The Safety Critical Systems Handbook

The Safety Critical Systems Handbook: A Straightforward Guide to Functional Safety, 6th edition is a practical, fully updated guide to achieving safer technology in systems that protect workers and the public against injury and death, while also addressing environmental risk. Building on IEC 61508 and related guidance, this sixth edition incorporates the latest 2026 updates, including clarified scope for artificial intelligence (software technology class), expanded coverage of human factors and security, and strengthened requirements for competence and levels of independence in functional safety assurance. It introduces enhanced technical expectations including relocated semiconductor content, new requirements for diagnostic functions and common cause failures, and expanded guidance on software off-line support tools. For systems engineering, it incorporates and extends IEC TS 61508:2016 to support Systematic Capability SC3 and SC4, clarifies the difference between SIL (required) and SC (achieved), and strengthens software lifecycle management, traceability, and regression testing, including new guidance for data-driven systems.

• Provides the only comprehensive guide to IEC 61508 (updated for 2026) and 61511 (updated for 2016) that ensures engineers are compliant with the latest process safety systems design and operation standards
• Clarifies 2026 updates including requirements for AI, human factors, and security, plus enhanced expectations for competence and independence in safety assurance activities
• Extends software-focused guidance, introducing new requirements for diagnostic functions, common cause failures, software off-line support tools (SOFSTs), and strengthened lifecycle controls for achieving Systematic Capability (SC3/SC4)
• Presents a real-world approach that helps users interpret the standard, with new case studies and best practice design examples using revised standards
• Covers applications of the standard to device design