Functional safety

When considering this matter, it quickly becomes clear what catastrophic effects a lack of functional safety can have. Accidents like the one in Seveso in the decade of the 1970s have sunk themselves deeply into the memory and were, among other things, an occasion to deal more intensively with the problem of random and systematic errors as well as their early detection and elimination. The foundation stone for new international standards was laid and legislation was strengthened.

Recognizing and minimizing risks

A rapid increase in digitization and automation in all areas of life enables smart homes, smart cities and the Internet of Things (IoT). On the other hand, the challenges of keeping up with the state of standardization, technology and scientific knowledge in terms of safety and reliability are increasing. Functional safety is no longer just about the point of time that the product is placed on the market - rather, functional safety (FuSa) is a product characteristic that must be taken into account during the entire life cycle of machinery, systems, vehicles and safety elements.

Over 80% of innovations today are based on electrical, electronic and programmable electronic sub-systems (E/E/PE) and components. Their deployment takes place in all areas, such as, for example:

• Automotive, aviation, rail, shipping, machinery, mobile machinery as well as agricultural machinery and tractors
• all types of machinery in the industrial - as well as in the consumer sector
• small components such as relays or large industrial plants

If these E/E/PE sub-systems are to contribute to product safety, they must function correctly and reliably under all circumstances. As the overall system must be functionally safe. Safety is understood to mean a situation in which the risk is not higher than the marginal risk, whereby the marginal risk is the greatest risk that is still acceptable. The functional safety is part of the overall safety, related to the facility to be controlled or regulated and also the guidance or control system. It depends on the correct functioning of the safety-related system, safety-related systems of other technologies and external facilities for risk reduction.

A safety-related system, safety-related systems of other technologies or external facilities serve to reduce risk.

What are the legal frameworks like?

A product, that must correspond to the state of scientific knowledge and technology and thus must meet the “latest scientifically justifiable knowledge", is subject to considerably stricter requirements for the required safety than a product that “only” has to conform to the state of technical knowledge. In this respect, compliance with the state of technical knowledge required in the law on placing on the market may not be enough in the case of product liability.

As with the state of technical knowledge, the Third Edition of the Manual of Legal Form (HdR-Manual of Legal Form) no longer contains a reference to the cost-effectiveness of the solution. As a result, from a legal point of view in the area of hazard prevention, commercial aspects do not play a role (any more) as part of the proportionality considerations. This has priority over commercial considerations in the area of precaution.