Implementation walkthrough
How to implement ISO 26262: video walkthrough
A walkthrough of putting ISO 26262 functional safety into practice for automotive electrical and electronic systems.
Key takeaways
- ISO 26262 covers functional safety of road vehicle E/E systems.
- Requirements scale with the ASIL of each safety goal.
- The organisation needs a safety culture, processes and managed competence.
- Each item needs hazard analysis, safety requirements, a safety case and confirmation measures.
- There is no single company certificate; certification bodies certify defined objects.
Functional safety for road vehicle electronics
ISO 26262 is the international series of standards for the functional safety of electrical and electronic systems in series-production road vehicles. It deals with the harm a vehicle can do when safety-related electronics or software behave in a way nobody intended: a brake, steering, powertrain or battery controller that fails, or fails unnoticed. Developed by ISO's road vehicles committee, it adapts the IEC 61508 series to road vehicles in twelve parts.
It works as a safety lifecycle scaled by the automotive safety integrity level, or ASIL. There is no accredited management system certificate for it: certification bodies certify defined objects such as products, tools and development processes under their own programmes. This short film walks through how functional safety is put in place.
Organisation first, then each item
The organisation sets up the conditions first: a safety culture, rules and processes, handling of safety anomalies, managed competence and a quality management system. That gives a functional safety process set, a competence matrix and a safety anomaly log that every project draws on.
Each development then defines the item, analyses its hazards and risks, assigns an ASIL to each safety goal, and derives the functional and technical safety requirements that flow into system, hardware and software development, with verification at each level. Higher ASILs demand more methods, more independence and more evidence. For each item, roles, impact analysis, tailoring and planning are documented, a safety case is built, and confirmation measures, including confirmation reviews, a functional safety audit and a functional safety assessment, take place before release for production. Decide early what, if anything, is to be certified, because the standard offers no single company certificate.
Sterling's expert and experienced consultants build the safety management system and project evidence with your engineers under Sterling OS™. ISO 26262:2018, the second edition, is current, and the third edition is in draft.
ISO 26262 at a glance
- Purpose
- Functional safety of electrical and electronic systems in series-production road vehicles: no unreasonable risk from malfunctioning behaviour, through a lifecycle scaled by ASIL
- Relevant to
- Vehicle manufacturers, suppliers at every tier, and developers of automotive hardware, software, semiconductors and tools; cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles, mopeds excepted
- Edition
- ISO 26262:2018, second edition, twelve parts; the third edition is in draft, all twelve parts registered as Draft International Standards in August 2026
- Certification
- No accredited management-system certificate: certification bodies certify products, tools and development processes under their own programmes; confirmation measures and personnel certificates sit alongside
- Sterling's role
- Safety management system and project evidence built with your engineers, Effivity, training, internal audit and readiness for evaluation, then Sustain™
- Cost and timing
- Total investment for an ISO 26262 functional safety management system depends on the current maturity of your processes, the scope, locations and number of employees. The process typically takes 6 to 12 months
ISO 26262: questions people ask
Can our company be ISO 26262 certified?
Not in the way a company is certified to ISO 9001 or IATF 16949: ISO 26262 has no accredited management-system certification of the ISO/IEC 17021-1 kind. Certification bodies certify defined objects: products and components, software tools and development processes. TÜV Rheinland, for example, certifies automotive functional safety management systems and processes under a programme it bases on ISO/IEC 17021 and ISO/IEC 17065; TÜV SÜD states that it is accredited to certify development tools, development processes and safety-relevant products or systems. Your customer may ask for one of these, for the functional safety assessment of your project, or for both.
Is ISO 26262 mandatory?
No law makes it mandatory as such; it is a voluntary industry standard. In practice vehicle manufacturers increasingly require it of the suppliers who develop safety-related electronics and software for them, so for many suppliers it becomes mandatory the day a contract says so.
What is an ASIL, and what does QM mean?
An automotive safety integrity level is assigned to each safety goal by the hazard analysis and risk assessment, which rates each hazardous event for severity, probability of exposure and controllability. ASIL D carries the most stringent requirements and ASIL A the least. A hazard rated QM (quality management) needs no ASIL and no ISO 26262 safety requirements; normal quality processes apply. The ASIL decides which requirements and methods of the series apply.
Does Sterling issue ISO 26262 certificates or perform the functional safety assessment?
No. Sterling provides consulting and hands-on support. Certificates are issued by certification bodies, and the functional safety assessment needs the independence ISO 26262 sets for the ASIL, so a consultant who helped produce your work products cannot assess them. A provider offering to build your safety case and certify it is offering paper.
Who issues ISO 26262 certificates, and how can we check one?
Certification bodies with functional safety programmes, among them TÜV SÜD, TÜV Rheinland and exida. TÜV Rheinland's functional safety product certification is accredited by DAkkS to ISO/IEC 17065, with valid certificates on Certipedia; exida describes itself as an ANSI-accredited certification body and lists certified products on its SAEL. Read what the certificate names, including object, version, edition, ASIL and conditions of use, and confirm the body's accreditation scope with the accreditation body.
Keep exploring
Related to this video
The complete guide
Everything on ISO 26262
Start with the ISO 26262 page, or go straight to the guide you need.
On the ISO 26262 page
- What are the main ISO 26262 requirements?
- How do you get ISO 26262 certified?
- How much does ISO 26262 certification cost?
- How long does ISO 26262 certification take?
- Who needs ISO 26262 certification?
- How ISO 26262 protects your programmes and your customer relationships
- Frequently asked questions about ISO 26262
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