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Glossary · Safety standards

ISO 13849-1

Also known as: ISO 13849-1:2023, EN ISO 13849-1

German: ISO 13849-1

ISO 13849-1 is the international standard for the design and integration of safety-related parts of control systems (SRP/CS) of machines. It expresses the ability of a safety function to perform under foreseeable conditions as a Performance Level (PL a to e), determined from Category, MTTFd, diagnostic coverage and measures against common-cause failure.

  • Standards
  • Technical documentation

In one sentence

ISO 13849-1 sets design principles for safety-related parts of control systems, rated in Performance Levels a to e and Categories B to 4.

Example

For the interlocked door of a robot cell, the engineer determines a PLr of d, designs a Category 3 architecture with two channels, and calculates MTTFd and DC to verify that PL d is achieved.

How it applies

  • Functional safety: For each safety function, the required Performance Level (PLr) is determined from the risk; the design is then verified to achieve at least that PL through the Categories B, 1, 2, 3, 4, MTTFd, DC, CCF and systematic measures, including software.
  • Scope: The standard covers all technologies (electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical), which is one reason it is widely used by machine builders.
  • Technical documentation: The safety requirements specification, the PL verification and the validation results belong in the technical file. User information must describe how to maintain the safety functions, such as proof intervals or checks that the calculation assumes.
  • Validation: Validation is covered by ISO 13849-2.

ISO 13849-1 vs. IEC 62061

Both standards address the functional safety of machine control systems. ISO 13849-1 uses PL a to e and Categories; IEC 62061 uses SIL up to SIL 3. A manufacturer chooses the approach per safety function and documents the choice; mixing both requires care when combining subsystems.

By knowledge.aitechdoc.world · Published September 25, 2026 · Last reviewed

Source: ISO 13849-1:2023, Safety of machinery — Safety-related parts of control systems — Part 1: General principles for design

Definitions follow the cited standards and specifications. Where a source is a copyrighted publication, such as an ISO, IEC or EN standard, the definition is a close paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation, so as not to infringe copyright. We recommend reading the original publication. The sections “How it applies” are editorial commentary by AI TechDoc Blog and are not part of any standard.

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