Why probability is not corroboration
The IEC’s 61508 standard on functional safety assigns a series of Safety Integrity Levels (SIL) that correlate to the achievement of specific hazardous failure rates. Unfortunately this definition of SILs, that ties SILs to a probabilistic metric of failure, contains a fatal flaw.
With a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Systems Engineering, Matthew Squair is a principal consultant with Jacobs Australia. His professional practice is the assurance of safety, software and cyber-security, and he writes, teaches and consults on these subjects. He can be contacted at mattsquair@gmail.com
