Safety Critical Computer Systems

Description
Increasingly microcomputers are being used in applications where their correct operation is vital to ensure the safety of the public and the environment: from anti-lock braking systems in automobiles, to fly-by-wire aircraft, to shut-down systems at nuclear power plants. It is, therefore, vital that engineers be aware of the safety implications of the systems they develop.

This book is an introduction to the field of safety-critical computer systems written for any engineer who uses microcomputers within real-time embedded systems. It assumes no prior knowledge of safety, or of any specific computer hardware or programming language.

This text is intended for both engineering and computer science students, and for practising engineers within computer related industries. The approach taken is equally suited to engineers who consider computers from a hardware, software or systems viewpoint.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Safety criteria
3. Hazard analysis Risk analysis Developing safety critical systems
4. Fault tolerance
5. System reliability
6. Safety critical hardware
7. Safety critical software
8. Programmable logic controllers (PLC) Formal methods
9. Testing
10. Verification and validation
11. Quality management
12. Certification
13. Commercial integrity systems

Features

• Discusses the use and requirements of safety critical systems and their general design principles.
• Presents a number of real-life safety critical systems for discussion.
• Covers all phases of the life of a safety-critical system from its conceptions and specification, through to its certification, installation, service and decommissioning.
• Provides information on how to assess the safety implications of projects and to determine the measures necessary to develop systems to meet safety needs.
• Gives a thorough grounding in the techniques available to investigate the safety aspects of computer-based systems and the methods that may be used to enhance their dependability.
• Uses case studies and worked examples from a wide range of industrial sectors including the nuclear, aircraft, automotive and consumer products industries to illustrate the material.