Confirmation Measures

L2 10 L Confirmation Measures

Confirmation Measures Purpose

Confirmation measures serve two purposes:

that a functional safety project conforms to ISO 26262, and
that the project really does make the vehicle safer.

The people who carry out confirmation measures need to be independent from the people who actually developed the project.

Confirmation Measures Definitions

Confirmation review

Ensures that the project complies with ISO 26262. As the product is designed and developed, an independent person would review the work to make sure ISO 26262 is being followed.

Functional safety audit

Checking to make sure that the actual implementation of the project conforms to the safety plan is called a functional safety audit.

Functional safety assessment

Confirming that plans, designs and developed products actually achieve functional safety is called a functional safety assessment.

You will not be required to write out a full confirmation measure section in the final project's safety plan; but you will need to show that you understand the purpose of the confirmation measures.

Levels of Independence

The person who developed a document, plan, design or product should not be the same person who carries out a confirmation measure; confirmation measures require independence.

ISO 26262 requires different levels of independence depending on what part of the functional safety lifecycle is under review.

For example, the department or company who develops a Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment (HARA) needs to be completely separate from the department or company who makes sure the HARA was carried out according to ISO 26262. That’s because HARA is the critical first step in identifying high risk situations.

On the other hand, a person who develops a system that is rated low risk can be on the same team as the person who reviews the system for ISO 26262 compliance.

Quiz: DIA (Development Interface Agreement)

DIA

What is the purpose of a DIA (Development Interface Agreement)?

Clarify the responsibilities of the different parties involved in a functional safety project

Describe the work products that each company will provide

Help avoid disputes between companies

Clarifies who will be responsible for any safety issues in post-production

SOLUTION:

Clarify the responsibilities of the different parties involved in a functional safety project
Describe the work products that each company will provide
Help avoid disputes between companies
Clarifies who will be responsible for any safety issues in post-production

Quiz: Confirmation Measures

Confirmation Measures

Confirmation measures help ensure that a functional safety project improves safety, conforms to the safety plan, and follows the ISO 26262 standard. Why is it important that the people who develop the system and the people who analyze confirmation measures be independent?

It's not necessary. A safety engineer, for example, should be able to confirm that the product has improved safety.

Hiring more people will make the project faster and more efficient.

An independent team analyzing confirmation measures will hopefully have less bias than the team who designed the system.

Safety needs to be the highest priority over other competing interests like costs and time constraints.

SOLUTION:

An independent team analyzing confirmation measures will hopefully have less bias than the team who designed the system.