IEC 61508 consists of the following parts, under the general title Functional Safety of electrical/ELECTRONIC/programmable electronic safety-related systems:

Part 1: General requirements

Part 2: Requirements for electrical/electronic/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 parts 2 and 3

Part 7: Overview of techniques and measures

To be in compliance with the standard, it is necessary to conform to Parts 1 – 3. Parts 4 – 8 are informative only and can be useful in UNDERSTANDING and APPLYING the standard, but do not have requirements for conformance.

MANUFACTURERS of products generally meet Section 2 requirements to determine through a FMEDA analysis that their products are suitable for use within a given SIL level.

Companies choosing to certify their engineering processes and receive full IEC 61508 certification will ALSO comply with Section 3 as it relates to software development.

IEC 61508 consists of the following parts, under the general title Functional Safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related systems:

Part 1: General requirements

Part 2: Requirements for electrical/electronic/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 parts 2 and 3

Part 7: Overview of techniques and measures

To be in compliance with the standard, it is necessary to conform to Parts 1 – 3. Parts 4 – 8 are informative only and can be useful in understanding and applying the standard, but do not have requirements for conformance.

Manufacturers of products generally meet Section 2 requirements to determine through a FMEDA analysis that their products are suitable for use within a given SIL level.

Companies choosing to certify their engineering processes and receive full IEC 61508 certification will also comply with Section 3 as it relates to software development.