Search
Blog Entry: The Architectural Constraint Blind Side
I did my homework, purchased certified devices, and specified physical redundancy. I expected an uneventful SIL Verification but the assessor is telling me that I have functions failing Architectural Constraints in the sensor and final element groups. How can that be? Low demand mode Safety Instrumented Function (SIF) design is…
News Item: exida Academy: Upcoming Training Opportunities
exida is ramping up for some fall courses! Below is a list of public courses, cities, and dates! IEC 61511: Functional Safety Analysis, Design, and Operation This course delivers a complete overview of the functional safety lifecycle. It reviews Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), Consequence Analysis, Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA),…
Blog Entry: Failure Rate Data: Are You Being Outsold?
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 or…
Blog Entry: How Cybersecurity is like a Goldfish
Oh look! Squirrel! I am not much of a blogger. I should be but I’m not. This is strange, because I always have plenty to say. This subject just gets me going so I am writing about it. I welcome feedback and opinions. I have been in cybersecurity in one…
Blog Entry: Certification and the Environmental Test
Functional Safety Assessments (FSA) focus on the relevant functional safety standards that are to be applied to a product in the appropriate industry. These are standards such as IEC 61511 in the process automation industry, or ISO 26262 in the automotive industry. And IEC 61508 is like an umbrella safety…
Recorded Webinars: Mechanical Failure Rates: Explaining the Differences
This webinar first describes the distinction between failure rate prediction and estimation methods in general. We will then discuss details about the procedures used to obtain generic failure rates for certain mechanical equipment using FMEDA predictions and OREDA estimations along with other methods used in industry today. The results of the two methods when applied to a number of specific equipment items are compared and, when differences in the results exist between the two methods, plausible explanations for differences are provided. Equipment examples include a representative of topside equipment items and representative subsea equipment items. The relative merits of each method are discussed along with comparisons to industry databases and field studies. Finally we will discuss what is a realistic failure rate for mechanical devices, and what to do if you find yourself looking at unrealistic numbers.
Danfoss Power Solutions (US) Company - PLUS+1® Safety Controller Family with Modular Safety Kernel for PLUS+1® C-Open
IEC 61508 in the Safety Automation Equipment List
White Paper: Safety Accuracy Is Dead; Long Live Safety Deviation!
Safety deviation is a term used in functional safety. Safety deviation (formerly safety accuracy) is the change in output due to (internal) component failures not analyzed in a Failure Modes, Effects, & Diagnostic Analysis (FMEDA). Safety accuracy is an input to the FMEDA analyst to advise the level of analysis…
Blog Entry: The True Meaning Behind Those Fancy Letters on a Signature
Let me ask you a few questions: Does adding letters after a person’s name make them more important? What did that person go through to achieve those letters? If someone has XYZ after their name and another person also has XYZ after their name, are they equal? Did one of…
Glossary Term: Safety deviation
Safety deviation (formerly safety accuracy) is the change in output due to (internal) component failures not analyzed in a Failure Modes, Effects, & Diagnostic Analysis (FMEDA). Safety accuracy is an input to the FMEDA analyst to advise the level of analysis detail for critical analog components.
Blog Entry: Back in the Old Days
Some time ago, I was involved with embedded software projects using microprocessors that had limited memory, speed, and I/O resources. All embedded programming was in assembly code. All memory variables were global; it was too hard to keep track of stack variables. The hardware design assumed that any technical problems…
White Paper: Integrating Cybersecurity Risk Assessments Into the Process Safety Management Work Process
Cybersecurity is rapidly becoming something the process safety can no longer ignore. It is part of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS). In addition, the President’s Executive Order 13636– “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity,” has drawn attention to the need for addressing cybersecurity in our plants as it has been demonstrated…
News Item: exida Announces 2015 Safety Awards
exida, the world’s foremost technical authority and certification agency, is pleased to announce its 2015 exida Safety Awards. The awards are meant to honor the most outstanding functional safety or cybersecurity products certified by exida per IEC 61508/IEC 62443 in the following categories: Components Final Elements Logic Solvers Sensors Software…
Blog Entry: Getting Realistic Failure Rate Data - Part 6
Over the course of several blogs , I talked about getting realistic failure rate data, where this failure data comes from, and how different methods of failure data analysis compare. I think if you understand this, you will begin to get a very good feel of what it takes to…
Blog Entry: Building a Foundation for an IEC 61508 Development Process
There are organizations that are small enough to follow an informal or even undocumented process and still produce a product of sufficient quality to meet market needs. When these organizations attempt to develop a safety product, they inevitably fall short of meeting the requirements of IEC 61508. A formalized process…
Recorded Webinars: Determining Acceptable Failure Rates for Use in Safety Critical Calculations
As more industries, customers, and regulatory bodies are requiring the adherence to the functional safety standards, the need for failure information for instruments and devices is increasing. Unfortunately with this increased demand there has been an increase in the number of self-certifications and third party certifications that provide failure information that is outside typical industry norms and leads to serious under design of safety functions. This webinar will review the sources of data and provide practical guidance on how to determine if the data you have would pass the “red face” test.
News Item: EXIDA RELEASES SAFETY EQUIPMENT RELIABLITY HANDBOOK (SERH) - 4th EDITION
exida, a global supplier of functional safety products, services, and certifications has released their Safety Equipment Reliability Handbook (SERH) – 4th Edition, a hard copy of the SERH database with a vast amount of equipment item reliability data. The SERH database provides a collection of failure rate data that is…
News Item: EXIDA ANNOUNCES BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP WITH VISTA AUTOMACAO
exida, a global supplier of functional safety products, services and certifications is pleased to announce a business partnership with Vista Automacao. “Vista Automacao is a service company that strives to provide exceptional services, adding value to the end user in a field where there are few truly qualified players,” says…
Detector Electronics Corp. - Heat Detector Model HD
IEC 61508 in the Safety Automation Equipment List
Honeywell - SLG700 SmartLine Guided Wave Radar Level Transmitter with HART®
IEC 61508 in the Safety Automation Equipment List