MAY 2023AUTOTECHOUTLOOK.COM19Finding and retaining capable and motivated employees, especially those with a functional safety background, will become increasingly difficult in the coming years; therefore, every company should start changing its mindset and increase awareness of this riskHarming the company's reputation is the worst risk that should always be taken into consideration and thus avoided. Losing the trust of customers would unleash a dangerous domino effect: from the difficulty in securing new orders to the consequent loss of valuable employees and knowledge, ending with the inevitable bad publicity on the job market and making employers increasingly hungry for trained technicians. Finding and retaining capable and motivated employees, especially those with a functional safety background, will become increasingly difficult in the coming years; therefore, every company should start changing its mindset and increase awareness of this risk.\The Most Popular Shortcut: Skipping TestsReducing the test campaign or modifying the scope of the tests is the most requested shortcut by company management to meet customer deadlines. In my work experience, I have had to deal with this request several times, listening to the most varied reasons and excuses. I haven't always been able to stem this request, but the results have certainly confirmed how right I was in opposing it with all my might. Yes, because ISO 26262 does not require anything strange or mystical: the request for full validation at all SYS/HW/SW levels for complex (and dangerous) systems is the result of the desire to prevent all the previously mentioned risks, and this should be the will of all top management.The developed system should be tested in its entirety, incrementally, considering all requirements, both customer and own, because a reduced test campaign (carried out only on the own test bench) will certainly result in an exaggerated number of bugs during the vehicle validation made by the customer. This is because the external environment, the other control units, the unpredictable use of the user, and the errors of the other subsystems will all be sources of disturbance and will certainly trigger errors in the system.For this reason, I firmly believe that spending the time necessary to carry out a full validation actually saves time instead of carrying out many small test campaigns to chase after the bug fixes that will inevitably emerge during the customer's tests.The Recipe Against Harmful ShortcutsUnfortunately, there is no single truth. There are many ways organizations can try to balance security and time constraints when implementing functional safety, but this is my personal recipe.Improve the Safety CultureIt's not a cliche: introductory training for new hires, advanced courses with certifying bodies provided to all employees involved, including middle and top management, and coaching with the functional safety team are all ways to prevent the urge to look for dangerous shortcuts.Start from the BeginningFunctional safety must be considered and discussed (including with customers) starting from the RFQ (request for quote) phase. This ensures that all parties are on the same page, that safety is a priority from the start, and that no surprises will come too late in the development.The importance of Proof of ConceptThe POC phase (or proto-A phase) is increasingly abandoned by OEMs because it is considered useless and expensive, but it should be re-evaluated because it would allow many of the problems to be anticipated, especially in terms of functional safety.The Right SkillsThe functional safety team must be made up of experts with solid technical foundations, divided by area of expertise, to technically validate and support the product development and not just the process formally. This ensures that the team is well-equipped to handle any safety concerns that may arise.Cooperation, not struggle for survivalThe Functional Safety team should be seen as a support to the company, as a help, as a friend to ask for a hand, not as a troublemaker to whom you need to give a sop, or hide the problems.Simplify Without CuttingThe testing process can and should be reviewed considering the available tools and the complexities of the products, but without losing sight of the fact that not testing today means testing more tomorrow. By simplifying the process, companies can reduce the risk of errors without cutting corners.Be Realistic and TransparentCompanies should set realistic deadlines, allocate sufficient resources, and, above all, be transparent with their customers if requests are impossible without taking shortcuts. This ensures that both parties are aware of the risks and can make informed decisions. In the end, the "better safe than sorry" philosophy always wins.
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