HealthandSafetyExecutiveManagingcompetenceforsafety-relatedsystemsPart1:Keyguidance1of20pages©Crowncopyright2007ThisguidanceisissuedbytheHealthandSafetyExecutive,theInstitutionofEngineeringTechnologyandtheBritishComputerSociety.Followingtheguidanceisnotcompulsoryandyouarefreetotakeotheraction.ButifyoudofollowtheguidanceyouwillnormallybedoingenoughtocomplywiththelawinGreatBritainwherethisisregulatedbytheHealthandSafetyExecutive(HSE).HSEinspectorsseektosecurecompliancewiththelawandmayrefertothisguidanceasillustratinggoodpractice.1Introduction1Thisguidanceoncompetenceappliestoeveryone,inallindustrysectors,whosedecisionsandworkwithsafety-relatedsystemscanaffecthealthandsafety.Theaimisforallpeoplewithinscopetobesuitablyqualifiedandexperiencedfortheirownworkactivities,rolesandresponsibilities.2Asafety-relatedsystemaccordingtothisguidanceisasystemwhosecorrectoperationisnecessaryforensuringormaintainingsafety.Ituseselectrical,electronic,and/orprogrammableelectronictechnologiesandmayincludesoftwareandpeople.Ingeneral,safety-relatedsystemscanbeclassifiedasprotectionsystemsorcontrolsystems.3Examplesafety-relatedsystemsincludeatrip-switchthatdisconnectspowerfromapressoncloseapproachtomovingparts,trafficlights,vehicleenginemanagement,boilermanagement,medicaldevices,firemanagementinanintelligentbuilding,gasdetectiononanindustrialchemicalplant,emergencyshutdownonanoffshoregasplatform,remoteoperationofanetwork-enabledprocessplant,accessprotectionfornuclearreprocessing,fly-by-wireoperationofaircraftflightcontrolsurfacesandanyinformationsystemwhereerroneousresultscansignificantlyaffectsafety.4Newtechnologies,particularlyprogrammableelectronics,haveenabledsuchsystemstofunctionmoreeffectivelyandallowedmoresophisticatedwaystomakethemsafe.Atthesametime,thenewtechnologyhasbroughtitsownchallenges–particularlyincreaseddesigncomplexity.Thishasthrownthespotlightontheroleofstaffengagedinthedesign,development,maintenanceanduseofthesesafety-relatedsystems.Theachievementofsufficientlylowlevelsofriskiscriticallydependentonindividualandteamcompetence.1Theeffortexpendedinmeetingtheprinciplesofthisguidanceshouldbeinproportiontotheriskassociatedwithinadequatecompetence(seeRiskandproportionality).Managingcompetenceforsafety-relatedsystemsPart1:KeyguidanceHealthandSafetyExecutiveManagingcompetenceforsafety-relatedsystemsPart1:Keyguidance2of20pages5Inparallel,thepaceofchangeinindustrycontinuestoaccelerate,withfrequentrestructuringandmuchmovementofstaffbetweenroles,betweencompaniesandevenbetweensectors.Evernewertechnologyrequiresnewskills.Evenifnewstaffpossesstheseskills,theymaybeunfamiliarwiththeorganisationalcultureinwhichtheyaretobeexercised,andspecificallythesafetyculture.Longtermfamiliarityofmanagerswiththecapabilitiesoftheirstaffcannolongerbeassumed,soincreasinglyorganisationsneedtoestablishcompetencemanagementsystemsinordertosatisfythemselves,theircustomersandregulatorsthattheirstaffarecompetentforthetaskstowhichtheyareassigned.6Standardsmakershaverecognisedthegrowingimportanceofcompetence.Forexample,inthelatestcommitteedraft[Ref.1]oftheinternationalstandardon‘Functionalsafetyofelectrical/electronic/programmableelectronicsafety-relatedsystems’(IEC61508),therequirementforstaffcompetenceisupgradedfromarecommendationtoamandatoryrequirementforcompliance.7Theformofthisguidanceisbasedonthatofanalreadypub...
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