TÜV Rheinland Qualifies Fennec Engineering's ASAP Tools as T2 Support Tools for Functional Safety

TÜV Rheinland North America, part of TÜV Rheinland Group, a global leader in independent testing, inspection, and certification, has qualified a set of tools within Fennec Engineering's ASAP Platform as Tool Class 2 (T2) offline support tools under IEC 61508-3:2010, Clause 7.4.4.

Each tool was assessed individually within its defined scope and software version, with the findings documented in separate TÜV Rheinland inspection reports. The qualifications confirm that the assessed tools meet the applicable requirements of the standard for software tools used in the development of safety-critical systems. The selection, configuration, and appropriate use of each tool within a specific application remain the responsibility of the user.

Functional safety standards require developers to justify their confidence in every software tool whose output contributes to a safety case. For tools classified as T2 under IEC 61508, this means demonstrating that the tool will not fail to detect the errors it is designed to catch and will not introduce errors of its own within the work it performs. Independent qualification provides that assessment through a rigorous review process, enabling development teams to reference the results in their safety plans and giving assessors confidence in the supporting evidence.

Over an assessment process that ran for roughly two years, TÜV Rheinland examined each tool's methodology, its traceability from hazard analysis through verification evidence, and its functionality across the lifecycle activities it supports against the requirements of IEC 61508-3:2010, Clause 7.4.4. The qualified tools cover hazard analysis and safety concepts, requirements and systems design, validation, and reliability, with each documented in its own inspection report.

"Autonomous systems are entering environments where people live and work, and the credibility of their safety cases depends on the integrity of the tools used to build them. Our assessment looked closely at that integrity, tool by tool. Qualifying the tools that development teams rely on strengthens the whole chain of evidence that functional safety depends on," said Sven Nowak, Regional Business Stream Manager at TÜV Rheinland North America.

The qualified tools are part of Fennec Engineering's ASAP Platform, the software component of its Advanced Safety Acceleration Program. The platform provides a connected, traceable environment for functional safety work on autonomous systems, robotics, and physical AI. The platform has been used in production at Amazon Robotics since 2021, supporting the safety program for a large fleet of autonomous mobile robots.

"The assessment moved efficiently because the evidence was connected. Every requirement traced to a hazard, every test traced to a requirement," said Steven Marks, Director of Product at Fennec Engineering, who led the qualification on Fennec's side. "Standardized, traceable evidence lets an assessor focus their review where it matters. The Safety Requirements Specification and the Safety Concept get read in detail, line by line, while consistent source-code reports can be spot-checked. That is a benefit to the assessor and the manufacturer alike, and it now extends to every team that builds on these tools."

The qualifications arrive as autonomous systems, collaborative robotics, and AI-driven machinery expand into shared human environments, and as the standards governing them continue to develop. Independent tool qualification provides manufacturers, integrators, and assessors with a common foundation of confidence in the evidence supporting these systems' safety cases. While the qualification process promotes transparency and consistency, the underlying safety engineering remains demanding and rigorous. It is the foundation of an industry building systems that will operate in the spaces where people live and work. The need for trusted tools to support this innovative push across industries is more critical than ever.

The T2-qualified ASAP tools are commercially available. For details about the assessed scope and the availability of individual inspection reports, contact TÜV Rheinland or visit Fennec Engineering’s ASAP Platform page .

About TÜV Rheinland

TÜV Rheinland is a leading provider of testing and inspection services worldwide. For over 150 years, the company has helped make the world a safer place. Today, more than 29,000 employees test, inspect and certify products, plants and processes, while also providing training for people in a wide range of professions. Operating from 500 locations in more than 50 countries, TÜV Rheinland helps safeguard key areas of business and everyday life. Headquartered in Cologne and generating annual revenue of close to €3 billion, the company plays a key role in quality assurance worldwide. TÜV Rheinland has been a member of the UN Global Compact since 2006, demonstrating its commitment to anti-corruption and sustainability. Website: www.tuv.com

Press contact: Mariana Taborda / mariana.amaral@br.tuv.com

About Fennec Engineering

Fennec Engineering builds safety infrastructure for autonomous systems, robotics, and physical AI. ASAP by Fennec, the Advanced Safety Acceleration Program, comprises two solutions: the ASAP Platform, a connected software system of record covering the functional safety lifecycle from hazard analysis through verification and safety case generation, with individual tools qualified by TÜV Rheinland as T2 offline support tools under IEC 61508-3:2010, each within its assessed scope; and ASAP Testing, automated physical test cells for verification and validation of integrated autonomous systems. For more information, visit https://fennec-engineering.com/ and follow the latest developments on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/fennec-engineering/ .

Press contact: Betsy Barry / betsy.barry@fennec-engineering.com