Risk management of electromagnetic disturbances

Abstract

It is sometimes necessary to manage Functional Safety or other risks throughout the lifecycle of an electronic system. All electronics can be affected by electromagnetic (EM) disturbances, therefore such systems must take EM disturbances into account when managing risks. Modern digital electronics are so very complex, and the risk levels associated with Functional Safety are so small, that immunity testing is totally inadequate as the sole method of risk verification or validation. The IEC's ‘Basic Safety Standard’ on Functional Safety requires a risk-based approach to managing electromagnetic interference (EMI), and many product-family functional safety standards have been published with this requirement. None of these standards contained any detailed requirements for dealing with EM disturbances, which were first published as practical guidance by the IET in 2013. This guidance — the subject of this paper — is now being incorporated into IEC, IET and IEEE standards. This paper is an improved and updated version of a paper first presented at the 2016 IEEE EMC Symposium in Ottawa.