brochure:

request brochure of DO-178B services

  

DO-178B / Defense Standard 00-55 / 00-56

EmbVUE Inc. provides software engineering services for embedded applications especially for development processes which must follow established standards.

We provide both onsite and offsite engineering services and can provide a complete team for the entire project life-cycle or expertise in areas of
specific need for a project.

We work with clients to ensure projects meet         DO-178B guidelines and Def Stand 00-55 & 00-56 requirements.

Safety critical software has been traditionally associated with embedded control systems. The scope of safety critical software has been expanding into many other types of systems.

For example Fly-by-wire / drive-by-wire control systems where the operator inputs commands to the control computer and the computer manipulates the actual controls. Railway signaling systems must enable operators to direct trains while preventing trains from colliding. Software medical systems may be directly responsible for human life, such as metering safe amounts of x-rays. Software may also be involved in providing humans with information which a doctor may use to decide on medication. Both types of systems can impact the safety of the patient. Within vehicles, software involved in functions such as engine management, anti-lock brakes, traction control could potentially fail in a way which increases the likelihood of accidents.

The concept of 'safety-critical' is not absolute; failure of some systems will not impact safety, failure of other systems could occasionally result in minor injuries, and failure of some systems could lead to disasters. The level of safety integrity required varies from none through to a very high level of integrity.

Standards for safety critical software have now standardized on a scale of five levels of safety integrity, with an integrity level of 4 being "very high" down to a level of 0 for a system which is not safety rated. The term "safety related" is used to collectively refer to integrity levels 1 to 4.

Standard	Description
ISO 9001 Quality Systems - Model for Quality Assurance in Design/Development, Production, Installation & Servicing	Recommended minimum standard of quality system for software with safety integrity level of 0 and an essential prerequisite for higher integrity levels
IEC 1508 Functional Safety - Safety Related Systems	General standard which is the precursor for most other safety related software standards
EN50128 Railway Applications - Software for Railway Control & Protection Systems	Standard used in the railway industry
IEC 880 Software for Computers in the Safety Systems of Nuclear Power Stations	Standard used in the nuclear industry
RTCA/DO-178B Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification	Standard used in avionics and airborne systems
MISRA C Development Guidelines for Vehicle Based Software	Coding standard issued by the Motor Industry Software Reliability Association for automotive software
Defence Standard 00-55 The Procurement of Safety Critical Software in Defence Equipment	Detailed software standard for safety critical defence equipment
Defence Standard 00-56 Safety Management Considerations for Defence Systems Containing Programmable Electronics	UK MoD standard for the defence industry