Posted By AMJAD AL ATA Hi all, I have posted this thread 4 days ago in studying support forum, but no reponses. I do post it here again, any response is much appreciated. .. What functional safety field means (I had a genral idea that it is related to safety systems used in process for example & thier reliability) Also, are there any certification programs in this field.(like nebosh in OHS field). Ragards AMJAD

Posted By Merv Newman Sorry again Amjad (didn't see it was you). But what are you talking about ? Merv

Posted By TBC Hi Amjad What you are looking for (I think) is to do with safety-critical systems as used in processes such as refineries and petro-chemical plants. It is the software which controls the instruments in the process to close it down safely should something go wrong or even probably counteract a dangerous command. It just depends on what kind of parameters are set for the given process. It is not limited to use in process though. It is also a system used in aircraft and lots of other systems where often the reaction of the human may be slow or under stress which would mean making the wrong decision. It is not really my field - I just picked up some info many years ago. Copied this from a site: The IEC 61508 standard. This standard covers a wide range of measures that can be applied in the development of safety-critical systems. The degree of obligation of each measure varies with the Safety Critical Level (SIL) the system is supposed to achieve. The SIL to be achieved depends on the risk the system bears, i.e. the probability and the consequences of a system failure. This site with the downloadable doc. looks particularly interesting: http://www.cis.strath.ac...2.422/safety.matters.doc Hope it helps.

Posted By Jon Keswick Hello, Functional Safety is a term that was coined by the standard IEC 61508 (international electrotechnical commission of Geneva) to define levels of hardware and software integrity of computer-based and electronic systems. As such, IEC 61508 applies to all sectors where programmable electronic equipment is used for safety duties. This includes computer controlled processes and machines in many different sectors. Regarding competency training in this area I would refer readers to www.cfse.org . Regards, Jon Keswick exida