Writing an Effective Technical Safety Concept in Accordance with ISO26262

With the trend of increasing technological complexity, software content and mechatronic implementation, there are increasing risks from systematic failures and random hardware failures, which is to be considered within the scope of functional safety. ISO 26262 series of standards provides guidance to mitigate these risks by providing appropriate requirements and processes. To develop a safe product with respect to above mentioned complexities, it is very critical to develop a safe system and hence a thorough and robust “Technical Safety Concept” is very important to ensure absence of unreasonable risk due to hazards caused by malfunctions of E/E systems. ISO26262-Part 4 provides guidelines for “Product development at the system level”, to design safety-related systems that include one or more electrical and/or electronic (E/E) systems and that are installed in series production road vehicles. Defining requirements at system level for each individual technology and systematically integrating them for product validation is necessary for safe system and can be achieved by Technical Safety Concept development. ISO 26262 does not prescribe a specific methodology for Technical Safety Concept development; it provides general principles for ensuring safety in automotive systems. A well-crafted Technical Safety Concept plays a pivotal role in ensuring safety and minimizing risks throughout the product development lifecycle. In an iterative process, the Technical Safety Concept is developed incorporating Technical Safety Requirements and the System architectural design. The Technical safety requirements form the basis for deriving the hardware and software safety requirements that are then used by engineering teams for developing a safe product. This paper focuses on writing an effective TSC to avoid iterative system design changes at later stages, thereby saving on re-engineering costs. It also describes the process of developing a TSC and the practical challenges encountered during projects. Our findings highlight that a well-developed TSC not only ensures safety but also significantly reduces the need for costly design changes later in the development process. By addressing practical challenges and providing a structured approach, this paper offers valuable insights for developing an improved version of TSC.