IEC 61508 is an international standard for functional safety of electrical, electronic, and programmable electronic safety-related systems (E/E/PE safety-related systems). It provides guidelines for the design, development, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of systems to ensure that they can perform their intended safety functions in the presence of failures. The standard applies to all types of industries, including process, manufacturing, transportation, and nuclear power plants.

IEC 61508 defines a systematic approach to functional safety and provides a framework for managing safety-related risks. It covers the entire life cycle of the system, from the initial concept through to decommissioning and disposal. The standard also defines the requirements for safety-related systems, including the level of safety integrity required, and the methods for demonstrating compliance with the standard.

IEC 61508 is widely used in the industry and is considered as an important standard for ensuring the safety of electrical, electronic, and programmable electronic systems. It is also the basis for other industry-specific safety standards, such as IEC 61511 for process industry and IEC 62061 for machinery.


Types of IEC 61508 Standard
IEC 61508 standard is divided into several parts, each of which covers a specific aspect of functional safety of electrical, electronic, and programmable electronic safety-related systems (E/E/PE safety-related systems). The parts of the standard are:

+ Part 1: General requirements
+ Part 2: Requirements for electrical, electronic, and programmable electronic safety-related systems
+ Part 3: Software requirements
+ Part 4: Definitions and abbreviations
+ Part 5: Examples of methods for the determination of safety integrity levels
+ Part 6: Guidelines on the application of IEC 61508-1 and IEC 61508-2

Each part of the standard specifies the requirements for the design, development, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of the systems, and how to demonstrate compliance with the standard. Part 1 provides the general requirements for functional safety and the framework for managing safety-related risks. Part 2 specifies the requirements for electrical, electronic, and programmable electronic safety-related systems. Part 3 covers the software requirements, Part 4 provides definitions and abbreviations, Part 5 provides examples of methods for determining safety integrity levels, and Part 6 gives guidelines for the application of IEC 61508-1 and IEC 61508-2.