Synopsis
The first of the twelve planned workshops took place in Oslo with 25 delegates representing a good mix of end-users, suppliers and engineering service providers. There was a significant representation from the offshore, oil and gas industry and much of the work was centred on particular issues faced in this industry. Many topics were discussed reflecting the importance and status of the standard. Amongst the issues identified were the need to integrate the standard’s life cycle within an organization’s project life cycle; establish safety requirements in a timely manner; difficulties in implementing the standard for safety functions with multiple safe states; confusion and often duplication in verification, validation, assessment and audit activities; difficulties in calibrating risk graphs and availability of up-to-date reliability data for wetted end equipment. The significant experiences of the attendees at this first workshop and their willingness to share experiences and material put the project on a firm footing.

Speakers
The main speakers provided views from opposite sides of the regulatory fence and helped to generate stimulating discussion on a variety of topics related to the content, interpretation and application of the standard.

IEC 61508 in the Kristin Project (STATOLI)
Bente Skari of AkerKvaerner