2007 Press Releases-07

Tokyo, Japan - April 9, 2007

Yokogawa Obtains FSM Certification
for Its Safety Instrumented System Engineering Operations

Yokogawa Electric Corporation and its subsidiary Yokogawa India Ltd. announce that their safety instrumented system engineering operations have obtained Functional Safety Management (FSM) certification from TÜV Rheinland, a German certification body.

FSM is defined by the IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 international standards (*1). These standards clarify the responsibilities of engineering organizations and their personnel to ensure that users are provided high-quality safety instrumented systems. To obtain FSM certification, all engineering-related operations including customization for individual users and assessment must qualify.

Safety instrumented systems play a role in preventing accidents by detecting abnormal conditions in plant operations and safely performing necessary emergency actions such as a shutdown. At large oil, petrochemical, and natural gas plants, the requirement for safety is greatly increased, so users place a high priority on purchasing safety instrumented systems from suppliers that have FSM certification.

For these reasons, Yokogawa focuses on improving the quality of the engineering operations for its safety instrumented systems, and these efforts have resulted in FSM certification. Yokogawa's ProSafe-RS Safety-Instrumented System has already been certified by TÜV Rheinland to safety integrity level (SIL) 3 (*2). This additional certification of the engineering operations attests to the increased reliability of Yokogawa's safety instrumentation solutions. By having high-quality engineering operations that ensure the provision of highly reliable system products, Yokogawa aims to strengthen its relationships with customers and expand its safety instrumentation business.

*1: IEC 61508 and IEC 61511
IEC 61508 is a standard for the functional safety of electronic devices that was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). IEC 61511 is a standard that is based on the IEC 61508 standard for the functional safety of oil, petrochemical, and natural gas process automation.

*2: Safety Integrity Level (SIL) and SIL3
The SIL is an indicator defined by IEC 61508 for the purpose of risk reduction. SIL3 means that the risk factor for a plant can be reduced to 1/1000 or less.