Functional Safety Overview

Ensure that your safety-related control functions perform reliably to help minimize risk

Did You Know?

  • There are four safety integrity level (SIL) designations that can be applied to a safety function, each carrying an increasing level of acceptable risk.
  • Safety systems are increasingly relying on networked equipment, making a two-pronged approach that includes both functional safety evaluations and cybersecurity testing a must.

Machines and systems are an integral part of productivity for virtually every industry. Efficient operations and overall safety depend on the correct functioning of these machines in all scenarios – meaning that they respond safely and reliably to inputs and that all components operate as expected. In other words, machines and systems will operate safely even when they malfunction. This is functional safety and it is critical to your bottom line. CSA Group offers Functional Safety Evaluation and Certification Services, as well as technical guidance and training. Our evaluations encompass two main areas:

  • Industrial Safety Equipment Certification: We can help you certify even the most complex industrial equipment and control systems governed by uniform sets of international functional safety requirements. We can also help you determine the correct Safety Integrity Level (SIL) and Performance Level (PL) designations to help reduce the risks associated with industrial processes.
  • Automatic Electrical Control Systems for Commercial Product Certification: We can evaluate functional safety software for household and commercial products targeted for North America and around the world. This helps ensure the safe operation of automatic embedded control hardware and software in a variety of products.
  • Functional Safety in the Automotive Industry: With more than 20 years of experience working with functional safety analysis requirements, and a long history of serving the automotive industry, CSA Group can evaluate your vehicle components to the latest standard for automotive functional safety – ISO 26262.

Top reasons to put your confidence in CSA Group for functional safety evaluations and guidance:

  • Reliable functional safety expertise: We are a trusted and knowledgeable source for functional safety evaluation and certification to North American and international standards.
  • Certification against key standards: We evaluate and certify against the widely accepted benchmark standard IEC 61508 for safety related controls and devices, IEC 61511 for process industry system integration, as well as IEC/CSA/UL 60730-1 and CSA C22.2 No. 0.8 for household and commercial products sold in North America.
  • Experienced and accredited: As a fully accredited third-party testing & certification provider, we have been providing functional safety guidance, evaluation and certification services since the release of the first edition of IEC 61508 in 2001.
  • Trusted experience with a variety of products: We consistently evaluate automated hardware and software controls in a range of products and systems such as appliances, energy storage, smart grids, building automation, industrial machinery, process instrumentation, and more.
  • Protection against costly cyber-attacks: Since any product or system with connectivity is an extension of functional safety, we can also perform cybersecurity testing to help pinpoint weaknesses and minimize the threat of malicious attacks.

Services

Apart from solutions to ensure functional safety, CSA Group offers a set of solutions for all your product certification, inspection, and evaluation needs.

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Testing

Transform your innovations into quality products that meet critical requirements with our expert testing services.

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Certification

Launch new products and boost customer confidence in North America and beyond with our global certification services

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Marks & Labels

Get the marks you need to access and enter your target markets In North America with confidence.

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Value-Added Services

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