AiVibeIEC 62061
IEC 62061 is the international standard for functional safety of safety-related control systems on machinery, specifying requirements for their design, integration and validation and expressing integrity as a Safety Integrity Level up to SIL 3.
IEC 62061 is the machinery-sector application of the IEC 61508 principles. Starting from the risk assessment described in ISO 12100, the designer specifies each safety function, determines its required SIL from the severity of harm, the frequency and duration of exposure, the probability of a hazardous event and the possibility of avoidance, and then designs subsystems for sensing, logic and actuation. The achieved integrity is verified through architectural constraints, the probability of dangerous failure per hour (PFH) and measures against systematic failures.
Machine builders use IEC 62061 to design safety-related control systems, often alongside or as an alternative to ISO 13849-1, particularly for complex programmable safety systems built around safety PLCs, safety networks and drive safety functions.
Applying IEC 62061 requires reliability data for components, typically taken from manufacturers' safety documentation, and software tools are available for PFH calculations. The standard covers SIL 1 to SIL 3, since SIL 4 is not considered relevant to machinery risks. Validation, documentation and management of change are mandatory parts of compliance, and the work requires competent, qualified personnel.
Key points
- Machinery-sector functional safety standard based on IEC 61508 principles
- Integrity is expressed as SIL 1 to SIL 3
- Required SIL derives from severity, exposure, probability and avoidance
- Verification uses PFH, architectural constraints and systematic measures
- Often used alongside or instead of ISO 13849-1
Where AiVibe comes in
AiVibe designs and manufactures the AiAmbA AI Factory, whose edge devices and AI agents let people talk to PLC, CNC and robot controllers in plain language. Agents only propose changes, a trained operator confirms each one, and the AI Factory never replaces a machine's control or safety systems.
Related terms
- IEC 61508PLC & Industrial Control
- ISO 13849 and Performance Level (PL)PLC & Industrial Control
- Safety Integrity Level (SIL)PLC & Industrial Control
- Functional SafetyPLC & Industrial Control
- Safety PLCPLC & Industrial Control
- Safe Torque Off (STO)PLC & Industrial Control