Functional Safety & Performance Level (PL) Compliance
We design, upgrade and project-manage industrial control systems with safety built in from the first line of the risk assessment — architected around SISTEMA and EN ISO 13849-1, and validated with certified functional safety partners.
Safety isn’t bolted on at the end — it’s designed in from day one
From concept and risk assessment through panel design, PLC and safety-PLC programming, installation, validation and handover, we manage control systems projects as a single accountable process — not a chain of separate suppliers. Every safety function is defined, calculated and documented before a single cabinet is wired.
Risk assessment
We identify hazards and determine the required Performance Level (PLr) for each safety function under EN ISO 12100 and EN ISO 13849-1.
Architecture & design
Control and safety architecture — category, redundancy and diagnostics — is selected to meet the required PL before detailed design begins.
SISTEMA modelling
Every safety function is modelled in SISTEMA to calculate the achieved PL, so the numbers are verified before anything is built.
Build, validate & handover
Panels are built, systems commissioned, and safety functions validated on-site, with full documentation handed over for your safety file.
Built around a SISTEMA-first philosophy
Our system architecture is built around the same methodology used to verify it. SISTEMA — the IFA’s free safety integrity software tool, developed with ZVEI and VDMA — models the structure of every safety-related part of a control system and calculates the Performance Level it actually achieves, based on four things:
- Category & architecture — how the safety function is structured (B, 1, 2, 3 or 4)
- MTTFd — mean time to dangerous failure of each component
- DCavg — average diagnostic coverage across the function
- CCF — resistance to common cause failure
Designing to this framework from the outset means the PL is a calculated, evidenced outcome — not an assumption.
Upgrading the safety performance of existing machinery
Older or modified machinery often falls short of the Performance Level a current risk assessment now requires. We audit existing safety functions, identify the gap between achieved and required PL, and deliver a practical upgrade path.
PL gap analysis
We assess existing safety functions against current risk assessments and standards to identify where PL falls short.
Upgrade path
From component swaps and added diagnostics to full re-architecture, we scope the most cost-effective route to the required PL.
Re-verification
Every upgrade is re-modelled in SISTEMA so the achieved PL is confirmed on paper before it’s confirmed on the floor.
Sign-off & documentation
Functional testing and full documentation are handed over to support your machine’s safety file and CE/UKCA record.
Working with certified functional safety partners
Our own SISTEMA modelling is only half of the picture. On projects that need it, we work alongside independent, certified functional safety specialists to verify Performance Level and Safety Integrity Level calculations, so your compliance record carries assurance beyond our own design team — and stands up to audit.
Proven where compliance can’t be an afterthought
Much of our control systems and inspection work is delivered into pharmaceutical and other GMP-regulated manufacturing environments, where product quality documentation and machine safety compliance have to stand side by side. That background shapes how we approach every project — with the traceability, validation evidence and documentation discipline regulated industries expect, applied to functional safety as much as to product quality.
Pharma & Life Sciences
Control systems and inspection built for GMP documentation standards and validated safety.
Food & Beverage
Safety-rated control systems for wash-down lines and high-speed production.
General Manufacturing
Control system upgrades and new-build projects across discrete and process manufacturing.
Ready to upgrade your safety Performance Level?
Talk to us about a control systems project, or a PL upgrade on existing machinery.
Start a conversationSISTEMA is a free safety integrity software tool developed by the IFA (Institut für Arbeitsschutz der Deutschen Gesetzlichen Unfallversicherung) in cooperation with ZVEI and VDMA, used to evaluate machine control systems against EN ISO 13849-1.