Functional Safety standards continue to generate significant interest and in many cases questions in the automation industry. The Functional Safety standards are more commonly known as IEC 61508, IEC 61511, and ISA-84. The IEC has a web site to support questions on these documents.
I am at the IEC 65 Committee meetings in Hamburg, Germany this week and during this morning’s session for SC65A (SubCommittee 65A (www.iec.ch/sc65a)) System Aspects which covers standards regarding the generic aspects of systems used in industrial-process measurement and control: operational conditions (including EMC), methodology for the assessment of systems, functional safety, etc.; Horizontal Safety Function; and Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic systems (IEC 61508/61511). Obviously topics of high interest and in many cases confusion. The good news is that the IEC has a web site www.iec.ch/functionalsafety providing access to experts who will respond to questions about the standard and to provide feedback on how you would like to see the standard improved.
More news ‘as it happens’ over the balance of my trip.
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