ABB gains highest certification for functional safety management

ABB reported Oct. 30 that TÜV Rheinland has awarded Maturity Level 5 (ML5) certification to the functional safety management system (FSMS) provided by ABB Energy Industries at its Safety Execution Centers (SEC) in Germany, Italy, Norway and Singapore, which deliver lifecycle safety support to hazardous industries. ML5 is an approach and concept applied by TÜV Rheinland for evaluating and auditing high-level KPI performances.

ABB’s approach to functional safety follows international standards IEC 61508 and IEC 61511, which ensure that safety instrumented systems (SIS) are fit for purpose, rigorously tested and maintained to perform reliably when needed. Achieving FSMS certification based on ML5 by TÜV Rheinland confirms that ABB applies optimized processes and structures documenting compliance with IEC 61511.

“ABB consistently demonstrates a strong commitment to functional safety,” says Wolf Rückwart, area business field manager for Functional Safety and Cybersecurity at TÜV Rheinland. “For more than a decade, ABB has continually advanced its functional safety management systems in line with the related standard’s requirements. Achieving Maturity Level 5 for its FSMS reflects ABB’s robust application and implementation of defined processes and structures.”

The SECs provide customers with local, competent functional safety resources for SIS projects and lifecycle needs, including operation and maintenance, design, engineering and retrofit work. ABB aligns its functional safety objectives with customer business goals with an approach that uses performance data to deliver reliable outcomes, and goes beyond compliance to anticipate future industrial safety and cyber security requirements.

“Safety is fundamental to industrial operations at a time of growing energy demand,” adds Rinol Pereira, head of product and technology at ABB’s Energy Industries division. “Our role is to help customers operate with confidence by combining automation, electrification and digitalization to reduce risk, enhance reliability and protect people and assets. This ML5 certification, achieved following rigorous assessment by TÜV Rheinland, demonstrates our leadership in functional safety today and our commitment to advancing the standards of the future.”