Typical Machinery Sectors Where ISO 13849-1 Is Applied
2025/12/11
Building a Safer Future for Automation: An Introduction to ISO 13849-1 for Machinery Functional Safety
As manufacturing becomes increasingly automated, ensuring the safety of machinery control systems is more important than ever. ISO 13849-1 is an international standard that provides requirements and guidance for the design and integration of safety-related parts of control systems in machinery. It is widely applied to industrial robots, automated equipment, and other machinery involving significant hazards. This article introduces the core concepts of the standard and outlines practical evaluation principles that help manufacturers build safer and more compliant machines.
What is ISO 13849?
ISO 13849-1, Safety of machinery — Safety-related parts of control systems — Part 1: General principles for design, provides requirements and guidance for the design and integration of safety-related parts of control systems (SRP/CS) that perform safety functions. It is used to evaluate whether a safety-related control system can achieve the required Performance Level for a given safety function. The standard is widely applied to machinery such as industrial robots, machine tools, packaging equipment, and automated material-handling systems.
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| Product Standards That Explicitly Reference ISO 13849 |
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Why should manufacturers care?
ISO 13849-1 is widely used to design and evaluate safety-related control systems in machinery. It is especially relevant for equipment involving human-machine interaction, automatic movements, or hazardous energy. For manufacturers seeking access to international markets, applying ISO 13849-1 can support compliance with machinery safety requirements and strengthen confidence in the design of safety functions. It is commonly used across sectors such as robotics, packaging, machine tools, food processing, pharmaceuticals, and intralogistics.
How Is the Required Safety Level of Machinery Determined?
ISO 13849 determines the required Performance Level (PLr) of equipment based on a risk-based approach, which serves as the starting point for machinery safety design. The evaluation method is based on three key parameters to determine the PLr level. Performance Levels range from a to e, divided into five levels, where PL e represents the highest level and requires more rigorous control logic and protective mechanisms.
- S (Severity) : If an accident occurs, how serious would the consequences be? Would it result in a minor injury or be fatal?
- F (Frequency) : How frequently are personnel exposed to the hazard? Is it occasional operation or continuous exposure?
- P (Possibility of avoidance) : Is it easy to avoid the hazard or reduce the risk through design measures?
| ISO 13849-1 Core Concept: Determining the Performance Level (PLr) |
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| ISO 13849-1 determines the required Performance Level (PLr), also known as the target Performance Level, based on three risk factors :
S – Severity: S1 represents slight injury, while S2 represents serious injury or death. The classification principle is that the more severe the potential injury, the more frequent the exposure, and the more difficult it is to avoid the hazard, the higher the required PLr (ranging from PL a to PL e). PLr is determined through risk assessment and serves as the design target for safety functions. Finally, quantitative calculations and validation are conducted to determine the actual Performance Level (PL) achieved by each safety function. Each safety function must achieve a PL that is equal to or higher than the required PLr. |
Key Evaluation Factors for Safety-Related Control Systems
Once the required PLr level has been determined, the actual control system must be evaluated against several core parameters to verify whether it meets the target. Through these indicators, manufacturers can validate the integrity of safety functions within the control system and prevent major accidents caused by potential single-point failures. This ensures that ISO 13849 is not merely a paper-based requirement, but a true “safety assurance” implemented throughout the design and execution process.
- MTTFd (Mean Time to Dangerous Failure): Is the reliability of components sufficient to ensure safe long-term operation?
- DC (Diagnostic Coverage): When the control system fails, is there a designed capability to detect and respond to the fault?
- CCF (Common Cause Failure): Can simultaneous failures of similar components due to the same cause be prevented?
- System architecture and redundancy design: Does the control logic provide adequate fault tolerance?
- Software and parameter validation: Has the software logic within the operating system or control modules been thoroughly validated?
ISO 13849-1 – Key Evaluation Items
| Item | Description |
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| Performance Level (PL) | The performance level achieved by the safety function. |
| Category | Verification that the architecture (Category B to 4) meets the required fault tolerance and structural requirements. |
| Component Reliability (MTTFd) | Evaluation of whether the mean time to dangerous failure meets the required criteria. |
| Diagnostic Coverage (DC) | Assessment of whether dangerous failures can be effectively detected by diagnostic measures. |
| Common Cause Failure (CCF) | Verification that appropriate measures are implemented to prevent common cause failures. |
| Software Requirements | Assessment of whether the software development process adequately controls systematic failures. |
| Systematic Failures | Verification that the design and development process include measures to minimize systematic failures. |
| Environmental Conditions | Evaluation of the effects of environmental conditions on component and functional reliability. |
SGS Professional Support for ISO 13849 Machinery Functional Safety Compliance
Implementing ISO 13849 requires more than document preparation. It involves risk assessment, PLr determination, control system architecture review, component selection, diagnostic design, and validation of safety functions. The SGS Functional Safety and Cybersecurity Center provides professional technical support, from training and gap analysis to design review, documentation review, and testing support, helping manufacturers build safer and more compliant machines.
For more information, please contact us:📧 tom-tw.liu@sgs.com 📞+886 2 2299 3279 ext. 3661