Frequently Asked Questions about Functional Safety

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ISO (international Standards Organization) 26262 is an international standard for functional safety in the automotive industry. The standard applies to electrical & electronic systems that are built from hardware and software components in vehicles. The first addition was released in 2011. 

As defined in the first safety standard or OG standard, IEC 61508 ( International Electrotechnical Commission ) defines functional safety as: “part of the overall safety relating to the EUC (Equipment Under Control) and the EUC control system which depends on the correct functioning of the E/E/PE safety-related systems, other technology safety-related systems and external risk reduction facilities.” The fundamental concept is that any safety-related system must work correctly or fail in a predictable (safe) way. 

Not at all. Functional Safety has been around for quite some time. The practice is used in aerospace, nuclear power, industrial, medical, rail, and more. IEC 61508 was that first Safety Standard, which was released in 1998.

Environment Health & Safety (EHS) focuses on personnel health safety, such as ergonomic hazards, exposure to carcinogens, falls from heights, etc. While Functional Safety focuses on mitigating the hazards and reducing the acceptable risk of machines, electronics, and programmable systems.

I would recommend finding a mentor to help. Many of the best practices, tools, and tips I learned came from working with someone more experienced.   

I would suggest doing some research and reaching out to companies that offer training. Many hiring managers are looking for someone with a 4 year engineering degree and a strong understanding of functional safety principles or 2+ years of experience performing Functional Safety.