Advanced
Advanced functional safety topics address the complex engineering challenges encountered in high-integrity SIS design, verification, and lifecycle management. This collection explores sophisticated applications of IEC 61508 and IEC 61511, including detailed architectural considerations for redundant voting systems, advanced diagnostic coverage optimization, and quantitative risk assessment methodologies beyond basic SIL determination.
2oo3 Architecture: The Design Decision Behind Majority Voting
2oo3 voting gives a SIF a hardware fault tolerance of 1 without doubling the spurious trip rate. See how 2oo3…The Amur Gas Chemical Complex Fire: What We Know So Far
An explosion and fire at the Amur Gas Chemical Complex in Russia's Far East killed 15 workers during commissioning, weeks…The Same Explosion, Eleven Years Apart
In August 2026, two explosions killed two workers at a Brent Industries plant in Toledo. Eleven years earlier, a nearly…
Where Does the Data Come From? A Guide to Failure Rate Data Sources in Functional Safety
For most SIL verification the certificate and safety manual already answer the data question. This guide covers what to do…Process Hazard Analysis (PHA): One Term, Many Meanings
Process hazard analysis is one of the most searched terms in process safety, and one of the loosest. What a…The Haldia Naphtha Pipeline Fire: What We Know So Far
In June 2026, a naphtha pipeline caught fire at Haldia Petrochemicals in West Bengal, India, burning outward into homes, a…The Longview Chemical Tank Implosion: What We Know So Far
On May 26, 2026, a 1.2-million-gallon white liquor tank failed at the Nippon Dynawave mill in Longview, Washington, killing eleven…The Garden Grove Chemical Incident: What We Know So Far
A tank of methyl methacrylate at a GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove, California has been the center of a…
SIL Verification: The Three Gates Every SIF Must Clear
SIL verification under IEC 61511 is three independent gates, all of which must pass: PFDavg, systematic capability, and architectural constraints.…Hazard and Risk Analysis Methods: How HAZOP, What-If, LOPA, Risk Graph, FTA, ETA, and Bowtie Fit Together
A practitioner's orientation to the methods that make up an IEC 61511 hazard and risk assessment — HAZOP, What-If, LOPA,…
