Overview of the Second Edition of ISO 26262: Functional Safety— Road Vehicles

Rami Debouk

doi:10.56094/jss.v55i1.55

Authors

Rami Debouk General Motors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56094/jss.v55i1.55

Keywords:

ISO 26262, review, functional safety, automotive

Abstract

Functional safety is of the utmost importance in the development of safety-critical automotive systems, especially with the introduction of driver assist and automated driving systems. ISO 26262: Functional Safety – Road Vehicles, has been the de facto standard for functional safety in the automotive electronics domain since the release of its first edition in 2011. It is currently available in its second edition, published in December 2018.

In this paper, we present an overview of the standard, which applies to all activities during the safety lifecycle of system development. In the concept phase of ISO 26262, the hazard and risk assessment process focuses on identifying possible hazards caused by malfunctioning behavior of electrical/electronic (E/E) safety-related systems and mitigating them through the identification of safety goals. The design phase includes system, hardware, and software development, with requirements developed from the safety goals. ISO 26262 also prescribes the functional safety management activities to be performed during the safety lifecycle and provides requirements for the supporting processes.

In addition to presenting an overview of the standard, this paper highlights some major changes introduced in the second edition of ISO 26262.

Author Biography

Rami Debouk, General Motors

Rami Debouk joined General Motors Global Research and Development Center in Warren, Michigan, USA in 2000 after receiving his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is currently a GM Technical Fellow with research interests in system safety methods and techniques, system of systems, failure diagnosis, and fault tolerant systems.

Rami represented the US as a Technical Expert in the development of the functional safety – road vehicles standard ISO 26262 and is currently a US Technical expert in the development of the ISO 21448 standard on Safety Of The Intended Functionality (SOTIF). He was named the “Engineer of the Year” by the International System Safety Society in 2009 and was the recipient of the 2014 SAE/InterRegs Standards and Regulations Award for his involvement in developing and implementing safety processes and standards since 2001. He was named the 2015 American Arab Professional of the year in the Technology area by the American Arab Professional Network.