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The Importance of Functional Safety Assessment and its Application
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Abstract:
Operation and maintenance of a SIS in compliance with the operating company’s configuration and
change management process requires expert judgement on how functional safety is to be achieved or
maintained based on the evidence provided. This activity of periodic investigation defined as part of
the safety lifecycle is the Functional Safety Assessment (FSA) mechanism, which requires competent
personnel to apply their judgement.
The Functional Safety Standards IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 mandate that these FSAs shall be
implemented at every stage of the safety lifecycle in order to ensure that the level of risk reduction is
always achieved or maintained in accordance with the safety requirements specification. One of the
key criteria for performing FSA is to demonstrate sufficient Independence in providing the necessary
judgement.
Inadequacies in implementation of the FSA process during different stages of the safety lifecycle is
identified as a significant contributing factor associated with industrial accidents.
Organisations involved in any stage of the safety lifecycle of the SIS shall ensure that FSAs are
periodically conducted in order to review the SIS performance, with more emphasis when the SIS
undergoes any modification during the operational lifecycle phase.
This paper will discuss the importance of FSAs, its practical application and how, this can ensure that
Functional Safety is achieved by the SIS.
Keywords:
Safety, Risk Reduction, Safety Systems, Functional Safety Audits, Functional Safety Assessments,
Functional Safety Management System, IEC 61508, IEC 61511, third party certification, Human
Factors, Systematic Capability.
About the Author:
Suresh Sugavanam
, Senior Functional Safety Consultant, ABB Safety Lead Competency Centre in
the UK, has over 18 years of experience in the provision of Functional Safety Consultancy and SIS
Project Execution for the Process Industries. Suresh has held a number of high profile management
roles and responsibilities for SIS project and execution delivery in a number of differing manufacturing
sectors.
In his current role within the ABB Safety Lead Competency Centre, Suresh provides FS consultancy
solutions to ABB customers worldwide in addition to supporting the ABB Safety Execution Centres in
implementing a robust Functional Safety Management System.
Suresh is a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), a member of The 61508
Association and a TUV Rheinland certified Functional Safety Engineer.
Email:
suresh.sugavanam@gb.abb.com