Independent functional safety.

IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 assessment, verification and substantiation for nuclear, process and defence systems.

1oo2 “one out of two” · voting architecture: Two independent channels, either one sufficient to bring the plant to a safe state.

The name is the principle: assessment that sits apart from the organisation doing the design or the delivery.

What I do

Hazard analysis and specification

SIL determination: LOPA studies establishing the integrity target for each safety function, traced to the hazard it protects against.
Safety requirements specification: Requirements written so they can actually be verified, and traced back to the hazard analysis that demanded them.

Design and realisation

Safety instrumented system design: SIS architecture, device selection and proof-test regimes, on projects where I am engaged as designer rather than assessor.
SIL verification: Probability of failure on demand, architectural constraints and systematic capability: the three requirements a claimed SIL has to meet, with the assumptions laid out to be audited.
Application programming review: Safety application software reviewed against IEC 61511 clause 12.

Verification, validation and assessment

Design verification and substantiation: Substantiation reports on existing and proposed designs, including legacy systems with thin documentation.
Validation witnessing: Factory and site acceptance testing witnessed on the client's behalf, against the safety requirements rather than the vendor's test script.
Independent functional safety assessment: FSA stages 1 to 5, as lead assessor or independent checker, carried out independently of the design and delivery organisation.
Independent checking: Verification of FSA reports and other safety deliverables prepared by other practitioners or assessors.

Management and competence

Functional safety management systems: Writing the procedures the standard expects (safety lifecycle, competency management, management of change, verification and audit), or gap-assessing the ones already in place.
Client-side safety authority: Specifying and assuring a vendor's safety system work, and holding functional safety management across a contract.
IEC 61508 and 61511 training: Lifecycle training delivered to engineering and operations teams, built around the systems in the room rather than generic worked examples.

Mike Ireland BEng(Hons) MSc CEng MIET

TÜV SÜD Functional Safety Certified Professional, IEC 61508 and IEC 61511
TÜV SÜD Functional Safety Expert (FSCP Level 3): assessment under way
Independently verified competency register (Method): Master in SIS design, application programming, safety requirements, SIL verification and FSA stages 2, 3 and 5: verify.1outof2.co.uk
Member, BSI committee GEL/65/1 (Systems aspects), the UK mirror of IEC TC65/SC65A, responsible for IEC 61508 and IEC 61511
Member, IEC 61511 Application Programming Team
Chartered Engineer, Member of the IET
Hazard Study for Leaders (Method Process Safety, 2024): four-day IChemE-approved course, 32 CPD hours; study participation as functional safety engineer
Twelve years in functional safety, after a career in control and instrumentation
Director of 1oo2 Limited: you deal with the engineer, not an account manager

Nuclear, civil and defence. Oil and gas. Chemicals and process. Marine defence.

Defence work has included nuclear-defence and marine programmes. Current clearance status on request.

Work is UK-wide, run from Stockport.

CVOn request