When IS0 26262:2018 compliance is necessary
In this article you will learn:
The scope of ISO 26262:2018
Guidance whether your application fits the scope of ISO 26262:2018
When is ISO 26262:2018 expected to be applied.
When is full compliance with ISO 26262:2018 necessary
Introduction.
ISO 26262:2018 is the state of art standard for functional safety for road vehicles. To determine when ISO 26262 compliance is necessary, there are two primary dimensions to consider. The first is when is a vehicle is within scope due to its design or intended use. The second when in time is compliance necessary. Once we have determined when ISO 26262:2018 should be applied, the remaining question is what level of compliance is necessary.
Determining whether the vehicle is in scope of ISO 26262:2018.
Organisations should adopt ISO 26262:2018 series of standards when the company develops products that fit the scope of ISO 26262. This scope is defined as safety related systems that include one or more electrical and/or electronic (E/E) systems that are installed in series production road vehicles, excluding mopeds.
ISO 26262 does not address unique E/E systems in special vehicles such as E/E systems designed for drivers with disabilities.
This definition is unclear in terms of what is a unique e/e system in special vehicle. Also unclear on what is a road. But it is clear that it does not matter which country the vehicle is driven in as ISO 26262 is an international standard. Therefore geographic considerations are not applicable.
A road is commonly understood to be a paved road. However the legal definition in many countries of a road does not limit this to being paved surfaces only. But rather the question is whether the public have a right of access to track.
Then there is the question about whether incidental use on a paved road is sufficient.
There isn't a definitive answer to these points. It is a matter of opinion and argumentation.
So it is clear that vehicles used predominantly on paved roads open to the public, that is not a special vehicle or a moped - are in scope. But other vehicles are not so clear. Such as ATV's, SSV's, Farm vehicles etc.
For vehicles that are not unclear - then it is for the OEM to determine whether to apply ISO 26262 and in what form.
ISO 26262-1:2018 3.153 defines a series production road vehicle as: road vehicle that is intended to be used for public roads and is not a prototype
and gives the following examples.
EXAMPLE 1 A vehicle that is sold for use by the general public.
EXAMPLE 2 A vehicle that is sold to be used amongst the general public.
ISO 26262 refers to its own terminological database - ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp - for further definitions. Here it has a definition for road as 'way mainly for vehicles' ISO 6707-1:2017(en), 3.1.3.1.
So ISO 26262 is applicable if there is a safety related e/e system and the vehicle it is installed in:
is to be used by the general public, or it is to be used amoungst the general public and
is not a prototype and
is not a special vehicle, and
it is not moped, and
is used on a way mainly for vehicles
ISO 26262 does not define:
what is a special vehicle
what is meant by the general public
what is a prototype
Special vehicle is only defined by giving an example - e/e systems designed for drivers with disabilities. But would a limited series production run count as a special vehicle. e.g. the Mercedes-AMG Project One, has a total production volume of 275 vehicles. There is no authoritative definition of a special vehicle available. However ISO 26262:2011 edition refered to Special Purpose Vehicle. The text is the same with the exclusion of the word 'Purpose'. A special purpose vehicle differs to a vehicle in that it performs a special function for which special body arrangements and/or equipment are necessary. Examples include, a hearse, an ambulance, an armoured vehicle, a motor caravan.
It is believed that because ISO 26262 was written by committee, the only way they could reach agreement on some topics was to keep the definition vague. So that each party could then interpret the standard for their organisation.
General public is defined by dictionary.cambridge.org as
ordinary people, especially people who are not members of a particular organization or who do not have any special type of knowledge
A prototype is defined by dictionary.cambridge.org as
the first example of something, such as a machine or other industrial product, from which all later forms are developed
For example a go kart, is intended to be used to carry people, but it is not intended to be used on the public road and it is not approved to be used on a public road. Therefore any safety related e/e system on a go kart is not within scope of ISO 26262.
