A Brief Overview EN 50126, EN 50129 and EN 50128 Functional Safety in Rail Industry

With increasing use of electrical and electronic systems due to automation, the operation of safety related systems have to be risk free. The safety related systems have to trigger at the right time to avoid hazards and mishaps. For this to ensure, professionals in your industry should have the knowledge of functional safety standards and its application.

The concept of Functional safety has its base in the following-

• All systems or processes have implicit hazards that cannot be bone away with.
• All systems or processes have a specific tolerable rate of failure that does not harm the system overall.
• All systems or processes have failure rates categorized in terms of SIL.

The need to develop EN 50126, EN 50129 and EN 50128 Functional Safety Standards was to standardize design, operation, inspection, and maintenance practices into the system in order to minimize rate of failure as much as possible.The EN 50126, EN 50129 and EN 50128 Functional Safety Standards act as benchmark standards to maintain safety of equipments and processes in Railway Industry.

What is functional safety?

Functional safety is a part of the overall safety system that involves detection and activation of the safety related functions to avoid errors or any mishap at the workplace. Functional safety systems are required for automatic activation of the safety systems at the right place and at the right time. Hence, this automatic protection system should predict and activate in order to avoid failures.

What is functional safety in the Rail Industry?

EN 50126, EN 50129, EN 50128 Functional safety in the rail industry is extremely important as we cannot afford any errors in operations of the railway systems, as it has a direct relation to human life and environment during its operation. Functional safety railway ensures that the malfunctioning in the systems that causes hazards are within acceptance levels. For efficient management of the safety systems, the professionals involved in the manufacturing and operations, directly or indirectly, should have the technical know-how to manufacture or operate the safety systems efficiently and keep the error level as close to zero.

EN 50126, EN 50129, EN 50128 Functional Safety Standards in Rail Industry

Railway hardware and software are complex and interlinked, and railway components are also manufactured by a large number of manufacturers. Hence to have standardisation in its manufacturing and operations, the rail industry has functional safety standards namely -

• EN 50126 (IEC 62278) – Reliability, Availability, maintainability and Safety (RAMS)
• EN 50129 (IEC 62425) – Safety related to electronic system for Signalling
• EN 50128 (IEC 62279) – Software for Control and Protection System

EN 50126 is used for all railway applications to understand the specifications and aspects of RAMS, influencing factors involved and the related risk assessment.The standards enables to achieve the requirements for RAMS by specifying them in detail.

EN 50129 specifies the acceptance levels for the safety-related electronic systems in railway signalling. It involves a complete safety system related to hardware and software aspects.

EN 50128 defines conditions for software that include safety-related systems which include programmable electronics. For the development of programmable electronic systems used in railway control and protection applications of any safety implications, EN 50128 specifies procedures and technical requirements. EN 50128 is used for software development and the interaction between software and the system which it is part of.

EN 50126, EN 50129, EN 50128 Functional safety training and certification programs are provided by TÜV SÜD in India.

TÜV SÜD’s Training and Certification for Functional Safety in Rail Industry

TÜV SÜD is a global leader in providing functional safety railway training and certification in all the three modules. The courses of TÜV SÜD are tailored and designed to suit the requirements of the target group. TÜV SÜD’s functional safety training experts have the technical know-how of the subject and through its instructor-led courses, provides practical knowledge to the trainees.TÜV SÜD provides industries the facility to get their professionals trained, to achieve complete functional safety in all processes related to manufacturing or operations of railway systems. This overall contributes to the safety of railway systems and also decreases the risk to life and environment.

When should one take up the EN 50126, EN 50129, EN 50128 Functional Safety Standards Training?

An individual can take up EN 50126, EN 50129, EN 50128 functional safety railway standards training when he/she is interested in making a career in the Rail industry sector, or if the individual is already into safety related functions in Rail Industry. The training gives a better sense of understanding and expertise in planning, designing, developing and executing safety related systems and functions more efficiently.

Who should take up the EN 50126, EN 50129, EN 50128 Functional Safety Standards Training?

A professional who is working in the Rail industry sector or an individual who wishes to make a career in the Rail industry sector can take up the EN 50126, EN 50129, EN 50128 Functional Safety Standards Training and certification course and have a better understanding of the subject before joining, so that he/she could excel at the job, that helps individual growth along with organisational growth.

Why choose TÜV SÜD for EN 50126, EN 50129, EN 50128 Functional Safety Training and Certification?

TÜV SÜD is an international organization having its presence around the world and is a leader in providing testing, training and certification programs. TÜV SÜD also excels in providing EN 50126, EN 50129, EN 50128 Functional Safety Training and Certification for the Rail industry too, like many other industries like automotive, process industry etc. TÜV SÜD has experts who have the complete know-how of the subjects they are concerned with, and provide practical knowledge along with technical learning.

• TÜV SÜD’s track record in functional safety training has been extraordinary since the last three decades.
• The training modules are as per internationally accredited standards.
• TÜV SÜD Trainers have expert knowledge on the subjects they are training in.
• Industries can gain a competitive edge by training its employees in the functional safety programs.
• The functional safety course is aimed at providing practical knowledge and assessment.

You can find more details on EN 50126, EN 50129, EN 50128 Functional Safety Training Programs and enrollment for the courses here.

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