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Functional Safety
Integrated Safety Systems
Risks created by the progress of different industrial activities basically due to the danger posed by substances handled during procedures, makes it necessary to incorporate new systems and technological applications for the protection of man, the environment and corporate property.
For a certain industry to be profitable, minimizing related risks is a must. There are no doubts about the cost that may result from an accident, for instance work hours lost, damage to people, the environment and facilities, as well as costs related to unscheduled stops or facilities out of order.
In some cases achieving availability and maximum profitability in a facility requires the use of special technologies.
Functional Safety
Technical equipment automation for functions related to safety in procedures of machinery through safety instrumented systems (SIS) implies certain risks. Should this equipment fail, consequences could be catastrophic.
SIS used for safety purposes usually consist of data entry devices (i.e., sensors), programmable electronics and response devices (i.e., actuators).
Functional Safety seeks the proper and therefore highly reliable operation of SIS in response to their inputs.
Applicable Standards
Requirements for design and use of these SIS are defined both on international technical standards and IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 standards.
These standards define four safety integrity levels (SIL). Each SIL indicates the required measurement of the SIS safety function (SIL 1: low risk; SIL2: medium risk; SIL 3: high risk; and SIL 4: special risk, used in nuclear plants). Every industrial process implies a certain SIL, which is determined as a result of the analysis and assessment of the risks posed by the process.
In the Functional Safety field, TÜV Rheinland offers a range of services that includes specific training courses, studies and diagnosis to determine SILs, SIL validation, SIL certification for SIS components, etc.