Why is functional safety certification important?

Value of Functional Safety Certification

Simply, in many instances, certification is required by regulatory authorities. Without certification a product cannot enter the marketplace. There may be local, national, or international requirements depending upon your products, their intended use, and where they are to be marketed.

Even when there is no legislative requirement for a component or product to be functional safety certified, in many cases it is required by the end user. Many integrators will insist upon certification as the report generated provides a great deal of objective information that provides the highest level of confidence.

It is also important to remember that some insurance companies may require overall system acceptance that may include functional safety before they offer coverage.  In terms of product liability, compliance with standards serves as proof that product/application meets state-of-the-art safety requirements.

In addition, end users, and some regulatory authorities, may demand that certification be carried out by a qualified certifier, and one that is accredited to conduct testing for certification. This is to ensure independent verification. This is especially true when dealing with products that are so safety-critical that it is important to have objective corroboration. Critical to a third-party review is that it fully verifies that the safety functional system meets the criteria that is being stated.

Demonstration of independent review is important to users’ acceptance of a product; a lack of may lead to questions of whether the product has been looked at with a fully critical eye.

Certification is also important for global marketing as many standards are international, meaning that once you have the Functional safety certification it is, with certain exceptions, applicable internationally. For instance, the IEC 61800-5-2, which is specific to motor drives, is almost globally accepted (in conjunction with the UL standard). Therefore, you can carry out the testing and get certified and not have to repeat for other regions.

Functional safety certification is important to

• Regulatory authorities
• Integrators, manufacturers, and end users
• Public trust 

Functional Safety Assessment is important as it determines if

• the safety related part of a product/system is designed to be safe and can be operated safely to the extent required by a safety target
• the safety functions are based on an assessment and understanding of the risks posed by the product/system/application