Applications of IEC61508
IEC 61508 is applicable to all E/E/PE safety-related systems irrespective of the industry sector or application, including the following systems:
- emergency shut-down systems,
- fire and gas systems,
- turbine control,
- gas burner management,
- crane automatic safe-load indicators,
- guard interlocking and emergency stopping systems for machinery,
- medical devices,
- dynamic positioning (control of a ship’s movement when in proximity to an offshore installation),
- railway signalling systems (including moving block train signalling),
- variable speed motor drives used to restrict speed as a means of protection,
- remote monitoring, operation or programming of a network-enabled process plant,
- an information-based decision support tool where erroneous results affect safety.
Implementation of SIFs may include electro-mechanical relays (i.e. electrical), non-programmable solid-state electronics (i.e. electronic) and programmable electronics. IEC 61508 applies to the entire safety function including sensors, control logic systems and final actuators, considered as a whole.