VALIDATION OF NON-COMPLIANT PRODUCTS FOR USE WITH SAFETY INSTRUMENTED SYSTEMS

Abstract

This master thesis presents a method that can be used for a third party to validate the SIL for a non-compliant component against the IEC 61508. At first, there is some introduction about the safety instrument system and the relevant standards. Secondly, some useful concepts, such as, compliant item, non-compliant item, certified item, proven in use, prior use, verification and validation are introduced and discussed. Thereafter, the key requirements in IEC 61508 are listed and discussed. A case study related to a fire call point is applied to validate the produced method. The conclusion from the validation is that the method is easy to use, and it is useful, even though it may be difficult to obtain the precise data for the method.

In the future, the method may be improved with the developing of the IEC 65108/61511 standards for SIL validation.