Functional Safety according to IEC 61508

Functional Safety for Safe Products – from the Idea to the Certificate

We support you in implementing functional safety in a practical way – with product development according to IEC 61508 (DIN EN 61508), including SIL level targets (SIL 1, SIL 2, SIL 3), FMEDA, and coordination with certification bodies.

Why functional safety is a competitive factor today

Product reliability and functional safety are decisive competitive factors. IEC 61508 provides the fundamental possibility to achieve functional safety for any hardware and software development.

The application of the standard aims to:

• Avoid accidents and damages in the event of a fault
• Ensure maximum safety for people, machinery, and the environment

Reliable and safe industrial products will become increasingly important in the future. In the field of product safety and reliability, the focus in the past has mainly been on hardware – electronic components, housings, connectors, etc. – which is reflected in the most important standards.

Due to the increasing share of software in products, industry also requires the ability to make qualitative statements about software. The IEC 61508 standard incorporates the elements of all previous safety-related standards and is therefore applicable regardless of the development’s area of use. Product development according to IEC 61508 can also be applied to products that are not intended for immediate use in risk areas.

The strength of IEC 61508 is a consistently requirements‑oriented development model – for devices and installations – that deeply influences the development process.

Product advantages such as reliability, fault tolerance, and higher profitability through simplified product maintenance and improved operational performance reduce costs for both manufacturers and users.

Our development services according to IEC 61508, SIL 1–3, and Functional Safety

IEC 61508 sets high demands on development methodology and the implementation of hardware and software. We support you modularly – from concept to full implementation:

Hardware, software & system development according to IEC 61508

• Complete product development according to IEC 61508, IEC 61010‑1, IEC 61800-5-2
• SIL 1–3: standards‑compliant conception and development of hardware and software
• Hardware development according to IEC 61508
• Software development according to IEC 61508
• Tool‑supported, standards‑compliant development documentation and implementation of hardware and software (verifiable, auditable)

Analyses, metrics & evidence

• FMEA / FMEDA (Failure Modes, Effects and Diagnostic Coverage Analysis)
• Calculation and derivation of safety metrics (e.g. PFH/PFD, SFF, diagnostic coverage)
• Support with safety concept, architecture, and verification/test strategy

Certification & collaboration with inspection bodies

• Collaboration with certification bodies (e.g. TÜV), support with approvals
• Creation of certification‑relevant documents
• Workshops and enablement for teams (functional safety in practice)

Interfaces to other standards

Depending on the application, we supplement IEC 61508 with relevant standards and requirements, such as ISO 13849 (machine safety), IEC 62061, IEC 61800, or IEC 61511 – for consistent, standards‑compliant proof throughout your application.

Faster to market with Safety Design Packages

Through our many years of experience in product development, we have designed Safety Design Packages for the field of functional safety. These are comprehensive collections of reusable, proven circuits and software components that we have already successfully implemented in customer projects. The collection currently consists of 120 reusable artifacts that provide developers of safety components with an efficient foundation for their projects.

Our Safety Design Packages were developed according to the requirements of IEC 61508 and can be seamlessly integrated into a V‑model‑based project structure. For areas such as safe industrial communication, safe microcontroller cores, safe power supplies, redundant input/output systems, safe encoder interfaces, and safe drive functions (e.g. safe stop, safe speed monitoring), logically grouped artifacts are available for specific safety product groups.

Your benefits at a glance

• Faster certification: clear roadmap to SIL evidence (SIL 1–3)
• Lower project risk: standards‑compliant processes, traceable documentation
• Efficient implementation: reusable safety artifacts & tool support
• Holistic: hardware + software + documentation + certification support

Why MESCO?

• Specialization in safety‑critical electronics – hardware & software (functional safety design and safety engineering)
• Many years of experience in SIL 1–3 projects – including certified safety management process for IEC 61508‑compliant developments
• FMEA / FMEDA expertise & tool‑supported analyses for reliable metrics
• Collaboration with certifiers – we speak the language of audits and reviews
• Focus on platform development, fault tolerance, and maintainable product architectures