Quality
Other Certifications
International Safety Standards
Critical Software works with a number of international safety standards and guidelines to ensure that the highest possible levels of safety are always achieved.
DO-178B & DO-254
DO-178B provides guidance and requirements for the development of safety-critical software for airborne systems. DO-254 contains similar principles but covers the hardware element. The documents are published by the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) and they are accepted by the FAA and CAA as a means of certifying software in avionics.
The intention of the guidelines is not to impose a specific development lifecycle model. Instead, they define the processes that must be followed and the objectives that must be achieved. As such, a robust evidential chain needs to be maintained to demonstrate compliance.
A new revision of DO-178B, called DO-178C, is scheduled for release in late 2010 or early 2011. This will include support for Formal Methods, Model Based Engineering and Object-Oriented Development.
Critical Software has developed both software and hardware applications to highest assurance level - Level A.
CENELEC EN 50126, EN 50128 & EN 50129
CENELEC, the European Committee for Electro technical Standardisation, has released design assurance standards for the development of railway systems.
EN 50126 specifies the process to be used for the implementation of a consistent approach for the management of reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety. EN 50128 specifies the methods to be used to ensure that software is developed according to the required Safety Integrity Level. EN 50129 species the approval process to be followed to certify that a safety-critical system meets the required Safety Integrity Level.
Critical Software has developed both software and hardware applications to SIL 4 - the highest integrity level.
IEC 61508
IEC 61508 is an international standard to provide functional safety across a number of different industries. The standard covers the entire safety life cycle (consisting of 16 phases grouped into analysis, realisation and operation) but is often tailored for specific industries.
DEF STAN OO-55/56
OO-55 and OO-56 are defence standards that provide requirements for the development of safety-critical systems and are used on MoD projects. The standards identify the safety objectives and activities necessary in order to develop defence systems with acceptable levels of safety. Assurance is achieved through the collection of evidence and the construction of a defensible safety case.
