ISO 26262 and it's Issues : Interpretations at Bosch

Abstract

ISO 26262, "Road Vehicles-Functional Safety", has been valid since the end of 2011. The standard regulates the functional safety of electrical and electronic systems of road vehicles for the first time. Some of the requirements of ISO 26262 were formulated in an abstract and visionary way because this standard was intended to reflect the "state of the art" of the automotive industry on the one hand, but wanted to orientate also on future safety designs of automotive E/E systems on the other hand. Therefore the appropriate interpretations of ISO 26262 in the global automotive industry are necessary which could be different and confusing and could therefore lead to extensive product-adaptations. The goal of ISO 26262 is not to revolutionize the development of safety relevant systems. Rather, it seeks to reflect the real situation in the automotive industry. The standard should be interpreted based on the established state of the art. Bosch shows where some risks of such different interpretations may lie and how they can be dealt with and show that this is possible in an efficient way that considers the intention of ISO 26262.