Functional Safety Design: A Beginner’s Guide for Developers

Fast Summary

• Functional safety is a critical methodology for managing risk in product development, especially for technologies like industrial robots and autonomous vehicles.
• Key concepts covered include the Safety Lifecycle (focused on design quality to reduce systematic failures) and Probabilistic, Performance-Based Design (using reliability metrics to address random hardware failures).
• IEC 61508 is presented as the foundational standard for functional safety, with industry-specific standards derived from it.
• The webinar discusses phases of Engineering Design: hazard analysis, risk reduction, optimal designs, and safe operation protocols.
• Critical topics include:

– Safety Integrity Level (SIL): Definition and criteria such as systematic capability, architectural constraints, probability of failure on demand (PFD).
– Key techniques like DFMEA/DDMA and FMEDA are examined for identifying issues early in the development process.
– Detailed clarification provided on FMEDA’s role in predictions related to failure rates and diagnostic coverage.

• Functional Safety Certification processes are explained with insights into how development practices can support certification success.