IEC 61508 Series on the Safety of Industrial Automated Systems is Now Complete

These international standards are generic and can be used directly by industry (as "standalone" standards) and also by international standards organizations as a basis for the development of sector standards (e.g. for the machinery sector; for the process sector; for the nuclear sector, etc.). The IEC 61508 series will therefore influence the development of electrical, electronic and programmable electronic (E/E/PE) safety-related systems across all sectors.

The scope of the series is concerned with E/E/PE safety-related systems whose failure could have an impact on the safety of persons and/or the environment. However, it is recognized that the consequences of failure could also have serious operational implications and in such cases the standards could be used to specify any E/E/PE safety-related system used for protection of equipment or product or the environment.

The IEC 61508 series provides a basis for the use of programmable electronic devices in safety applications and the implications of this will need to be considered by all those involved from concept through specification, design, operation and use to final decommissioning.