For those of us who have an interest in Functional Safety but are not quite sure where it sits within the general Safety banner, this interesting little piece covers it quite well. But, for those in the area, is this a much too simple explanation?
Functional safety is a subset of system safety. Systems can produce many different types of hazards with different mitigation and risk control means. For example, a complex system may have to exhibit electrical safety (due to presence of dangerous voltages and currents), chemical safety (use and storage of hazardous materials), structural safety, biological safety (use and storage of hazardous lifeforms) and so on - as well as present occupational health and safety issues. That's why IEC 61508 has such a complex title - Functional Safety of E/E/PE Safety Related Systems - to show that it does not include these other aspects of system safety. Functional safety is about the need for active (as opposed to passive) risk control measures, generally (although not always) implemented by computer based or electronic systems. So it's not just a functional safety versus the clipboard and hi-vis jacket brigade occupational safety people.
Functional safety is a subset of system safety. Systems can produce many different types of hazards with different mitigation and risk control means. For example, a complex system may have to exhibit electrical safety (due to presence of dangerous voltages and currents), chemical safety (use and storage of hazardous materials), structural safety, biological safety (use and storage of hazardous lifeforms) and so on - as well as present occupational health and safety issues. That's why IEC 61508 has such a complex title - Functional Safety of E/E/PE Safety Related Systems - to show that it does not include these other aspects of system safety. Functional safety is about the need for active (as opposed to passive) risk control measures, generally (although not always) implemented by computer based or electronic systems. So it's not just a functional safety versus the clipboard and hi-vis jacket brigade occupational safety people.
