ISO 13849

ISO 13849

ISO 13849 is an international standard specifying safety-related parts of control systems for machinery, addressing the design and assessment of control functions to reduce risk of injury. It provides requirements for design, validation, and maintenance of safety functions to support compliance with directives and regulations from bodies such as the European Commission, International Organization for Standardization, and national regulators. The standard interfaces with conformity assessment schemes under institutions like the International Electrotechnical Commission and influences guidance from organizations including Occupational Safety and Health Administration, European Committee for Standardization, and industry consortia.

Scope and Purpose

The standard establishes requirements for safety-related parts of control systems (SRP/CS) on machinery, aligning with directives such as the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU, and conformity frameworks used by agencies like Type Approval Authorities and Notified Bodies. It aims to reduce risks associated with hazards found on equipment used in sectors represented by organizations such as International Labour Organization, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, and trade associations like International Federation of Robotics. The purpose is to provide a structured approach compatible with legal regimes in jurisdictions influenced by the World Trade Organization and standards bodies like British Standards Institution.

Structure and Key Concepts

ISO 13849 organizes requirements into parts that address principles, system architecture, component selection, and validation; its framework is comparable to documents published by the International Electrotechnical Commission and standards committees from entities such as ISO/TC 199 and IEC TC 44. Key concepts include the definition of SRP/CS, categories of architecture, diagnostic coverage, and systematic capability, terms that coordinate with guidance from bodies like European Committee for Standardization (CEN), DIN, and national standards institutes including AFNOR and ANSI. The standard uses specific measures such as category classification, architecture boundaries, and safety-related control function definitions that practitioners reference alongside technical literature from VDE, TÜV Rheinland, and Underwriters Laboratories.

Performance Levels and Safety Integrity

Performance is quantified with Performance Levels (PL) expressed as PL a through PL e, mapping to risk reduction measures used by manufacturers, certification bodies, and testing houses such as TÜV SÜD, SGS, and Intertek. The PL approach intersects with probabilistic metrics and failure rate data maintained by organizations like OECD databases, national laboratories such as NIST, and sectoral groups including the Automotive Industry Action Group. Determination of required PL considers factors found in standards referenced by agencies like European Food Safety Authority and directives applied by Health and Safety Executive (HSE), ensuring that categories, mean time to dangerous failure, and diagnostic coverage align with accepted safety integrity objectives.

Design and Validation Processes

Design and validation per the standard require risk assessment, architecture selection, component choice, verification, and validation activities involving testing and analysis methods used by engineering firms and laboratories such as Fraunhofer Society, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, and university research centers like ETH Zurich. Processes include fault exclusion, redundancy, and diagnostics planning, and make use of tools and techniques documented by organizations such as International Council on Systems Engineering, Society of Automotive Engineers, and academic publishers associated with Springer. Validation often involves independent assessment by conformity assessment bodies including Certification Bodies and national test centers like DIN CERTCO.

Implementation and Industry Application

Industries applying the standard span manufacturing sectors represented by Siemens, ABB, Schneider Electric, Bosch, and KUKA, as well as process industries involving companies such as BASF and Shell. Implementation encompasses machinery design, robotic cell safety, and automated guided vehicle controls, with practitioners relying on training from institutions like International Federation of Robotics and consultancy services from firms including Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Regulatory compliance is often demonstrated in harmonization contexts involving European Commission directives, assessments by Notified Bodies, and audits by agencies akin to Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Comparison with IEC 62061 and Related Standards

The standard is frequently compared and aligned with IEC 62061 (which addresses safety of machinery — functional safety of electrical, electronic and programmable electronic control systems) and referenced alongside other normative documents from IEC, ISO/TC 199, and regional bodies such as CENELEC. Differences concern methodological approaches: the PL and category method versus Safety Integrity Level concepts used in other standards, and the choice of quantitative versus architectural strategies familiar to institutions like TÜV, VDE, and industry groups such as OPC Foundation. Practitioners cross-reference guidance from organizations including International Electrotechnical Commission, British Standards Institution, and European Committee for Standardization when selecting the most appropriate framework for a given application.

Category:Safety standards