Automotive functional safety ISO26262

  How important is the DIA? This was the question one of our team members asked us when we started reviewing a DIA. It is a simple yet profound question, for there are a lot of nuances to be unpacked as part of the answer. << Assumption for the article: We are standing in the shoes of a Tier-1 supplier. For a Tier-1, their customer is the OEM. This implies that the DIA will be between the Tier-1 and OEM FuSa managers. >> Straight up, the DIA is the first document with which we start discussions with the customer. The discussions on the DIA should ideally start at the RFI/RFQ stage itself. Starting the DIA at the RFI/RFQ stage ensures that the work products agreed upon with the customer are properly estimated (time and money) during the quote. This, in turn, means that the Tier-1 is able to plan their work accordingly. As an example, we had an OEM who asked us to perform FMEDA calculations for an ASIL-A program. (I’m sure you are all aware that FMEDA becomes mand...

There is a saying that “ Well begun is half done ” which means a clearly understood scope of work and a well-defined plan makes the work easier. There are some key activities in Functional Safety that must be “Well begun”. Let us understand the key aspects of functional safety (FuSa) management in this article.  The foundation and pillars must be strong to build a safe house. To build a safe 'Item', the foundation and pillars that must be strong are: FuSa Process DIA (Development Interface Agreement) Safety Plan Safety Case The above picture represents a high-level Functional Safety framework.  This Framework Starts with DIA – to define the scope of work Progresses with Safety plan – to define the strategy how to perform the work  Ends with Safety case – to argue the achievement of Functional Safety compliance. This framework represents FuSa Process as the "Foundation" of FuSa Development, DIA as the Input to the Complete FuSa cycle and Safety Case as its Output. Safe...

One of the best things that has happened in the last few months (After starting Drivvize ) is the chance to speak with a lot of companies who are getting started on their safety journey. Apart from being able to work on new technologies, it also gives us a sneak peek into the concerns and problems facing these companies with respect to FuSa implementation. What we have tried here is to consolidate the broad categories of issues faced. We have also tried to look at it from a 10,000 feet view to arrive at solutions that could be applied for most of these issues.  A word of caution: We recognize that every organization is unique and hence there could be some variations to the problems faced. Due to these variations (Ex: Process compliance levels, organizational maturity, organizational structure etc.), some fine tuning or customization of the broader solution will have to be done to get the solution to work.  Common Questions and General Observations and our proposed solutions: 1...