Mapping to IEC 61508 software developed to ISO 26262

Abstract

Several functional safety standards such as ISO 26262 (automotive), IEC 61511 (process), EN 5012X (railway), IEC 62061 (machinery), IEC 61513 (nuclear), etc. have evolved from IEC 61508 (generic) over the years. The evolution of the standards is accompanied with additional requirements and guidance that are industry-specific. However, in certain cases, technological advancements happen at a rate that is too rapid for a standard to regulate, thus creating room for unguided interpretation and confusion in addition to the potential to make existing designs obsolete. To address this problem, the reuse of resources (e.g., safety artefacts) across industries is being promoted, whereby an industry that is more aligned to the state-of-the-art will help the underprivileged one to fill gaps. However, it is important to clearly define the framework for industry-to-industry exchange in order to avoid confusion. The objective of the paper is to investigate whether and how safety levels for software developed to ISO 26262 (automotive) can be mapped to safety levels for software developed to IEC 61508. The paper builds on review of literature and standards and is focused on software elements.