Electronic programmable systems increasingly provide both active safety functions and functions whose failure may be unsafe. There has been a corresponding increase in the awareness and availability of standards intended to ensure safety. However, these standards need skill and experience to interpret and to apply within a programme or organisation.
Ricardo has the right skills and experience to help you meet standards and ensure safety, whether you entrust the complete design and development to us or use our consultants on your projects. We have experience in diverse application areas including hybrid and electric vehicles, gasoline and diesel powertrain controls, transmission systems, steer-by-wire applications and chassis systems in the automotive, ground based vehicle and marine sectors
Ricardo has extensive knowledge of the most frequently used standards for safety critical system development and high integrity software, including IEC 61058, MISRA standards and ISO/TR 15497, draft standard ISO 26262 and Automotive SPICE© (ISO/IEC 15504). Our personnel sit on the MISRA steering committee, make active contributions to MISRA standards and are helping to develop ISO 26262, the forthcoming automotive equivalent of IEC 61508. We can use this knowledge to help you with comprehension, planning, compliance and independent assessment related to these and similar standards.
Our engineers are skilled in the application of the safety analysis techniques typically required by the safety standards, for instance hazard analysis and risk assessment (also known as HRA or HAZOP), Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). Ricardo can support you by performing these activities on your behalf or by providing the necessary tools (see Software Tools for Control System Development), training, leadership and guidance to your own staff. Furthermore Ricardo can assist with effective design reviews at all stages of the evolution of your design, either independently or in conjunction with your own staff, and can provide expert advice on design for safety.
The robustness of your designs contributes significantly to safety therefore your development processes must also be sufficiently rigorous. Ricardo can help you achieve this, including meeting your integrity targets such as SIL or ASIL levels. We can provide consultancy services ranging from education, training and implementation assistance through to independent and objective process assessment and audit of you or your suppliers, right up to design and documentation of complete processses to meet your needs. We can provide an independant verification and validation service, and have a proven track record of High Integrity Software development. Our wide ranging skills can help you meet your legal obligations and the requirements of your clients, whether your software development involves traditional or model based techniques.