
Anyone who wants the entire ISO 26262 series of standards at a discounted rate can get the ISO 26262 – Road Vehicles Functional Safety Package.
One century ago, the Model T, which is considered the first mass-produced automobile, was powered by an electrical system consisting of an internal magneto coil and magnet system fixed to the flywheel of the engine. The magneto provided current to the four ignition coils (one for each cylinder), which in turn intensified the electrical charge to create a powerful spark at the spark plug. In 1919, this electrical system, which previously only featured the ignition system, was supplemented with a starter, generator, and electric lighting.
Today, the electrical and/or electronic (E/E) systems within automobiles are far more complex. Fundamentally, they consist of a battery, starter, and alternator.
The IEC 61508 series of standards specifies any electronic safety-related system. In the development of road vehicles, safety is one of the key issues, as there is an unequivocal need and desire to prevent human harm. Vehicles also face numerous issues unique to the automotive sector, and, as time passes by, they face increasing technological complexity, software content, and mechatronic implementation. To meet the specific needs of electrical and/or electronic systems within road vehicles, ISO 26262 was adapted from the IEC 61508 series.
To provide functional safety, the ISO 26262 series provides a reference for and supports the tailoring of activities throughout the automotive safety lifecycle phases (development, production, operation, service, and decommissioning), provides an automotive-specific risk based approach to determine integrity levels called Automotive Safety Integrity Levels (ASILs) and uses ASILs to specify how to avoid reasonable residual risk, addresses the relation between customers and suppliers, and addresses functional safety management, design, implementation, verification, validation, and confirmation measures.
In 2018, the ISO 26262 series underwent a massive update, with all ten parts of the family of standards being revised from their respective 2011 editions. Two entirely new standards were also added. In general, the ISO 26262 standards were changed by adding stipulations for trucks, buses, trailers, semitrailers, and motorcycles, as well as guidance on model-based development and software safety analysis, dependent failure analysis, semiconductors, fault tolerance, safety-related special characteristics, and software tools. The 2018 editions also contain extended vocabulary, more-detailed objectives, objective-oriented confirmation measures, information on managing safety anomalies, references to cyber security, updated values for hardware architecture metrics, and the means to evaluate hardware elements. The ISO 26262 series was also restructured for improved clarity.
All twelve parts of ISO 26262 are detailed below. You can get all these standards together as the ISO 26262 – Road Vehicles Functional Safety Package.
ISO 26262-1:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 1: Vocabulary
The first part of this series, like the other eleven standards, is intended to be applied to safety-related systems that include E/E systems and are installed in series production road vehicles, excluding mopeds. Its part in describing the framework for functional safety while developing safety-related E/E systems is by delineating associated vocabulary. In this way, it supports the entire series of standards. This standard also features figures and visuals, when applicable.
You can download ISO 26262-1:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
ISO 26262-2:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 2: Management Of Functional Safety
Part 2 also supports the entire suite of standards. It specifies functional safety management for automotive applications, including overall safety management—project-independent information associated with the organizations involved—and project-specific information related to management activities in the safety lifecycle, including management during the lifecycle’s various phases. Annex A of this document details an overview of objectives of the particular lifecycle phases.
You can download ISO 26262-2:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
ISO 26262-3:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 3: Concept Phase
The third part of the ISO 26262 series details processes that would come early on in assuring the functional safety of road vehicles. This is the concept phase, and it features item definition, hazard analysis and risk assessment, and the functional safety concept.
You can download ISO 26262-3:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
ISO 26262-4:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 4: Product Development At The System Level
Part 4 addresses a range of topics in specifying product development at the system level for automotive applications. This standard includes general topics for initiating product development at the system level, specifications for technical safety, the technical safety concept, system architectural design, item integration and testing, and safety validation.
You can download ISO 26262-4:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
ISO 26262-5:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 5: Product Development At The Hardware Level
Part 5 deals with product development at the hardware level for automotive applications. This includes general topics, specifications for hardware safety, hardware design, the evaluation of the hardware architectural metrics, the evaluation of safety goal violations due to random hardware failures, and hardware integration and verification.

You can download ISO 26262-5:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
ISO 26262-6:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 6: Product Development At The Software Level
Alternatively, part 6 deals with product development at the software level, including general topics on this subject, specifications for software safety, software architectural design, software unit design and implementation, software unit verification, software integration and verification, and testing embedded software.
You can download ISO 26262-6:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
ISO 26262-7:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 7: Production, Operation, Service And Decommissioning
Part seven addresses the production, operation, service, and decommissioning stages of the automotive safety lifecycle, and it includes related planning activities.
You can download ISO 26262-7:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
ISO 26262-8:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 8: Supporting Processes
This standard specifies various supporting processes for the functional safety in the development of safety-related E/E systems. These processes include interfaces within distributed developments, safety management, configuration management, change management, verification, documentation management, confidence in the use of software tools, qualification of software components, evaluation of hardware elements, proven in-use argument, interfacing an application that is out of scope of ISO 26262, and integration of safety-related systems not developed in accordance with ISO 26262.
You can download ISO 26262-8:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
ISO 26262-9:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 9: Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL)-Oriented And Safety-Oriented Analyses
In specifying Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL)-oriented and safety-oriented analyses, this standard covers decomposition with respect to ASIL tailoring, criteria for coexistence of elements, analysis of dependent failures, and safety analyses.
You can download ISO 26262-9:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
ISO 26262-10:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 10: Guidelines On ISO 26262
Intended to be informative and facilitate comprehension with other parts of the series, part ten provides an overview of the ISO 26262 series and gives additional explanations. However, while this standard is meant to enhance understanding of the general concepts of the other standards, it is noted that:
“In the case of inconsistencies between this document and another part of the ISO 26262 series of standards, the requirements, recommendations and information specified in the other part of the ISO 26262 series of standards apply.”
You can download ISO 26262-10:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
ISO 26262-11:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 11: Guidelines On Application Of ISO 26262 To Semiconductors
Having an informative character only, this new standard document contains possible interpretations of other ISO 26262 standards associated with semiconductor development. However, its content is not exhaustive with regard to possible interpretations.
You can download ISO 26262-11:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
ISO 26262-12:2018 – Road Vehicles – Functional Safety – Part 12: Adaptation Of ISO 26262 For Motorcycles
Part twelve, which was also first published in 2018, differs from the remainder of the series. While ISO 26262 addresses safety-related systems including E/E systems installed in series production road vehicles, this standard is specifically focused on adapting these stipulations to motorcycles. In meeting this purpose, it covers general topics for the adaptation of motorcycles, safety culture, confirmation measures, hazard analysis and risk assessment, vehicle integration and testing, and safety validation.
You can download ISO 26262-12:2018 from the ANSI Webstore.
The ISO 26262 – Road Vehicles Functional Safety Package is available on the ANSI Webstore.