Functional Safety Services
What is Functional Safety?
Functional safety refers to the ability of a system or product to perform its intended function in a safe and reliable manner. It is concerned with the prevention of hazards caused by malfunctioning electronic or mechanical systems. functional safety is a crucial aspect of the design and implementation of systems and products, with the aim of ensuring their safe and reliable operation, even under abnormal conditions.
In functional safety, the goal is to minimize the risks associated with the use of a product or system, by ensuring that it functions correctly, even when things go wrong. This involves the identification of potential hazards, analysis of the risks associated with those hazards, and implementation of measures to mitigate those risks.
Functional safety is especially important in industries where there is a high risk of injury or damage, such as automotive, aerospace, medical devices, and industrial equipment.
Benefits of Functional Safety
Every engineered system has risks: risks to people, risks to the environment, and risks to equipment and facilities. Functional safety is the planned reduction of those risks through automated safety systems. This involves a holistic analysis - evaluating all of a product’s systems as an entire working unit to determine how the product’s hardware and software interact and how the product responds to user inputs and the environment in which it is expected to function.
Functional Safety provides a number of benefits, including:
- Increased safety: The most obvious benefit of functional safety is increased safety. By ensuring that a product or system operates correctly, even under abnormal conditions, functional safety helps to reduce the risk of accidents, injuries, and fatalities.
- Reduced liability: Functional safety also helps to reduce liability for manufacturers, designers, and operators of products and systems. By complying with safety standards and regulations, they can demonstrate that they have taken steps to ensure the safety of their products, which can help to reduce the risk of legal action.
- Improved reliability: Functional safety standards require thorough testing and validation of systems, which can help to identify and eliminate potential defects and faults. This leads to improved reliability, as well as reduced downtime and maintenance costs.
- Enhanced quality: The rigorous processes and standards required for functional safety can help to improve the quality of a product or system, which can lead to improved customer satisfaction and brand reputation.
- Competitive advantage: Compliance with functional safety standards can also provide a competitive advantage for manufacturers and suppliers, as it demonstrates their commitment to safety and quality, which can be a differentiating factor in the marketplace.
Functional safety extends to the use of electronic and other types of systems to mitigate risk for a process, typically accomplished through equipment with sensory, logic, and acting elements. These systems can include calculations and analysis involving Performance Levels (PLs), Safety Integrity Levels (SILs), Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), the IEC/EN 62061 and ISO 13849, IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 standards, and more.
Intertek Functional Safety
Conformity Assessment Program & Mark Guidance
Intertek's Functional Safety Services
Intertek’s expertise in developing and guiding functional safety systems means we can assist in all stages. From product design to safety chain management to performance and safety assessments and more, we can help you reduce risk and optimize your systems.
Functional Safety is applicable to all industries and is increasingly in demand as manufacturers and end users look to further mitigate risk. Functional safety services can apply to:
- Companies/Designers/Inventors taking a product to specific markets
- Manufacturers looking to meet particular directives, requirements or recommendations from industry organizations, insurers, or regulatory bodies
- Product designers and businesses looking to ensure product safety
Industries include: industrial machinery, hazardous locations, appliances, medical, transportation, utilities, chemical, and more. Contact us to discuss the complete range of industries and products.
* Intertek does not provide consulting services for management systems certification. Any consulting activities provided by Intertek are separate and independent from certification activities.
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