For example, a dump truck. Is it used by the general public? This is answered by determining whether the driver has special knowledge. It could be argued that he does. Is it used amongst the general public?. It is used in specific locations, where all the people in the area belong to a certain organisation or organisations. People are controlled who can be in the area where the vehicle is used. So it can be argued that it is not used amongst the general public. Therefore it can be argued that a dump truck is not in scope of ISO 26262:2018.
For example the McLaren F1 road car, produced up to 1998. There were 106 vehicles produced. Many of the prototypes that were used in development were sold to the public. Prior to delivering the prototypes to the public, they were updated to include the final design changes intended for public use. Therefore the vehicle was transformed from being a prototype to being a road vehicle.
The definition of a road is subject to definition in law in each country. In the UK the definition of a road has been defined by acts of parliment in creating laws, and then refined through case law. The Road Traffic Act 1988, s 192(a) defines a road as - any highway to which the public has access.
The matter is complex. For further information see http://www.jamesmurraylaw.com/motoring-law/what-is-a-road/. What is clear at least in the UK, is it does not matter what the road is made of. It also doesnt matter if the road is on private land or public land. But rather whether the public has significant access to it.
It is also clear that ISO 26262 applies if one of the vehicles uses is to be used on a road. It doesnt matter if the majority of time it is not.
When in time is ISO 26262:2018 compliance necessary
So if you have determined that your vehicle is in scope, at what point in time is compliance necessary.
ISO 26262:2018 is the second edition of the ISO 26262 series of standards. Released in December 2018. The first edition ISO 26262:2011 was released in November 2011. From November 2011 the scope was more limited. Constrained to passenger cars up to 3.5 tons. Therefore from 2011, passenger cars were in scope. From December 2018 this broadened to include the current scope defined previously.
Any series production passenger car with a maximum gross vehicle mass of less than 3500 kg, that started development after November 2011 is in scope of ISO 26262. Any vehicle in scope of ISO 26262:2018 that started development after December 2018 is in scope. The ISO 26262:2018 replaced the ISO 26262:2011 edition, so it is not necessary to be concerned that you have to apply both. All vehicles in scope of ISO 26262:2011 are now in scope of ISO 26262:2018. No vehicles dropped out of scope in the revisions made.
What about vehicles that are in scope of ISO 26262:2011 that were in development, in production or in operation in November 2011 when ISO 26262:2011 was released.
The standard is not retrospective. There is no demand to re-engineer / re develop vehicles to comply with the standard. This also counts for vehicles that were in development at the time of the release of the standard.
But what about vehicles that becames in scope of ISO 26262, due to the enlargement of the scope in 2018 edition, that were already in development or are in production in December 2018 when ISO 26262:2018 was released.
ll vehicles that commenced development prior to December 2018, that became in scope with the second edition, do not have to comply. During that development.
Both answers given above, are only applicable when the vehicle remains unchanged. Whenever a change occurs, then the company needs to decide whether the change warrants the application of ISO 26262 for the change.
When is full compliance with ISO 26262:2018 necessary
We have discussed when ISO 26262:2018 should be applied. But not yet to which level. This standard is seen as state of art for its scope. Is it always necessary to achieve state of art in order to achieve functional safety. Safety can be defined as an absence of unreasonable risk. Can this only be achieved if full compliance with state of art is achieved.
Vehicles are not free from risk. It is not currently possible to remove all risk from the use of a vehicle. Therefore the user of a vehicle is implicitly accepting a certain level of risk by their actions when they come to use a vehicle. The level of risk that they are accepting is the level of risk they expect from their past experience of using this vehicle or other vehicles, what they have seen in the media or sales material etc. They have a general ‘feeling’ of the level of associated risk. Therefore it can be argued that the risk is only unreasonable if it is higher than what the user of the vehicle expects. This then enables us to posit that the level of risk is unreasonable for a particular vehicle use if it is worse than for past vehicles, or for competitor vehicles in that market.
Therefore full compliance with ISO 26262:2018 is necessary to achieve freedom from unreasonable risk (safety) if the competition is achieving full compliance, or if past vehicles were compliant with ISO 26262:2018.
At the time of writing, ISO 26262:2018 compliance was not known to be a legal requirement in any market. However it is likely to become one soon, as this is the direction many countries are heading in.
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