COPA-DATA Zenon receives SIL 2 certification

January 22, 2015 - COPA-DATA received the "Safety Integrity Level 2" (SIL 2) certification and thus meets the requirements in accordance with the international standard IEC 61508 for the reliability of the safety functions of operational facilities. Companies that use zenon can achieve Safety Integrity Level 2 for their systems and infrastructures this way. This certification was carried out by TÜV Süd, an independent third party.

The "Safety Integrity Level" (SIL) serves to evaluate electrical, electronic or programmable electronic systems with regard to reliability and safety. SIL represents the potential risk that arises from people, systems and processes, and the benchmark for the required safety of the system, depending on the danger. There are four levels of safety integrity level, whereby level 4 is the highest safety integrity and level 1 is the lowest. The specification, concept and operation of safety-related systems is based on the IEC 61508 standard. Furthermore, various, partly industry-specific norms such as EN 50129 for railway applications have been derived from it.

Safety functions serve to protect people, the environment and also assets, and to avoid interruptions in operation and production. Typical safety functions are, for example, emergency-off switches or the monitoring of dangerous movements. If companies operate equipment with a safety-related function, they must define the necessary "Safety Integrity Level" for the respective safety function by analysing the potential of danger. In this analysis of scenarios, the failure and fault behavior of a system, for example, or the redundant design of the system are included. According to the SIL determination, plant operators select the suitable components and systems for their equipment, which can correspond to this safety requirement level.

The SIL 2 certification was carried out by TÜV Süd Rail from Munich, an independent and neutral body. As part of the certification, COPA-DATA's processes, procedures, tools, quality standards and documentation were tested to establish their suitability for safety-critical systems.

"For companies that operate industrial equipment or traffic infrastructure, it is important to guarantee safe operation and to adhere to international standards in the process," explained Reinhard Mayr, Product Manager at COPA-DATA. "With the certification, TÜV Süd has confirmed that we have the corresponding expertise to set up SIL 2-compliant processes and SIL 2-compliant systems and thus support our customers in the SIL certification of their equipment."

About  COPA-DATA

COPA-DATA is the technological leader for ergonomic and highly dynamic process solutions. The company, founded in 1987, develops the software zenon for HMI/SCADA, Dynamic Production Reporting and integrated PLC systems at its headquarters in Austria. zenon is sold through its own offices in Europe, North America and Asia, as well as partners and distributors throughout the world. Customers benefit from local contact persons and local support thanks to a decentralized corporate structure. As an independent company, COPA-DATA can act quickly and flexibly, continues to set new standards in functionality and ease of use and leads the market trends. Over 80,000 installed systems in more than 50 countries provide companies in the Food & Beverage, Energy & Infrastructure, Automotive and Pharmaceutical sectors with new scope for efficient automation.

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