The
title of ISO 13849 is:
Safety of Machinery
- Safety-related parts of control systems
Key differentiators:
- Universally applicable (1). ISO 13849 is applicable for all
industries, as long as there are no industry specific standards. From
all IEC 61508 derived standards, ISO 13849 is the only one with
unrestricted applicability.
- Of course, this is what this standard tells us. Practice
however looks substantially different.
- Universally applicable (2). In contrast to IEC 61508,
ISO 13849
covers not only electronics and software, but also pneumatics and
hydraulics. By giving guidance on all system types (with the exception
of mechanics), ISO 13849 facilitates its application for the safety
analyst.
- Again, practice looks a bit different.
- Two-dimensional
classification of safety. While IEC 61508 uses only one key indicator
(PFH or SIL), ISO 13849 has two: Category and performance level. See next page for
more details.
- This two-dimensionality looks like an enhancement at first
glance, but in reality it is a restriction.
- ISO 25119 (functional safety standard for agricultural
machines) also uses Category and performance level.
- Ready to use. ISO 13849 can be conceived as an easy-to-digest
version of IEC 61508. ISO 13849 takes the safety analyst by the hand
and, by restricting the degrees of freedom substantially, clearly tells
him what to do.
If
the analyst is allowed to chose the safety standard, I strongly
recommend IEC-61508 in any case without exception, even if the subject
under consideration is not mainly consisting of electronics.
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