Compliance with ISO 26262 Causing Headaches? Here’s help.

The vast increase in the software content of automobiles along with stringent requirements for safety and reliability has added complexity to the process of development and compliance with standards. Any serious operation will require tools to track development and document compliance.

Software code is a major component of any car or truck in production today and when that code works, vehicles can parallel park themselves, automatically adjust speeds, and switch from electric to gas power in an instant. When code fails, however, tragedy can occur. In one recent example, faulty electronic throttle source code was blamed for causing unintended acceleration, leading to a wrongful death suit.

As a result of the injuries or deaths caused by these types of events and because of the cost of litigation, governments, automakers, and consumers are now placing a much greater emphasis on safety. Safety has become a significant factor in the development of automobile systems and, with the ever increasing use of E/E/PE systems in areas such as driver assistance, braking and steering systems and safety systems, this significance is set to increase.

Guidelines for Assessing Risk

The ISO 26262 standard provides detailed industry-specific guidelines for the production of all software for automotive systems and equipment, whether it is safety critical or not. It also provides a risk-management approach including the determination of risk classes, known as automotive safety integrity levels (ASILs) which are similar in nature to the safety integrity levels (SILs) specified in the IEC 61508 standard.

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