Software Encoded Processing for SIL3 Cloud Safety Execution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial safety systems face challenges in achieving high Safety Integrity Levels (SIL) ratings when migrated to cloud-based solutions using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, as these systems lack the redundancy and reliability required by industrial safety standards.
Innovation Solution
Implementing software encoded processing (SEP) to redundantly execute safety processing and communication code, ensuring fault detection independent of hardware, thereby achieving SIL3 ratings even on non-safety-rated hardware.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If cloud-based solutions using commercial off-the-shelf hardware are used, then system complexity and cost are reduced, but safety integrity level and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the safety-critical processing from the non-safety-critical cloud infrastructure. A dedicated safety execution environment is created within the cloud platform, isolating safety functions from general-purpose computing resources. This segmentation allows COTS hardware to be used while maintaining SIL3 integrity for safety functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary safety execution environment that acts as a mediator between the cloud infrastructure and safety applications. This intermediary layer provides the necessary isolation and control to achieve SIL3 ratings on non-safety-rated hardware by preventing interference from the underlying COTS platform.
2Adaptability or versatility
If cloud-based solutions are used, then accessibility and scalability are improved, but fault detection capability and safety reliability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary fault detection mechanisms within the safety execution environment. Before safety-critical operations are performed, the system pre-configures validation rules and monitoring mechanisms that automatically detect faults in real-time, ensuring that accessibility features do not compromise safety monitoring capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes feedback loops within the safety execution environment that continuously monitor system state and provide real-time fault detection. This feedback mechanism ensures that even in a distributed cloud architecture, safety-critical faults are detected and reported with the same reliability as traditional safety systems.
3Reliability
If software encoded processing is implemented, then safety integrity level is improved, but processing complexity and computational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies software encoded processing selectively only to safety-critical code paths within the safety execution environment, rather than entire systems. This localized application of encoding reduces overall processing complexity while maintaining SIL3 integrity where it is most needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of code representation by encoding safety-critical instructions in a specialized format that enables automatic validation. This parameter change allows the system to detect faults through the encoding structure itself, reducing the need for complex external validation logic.
Data Source
AI summary
A cloud-based industrial safety system executes safety applications and interfaces with industrial assets on the plant floor using software encoded processing (SEP). The use of SEP ensures safety reliable execution of safety applications and data communication software by redundantly executing native code, thereby implementing a level of software-based fault detection that is independent of the hardware on which the safety application operates. This allows the cloud-based industrial safety applications to achieve at least SIL3 safety ratings for safety services even though the safety applications are executed using standard COTS hardware that is commonplace in the server market. The use of SEP to reliably execute safety software on the cloud can make possible a wide variety of safety applications that would be difficult to implement using purely localized industrial safety systems.