DEKRA Product Testing

Are the functionalities of your product operating accurately in all user scenarios?

Functional safety testing

Ensures safety for users of products and machines

DEKRA’S functional safety testing specialists thoroughly evaluate a product to ensure that each feature and function operates and interacts safely under different conditions and for all the use cases they have been designed for.

About functional safety testing

In an ever-more complex world of converging technologies, the safe operation of machines and products increasingly depends on the safety of hardware, software and management systems. Today’s products have numerous features and functions, any of which could put users at risk. ‘Functional safety’ is the aspect of the overall safety of a system or piece of equipment that relates to the machines or products operating correctly in response to their inputs, including the safe management of possible operator errors, hardware failures and environmental changes. DEKRA’s functional safety services verify that all users of your products are completely safe when using every single function of a product.

Functional safety testing also considers the safe management of any potential user or operator errors, hardware failures or environmental changes, completely verifying and validating the overall safety of our customers’ machines and products.

DEKRA carries out functional safety verification and validation work during the design and installation phase of our customers’ products and machines. DEKRA’s functional safety testing specialists also offer customers tailored functional safety assessment plans tailored to their needs and specifications covering the entire product life cycle, which includes complete reviews of the management, hardware and software requirements, design process, verification testing, documentation and complete technical construction file.

Why DEKRA?

One-stop shop for all areas of expertise

One-stop shop for expertise in all technologies (embedded, electronics, informatics, mechanics, hydraulic, pneumatic)

Complete functional safety

From certification of safety sensors and safety PLCs to complete functional safety of systems and machines.

Field data and/or field testing

Determination of parameters by field data and/or field testing (SFF, B10, MTTF, λ).

Functional safety tests at DEKRA

At DEKRA we also perform partial certifications of individual safety functions for embedded hardware and software systems, amongst other things. This service ranges from practical component testing and determining safety parameters for hydraulic, pneumatic and (electro-) mechanical components (B10D, MTTFD and λD) to validation of the fundamental and proven safety principles set out in Annex A-D of EN ISO 13849-2 as far as validation and verification of fault exclusion. Furthermore, we offer statistical failure analysis such as Weibull and Chi².

We test amongst others:

Electronic safety related systems
Safety sensors and safety control systems
Machinery
Agriculture and forestry machines
Gas detectors
Robots
Medical devices
Road vehicles
Industrial communication nets
Wind turbines
Process industry

How safe is a product when a safety-related function fails? In the case of elements intended to perform safety functions in the product, this aspect is dealt with by the IEC 61508 standard, for example. That standard offers guidance for reduction of non-tolerable risks based on hazard and risk analyses, and can be applied to both the physical layer – hardware integrity – and the software layer.

Functional safety for machines refers to safety aspects of a machine or system relating to the correct functioning of control devices and guards. Two standards can be applied for this: the IEC 62061 (functional safety of safety-related electrical, electronic and programmable electronic control systems) and ISO 13849 (safety-related parts of control systems).

ISO 13849 covers the entire safety function with all devices involved. It is applicable to safety-related control components and all types of machines, irrespective of the technology and energy used. The standard describes the determination of the Performance Levels (PL) for safety-relevant control components based on designated categories for the scheduled service life.

IEC 62061 (functional safety of safety-related electrical, electronic and programmable electronic control systems) is the standard for designing electrical safety systems. It includes recommendations for the design, integration and validation of safety-related electrical, electronic and programmable electronic control systems for machinery. Implementing this standard means the entire safety function must meet the defined requirements.

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