrate how a "worst-case" analysis can miss up to 20% of the actual risk profile, leading to under-designed safety systems and inadequate testing intervals.
Key Takeaways:
- The Summation Secret: Why analyzing initiating events in isolation leads to inadequate SIL targets.
- Demand Mode Drift: How cumulative risk can push a SIF from "Low Demand" to "High Demand," fundamentally changing your maintenance requirements.
- Real-World Impact: A fired heater case study showcasing the 20% risk gap.
- Tooling for Accuracy: How to leverage safety lifecycle tools like exSILentia® to automate summation and ensure no risk is left uncounted.
Who Will Benefit? Process Safety Engineers, Control Systems Engineers, SIS Specialists, and Operations Managers responsible for IEC 61511 compliance and risk reduction.
Recorded Webinars: Quick FMEDA: Calculate Total Failure Rate & Useful Life in Minutes
Sometimes, the goal isn't a complex safety certification; it's a fast, accurate snapshot of product reliability. This video demonstrates a streamlined workflow within OEMx designed for engineers who need high-level reliability data fast.
Instead of painstakingly categorizing every failure mode into (safe vs dangerous, detected vs undetected), we show you how to simply include or exclude failures to reach your Total Failure Rate. You get the benefit of the world’s most comprehensive component database and automated failure data loading, allowing you to finish your analysis in a fraction of the time.
Key Takeaway: "Quick and Easy" doesn't mean "Inaccurate." By using the right tools (FMEDAx and exida Component Reliability Database), you can simplify the process without compromising the data.
Duration: 10:02
Recorded Webinars: Are Your SIS Performance Assumptions Realistic? Let’s Find Out!
Safety Instrumented Function (SIF) design is based on performance requirements. During design, assumptions concerning SIF equipment failure rates, SIF demand rates, proof test frequencies, mission time are made. These form the basis for the expected performance.
Are those assumptions realistic? Is the SIF really operating as assumed?
IEC 61511 expects users to periodically compare actual performance with assumed performance. How do we do that? What is needed to get statistically viable results from the collected data? How does the data apply? How do we make sure we avoid drawing unrealistic conclusions?
This presentation will look at answers to these questions.
Presented at the Hazards35 Process Safety Conference in Birmingham, UK (Nov 2025).
Recorded Webinars: Transform Your Operations & Maintenance with SILstat™
This video provides a comprehensive overview of exida’s SILstat software. SIL stat helps with the operation and maintenance phase of the functional safety lifecycle. It can be used to track the performance of your safety system and to validate assumptions made during the analysis and design phase of your safety instrumented system.
Horizon Journey (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., - Horizon Journey 6 Toolchain – Development Tools (OE3.7)
ISO 26262 in the Safety Automation Equipment List
Horizon Journey (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd. - Horizon Journey 6 Toolchain – Runtime Library (OE3.7)
ISO 26262 in the Safety Automation Equipment List
Blog Entry: From HLRA to DLRA: Simplifying OT Cyber Risk Assessment with exSILentia® Cyber
As the cybersecurity landscape continually evolves, engineers here at exida are working with organizations looking to achieve and maintain cybersecurity compliance. Tools like exSILentia® Cyber help end users comply with the standards and improve the traceability and documentation of cybersecurity tasks throughout their company. exSILentia Cyber is a great tool…
News Item: exida Announces New Whitepaper on the Qualification and Certification of Open-Source Software (OSS)
SELLERSVILLE, PA – March 25, 2026 – exida, the global leader in functional safety and cybersecurity certification, is pleased to announce the release of its latest technical whitepaper: “Qualification and Certification of Open-Source Software.” This landmark document addresses the growing necessity of integrating Open-Source Software (OSS) into safety-critical industrial and…
White Paper: Qualification and Certification of Open Source Software
As Open-Source Software (OSS) becomes essential for high-complexity, safety-critical applications , the industry must bridge the gap between transparent OSS development and traditional, rigid “V-model” safety standards. This whitepaper provides a roadmap for users, maintainers, and integrators to successfully qualify OSS Linux and GNU/Linux projects up to SIL 2 /…
Recorded Webinars: From HLRA to DLRA: Simplifying OT Cyber Risk Assessment with exSILentia Cyber
Considering a Cyber Risk Assessment and don’t know where to start - well we have news for you!
We gathered feedback from both our customers and our own Engineering teams on usability improvements and features, and our software team has delivered!
Allow us to introduce our new revision of exSILentia Cyber with new dedicated HLRA (High Level Risk Assessment) and DLRA (Detailed Level Risk Assessment) worksheets. This new structure follows the IEC 62443-3-2 OT Cyber Risk methodology where an initial Cyber Risk Assessment (HLRA) can first be carried out, followed by a DLRA. Data gathered during the HLRA can be easily brought into the DLRA using smart linking functionality.
We have added many features including:
HLRA:
- Zone Specific Navigation Tree Layout
- Dedicated columns for Devices, threats, and Consequences as well as Non-Hackable Protections
- See your Risk score throughout the process against your risk categories (e.g. Business impact, Safety, environmental - all completely configurable)
- Dedicated column for device-based recommendations
DLRA:
- New DLRA Threat column allowing entry of bespoke device threats
- Link the original HLRA Cyber Consequence into your DLRA Consequence worksheet with ease, using our linking functionality
- Create and build a library of custom countermeasures which can be reused through the DLRA process where applicable
- Build custom countermeasure and categories that align with IEC 62443-3-3 foundational requirements
For both HLRA and DLRA, you can now set a default likelihood during risk setup, which allows each new iteration to be set with an initial likelihood. This can of course be changed after as required.
Join Dwane Shelton as he walks us through a live example of both a High and Detailed level Risk Assessment using our new release of exSILentia Cyber
Total Soft Bank LTD - Development, Implementation and Maintenance of Maritime and Port Logistics Information Systems
IEC 62443-4-1 in the Security Automation Equipment List
Blog Entry: When “Worst-Case” Isn’t Good Enough: Why Your LOPA Might Be Underestimating Risk
When designing a Safety Instrumented Function (SIF), practitioners often encounter a complex scenario: multiple initiating events (independent causes) leading to the same hazardous consequence. While common industry practice is to design for the “worst-case” scenario in isolation, this approach contains a hidden danger. A groundbreaking whitepaper from exida reveals why…
Recorded Webinars: What is the Swiss Cheese Model And How Does It Apply to SIS?
The “Swiss Cheese” model is a visual way of demonstrating what happens to a Safety Instrumented System (SIS) and other Independent Protection Layers (IPLs) when not following the IEC61511 lifecycle and/or RAGAGEP (Recognized And Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices) for the maintenance and mechanical integrity requirements. The “holes” in the Cheese represent a degradation of the SIS and iPLs created by random or systematic faults. These failures result in the “holes” appearing in our model and when all the “holes” line up, this is when the SIS and other protection layers fail to perform their risk reduction task resulting in an incident. This can then lead to severe consequences in terms of explosions, fires, toxic releases, etc.
The webinar ties in the Swiss Cheese model approach to the proper operation and maintenance requirements for the SIS and IPLs, which includes site culture, practices and competency.
What you will learn
- What is the Swiss Cheese model
- What role culture plays in avoiding problems
- What are random and systematic faults and the effects
- What happens when IPLs fail
- What it means to the end user
Who should attend
- SIS designers and Engineering contractors
- Operations and maintenance personnel
- Plant Managers and Supervisors