ISO 26262-8-2018 PDF

Full title and description

ISO 26262-8:2018 — Road vehicles — Functional safety — Part 8: Supporting processes. This part of ISO 26262 specifies requirements for the supporting processes used to implement functional safety for safety-related electrical/electronic (E/E) systems in series-production road vehicles. It addresses process topics such as interfaces in distributed developments, management of safety requirements, configuration and change management, verification, documentation management, tool confidence and qualification of components.

Abstract

ISO 26262-8:2018 provides a framework of supporting processes intended to be applied during the safety lifecycle of E/E safety-related systems installed in series-production road vehicles (excluding mopeds). It focuses on processes that support technical development (e.g., verification, tool confidence, component qualification) and organizational capability (e.g., documentation management, change/configuration management, interfaces for distributed development). The edition published in December 2018 tailors requirements for integration of existing systems and alterations to products already in production.

General information

• Status: Published (current edition).
• Publication date: 17 December 2018.
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• ICS / categories: 43.040.10 (road vehicles — functional safety / electronics).
• Edition / version: Edition 2 (2018), replaces the 2011 edition.
• Number of pages: 60 pages.

(General information above is taken from the ISO bibliographic record for ISO 26262-8:2018.)

Scope

ISO 26262-8:2018 applies to safety-related systems that include one or more electrical and/or electronic (E/E) systems installed in series-production road vehicles. The part addresses hazards caused by malfunctioning behaviour of safety-related E/E systems (including interactions among such systems) and specifies supporting-process requirements that complement the product-level requirements in other parts of ISO 26262. It does not cover hazards unrelated to E/E malfunction (for example, most physical-chemistry hazards) unless they are directly caused by E/E malfunction. The part also includes guidance for tailoring the safety lifecycle for alterations to existing production systems and for integrating systems not originally developed to ISO 26262.

Key topics and requirements

• Interfaces and coordination in distributed development and supply chains (roles, responsibilities, data handover).
• Management of safety requirements and traceability across lifecycle phases.
• Configuration management and change management processes for safety-related items.
• Verification planning, independent verification and documentation of verification results.
• Documentation management and required work products to demonstrate compliance.
• Confidence in the use of software tools (tool classification and qualification activities).
• Qualification of software components and evaluation of hardware elements (including reuse and integration of existing components).
• Proven-in-use evidence and arguments for components already in series production.
• Processes for interfacing applications that are out of scope of ISO 26262 and for integrating safety-related systems developed outside ISO 26262.
• Annex material providing objectives, prerequisites and recommended work products for supporting processes.

These topics are specified as process requirements and objectives to ensure consistent implementation of functional safety across organizations and supply chains.

Typical use and users

Typical users include automotive OEMs, Tier‑1 and Tier‑2 suppliers, system integrators, functional safety managers and engineers, configuration/change managers, verification and validation teams, tool vendors, and certification/assessment bodies. The part is used to define and audit supporting processes that enable compliance with the broader ISO 26262 functional safety lifecycle.

Related standards

ISO 26262-8 is one part of the ISO 26262 (2018) series covering functional safety for road vehicles (parts 1–10, with additional guideline/amendment parts). Complementary and related standards commonly used together with ISO 26262 include ISO 21448 (Safety of the Intended Functionality, successor to ISO/PAS 21448) for SOTIF considerations and ISO/SAE 21434:2021 (Road vehicles — Cybersecurity engineering) for cybersecurity lifecycle requirements; practitioners often reference IEC 61508 for general functional safety principles where applicable.

Keywords

functional safety; ISO 26262; supporting processes; verification; configuration management; change management; tool qualification; component qualification; proven in use; automotive safety; E/E systems.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 26262-8:2018 is Part 8 of the ISO 26262 series and specifies requirements for the supporting processes needed to implement functional safety for safety-related electrical/electronic systems in series-production road vehicles.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers process-level requirements such as interfaces in distributed developments, safety requirements management, configuration and change management, verification and documentation practices, confidence in software tools, qualification of software and hardware components, and proven-in-use evidence for reused components.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Automotive OEMs, suppliers, system integrators, functional safety engineers and managers, verification teams, tool vendors and assessors use this part to define, implement and assess supporting processes required by the ISO 26262 safety lifecycle.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: ISO 26262-8:2018 is the current second edition (published 17 December 2018) and supersedes the 2011 first edition (which has been withdrawn). Users should check national adoption or amendments and any revisions announced by ISO after 2018 for the latest status.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it is Part 8 of the ISO 26262 series (2018 edition), which comprises multiple parts addressing vocabulary, management, concept, system/hardware/software development, production/operation/service/decommissioning, supporting processes, ASIL-oriented analyses and guidelines.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Key keywords are functional safety, supporting processes, configuration management, change management, verification, tool qualification, component qualification, proven-in-use, E/E systems, automotive safety.