Maturity index on reliability: covering non-technical aspects of IEC61508 reliability certification

One of the more recent developments in the field of reliability and safety is the realisation that these aspects are not only a function of the product itself, but also of the organisation realising this product. A second development is a trend from an often predominantly qualitative analysis towards a quantitative analysis. In contrast to the (older) DIN 0801, the (more recent) IEC61508 requires, on product level, also a quantitative analysis and, on organisational level, an assessment of the lifecycle of a product by analysing the (maturity of the) relevant business processes (DIN V VDE 0801. Grundsatze fur Rechner in Systemen mit Sicherheitsaufgaben, 1990; DIN V 0801. Grundlegende Sicherheitsbetrachtungen fur MSR-Schutzeinrichtungen, 1994; DIN V VDE 0801 Al. Grundsatze fur Rechner in Systemen mit Sicherheitsaufgaben, Anderung Al, 1994; IEC 61508 Functional Safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related systems, draft 4.0, 1997). The IEC standard 61508 covers: (i) technical aspects, both on a quantitative and a qualitative level; (ii) organisational aspects, both on aspects of maturity of business processes (quantitative) and on aspects of the definition and application of procedures (qualitative). This paper shows the necessity for an analysis on all aspects in a safety certification process, and presents an overview of the available tools and techniques for the various quadrants. As methods and tools for especially quadrant C are currently unavailable, this paper will propose a method to assess and improve the maturity of an organisation on reliability management: the maturity index on reliability (MIR). (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.