ESC to present at the CHEMUK 2019

ESC’s Paulo Oliveira is to present at the UK Chemical Industries Supply Chain Expo & Open Conference in May.

Paulo Oliveira

Paulo Oliveira

The conference will be held in Yorkshire on the 1st and 2nd May 2019.

SIL Certification ‘ Value or Vanity?

Paulo will be presenting on SIL Certification ‘ Value or Vanity? On Thursday 2nd May on Forum 1.

Abstract

IEC61508 requirements for a traceable and systematic approach to the capability of safety related systems has given rise to certification activities which aim at quantifying the SIL capability of elements and systems.

The IEC61508 standard does not mandate certification as a necessary activity to demonstrate compliance with the requirements explicit therein. So why is certification needed?

The risk of poorly structured analyses and vague capability statements could result in an application non-competent Safety related system equipment with significant integration issues which could result in flawed claims of compliance and capability against IEC61508 and subsequent inability to provide the necessary risk reduction. Conversely, the need for a certificate does not assure the items covered under the certificate are better developed to provide the risk reduction than other non-certified equipment. Is the well-presented stamped paper certificate, an indulgent bureaucratic way to feel good about using equipment in a safety critical application or does it actually carry value with regards to evidencing an adequate level of compliance with IEC61508?

This presentation aims at providing a view based on the application of a compliance assessment process to IEC61508 and highlight some of the benefits and downfalls of typical certification process for equipment or system.

For more information, programme and to book your place on the conference please check CHEMUK 2019 page.