For functional safety engineers working with IEC 61508 and IEC 61511
249 Members · 20+ Countries · Active weekly

Stop making high-stakes functional safety decisions alone.

You’re in a design review. The SIL claim looks optimistic. The schedule is slipping. And everyone in the room is waiting for your sign-off. You need a technical position you can defend.

The Functional Safety Playbook is a professional toolkit and peer community where engineers discuss real project scenarios, verify technical assumptions, and share the procedures and tools that save days of work.

Engineers inside nuclear, oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, chemical processing and space already use the Playbook to sense-check difficult decisions.

249 engineers • 20+ countries • active technical discussions weekly

249Members
83%Engagement
100%Paying Member Retention
20+Countries

“Forums like this are great for me to reach out for confidence checks more than anything. Never seen anything quite like it before.”

Anth Gunn — I&C and Functional Safety Engineer, UK
The Reality

Most functional safety engineers are the only specialist in the room.

Forums rarely help. Colleagues often don’t have the background. And the standards leave genuine room for interpretation.

The difficult situations usually involve:

Challenging a vendor SIL claimThe vendor says SIL 2. The architecture doesn’t quite support it. Where do you draw the line?
Defending a design rejectionYou know something isn’t right. You need to defend that position technically and commercially.
Grey areas in the standardIEC 61508 and IEC 61511 leave genuine room for interpretation. Not all interpretations are equal.
Explaining risk under schedule pressureThe technical position needs to be defensible to people who don’t speak the language.

These decisions affect project schedule, cost, and safety. And most engineers end up making them alone.

The Solution

Premium membership.
Stop making the hard calls alone.

Every functional safety engineer eventually faces the same moment: A design that doesn’t quite sit right. A SIL claim that feels optimistic. A schedule that’s pushing you to sign off faster than you’d like. And you’re the only specialist in the room.

For less than one hour of engineering time per month, you get:

So when the pressure is on, you have somewhere credible to take the question.

Join Premium — $59/month (~£47) →

Join now, download what you need, and cancel anytime if it’s not useful.

Included
Decision Review Live
Included
SILVerify
Included
Full Document Library
Included
Weekly Discussions
Recent Discussions

Real project scenarios. Every week.

These are the exact conversations most engineers have internally — but rarely have the right peers available to discuss with.

Burner management system SIL claim

Vendor claiming SIL 2 capability with dual transmitters sharing an impulse line. Whether the shared element wipes out the independence claim.

Proof test interval justification

How extended proof test intervals affect SIL verification assumptions. When the as-found test results change the picture.

LOPA vs SIL verification mismatch

When independent protection layers appear acceptable in LOPA but the detailed SIL verification fails. Where the discrepancy lives.

Brownfield upgrade scenario

Handling vendor SIL certificates when the installed architecture differs from the certified design. What’s still valid and what isn’t.

“Forums like this are great for confidence checks. Never seen anything quite like it — real access to material and live engineers.”
Anth Gunn — I&C and Functional Safety Engineer, UK
“What stands out is the mix of practical IEC 61508/61511 resources, useful tools, and credible discussion around real project decisions. That’s hard to find, and highly relevant to engineers doing live project work.”
James Hewitt — Exida CFSP
“This feels much more practical than most online groups. It gives engineers useful documents, tools, and informed discussion around real project problems, which makes it a genuinely useful resource.”
Robert Haynes — EC&I Engineer
What Premium Includes

Four things that make a difference on real projects.

Decision Review Live

Bring a real scenario from your project. These sessions exist for exactly the moments forums cannot help with.

  • Reviewing a SIL architecture before sign-off
  • Challenging whether a vendor SIL claim is valid
  • Interpreting a grey area in IEC 61511
  • Defending a technical position internally

You leave with a stronger, more defensible technical position.

SILVerify — automated SIL verification

Most engineers still build SIL calculations manually. A 10-SIF project can take 2–3 days of spreadsheet work.

SILVerify ReportResult
SIL TargetSIL 2
PFDavg achieved4.2 × 10⁻³
Overall verdict✓ PASS

Three-barrier verification. Automated 13-section Word report in one click. Spend time thinking about the system — not formatting tables.

Full IEC 61511 document library

Instead of writing procedures from scratch, Premium includes the complete FSMS Professional pack — 350+ pages of editable procedures.

  • FSA Procedure (Stages 1–5)
  • SRS Procedure & DSRS Template
  • LOPA Procedure
  • SIL Verification Procedure
  • Proof Test Procedure
  • MoC Procedure + Register
  • FSMP, competency & governance docs

For many engineers this alone saves 2–3 days on the next project.

Weekly discussions & nuclear guidance

Engineers across nuclear, oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, chemical, manufacturing, and space. Discussions focus on real scenarios, not generic training.

  • Weekly technical Q&A discussions
  • Peer review across multiple industries
  • Nuclear guidance based on ONR TAGs
  • Regulatory expectations for certified FSEs entering nuclear

The goal is not theory. The goal is better decisions in real projects.

The Investment

Less than the cost of one hour of engineering time per month.

Typical functional safety engineering rates:

£500–£800Per day — FSE billing rate
2–3 daysSaved on FSMS documents alone
2–3 daysSaved on SIL verification per project

One avoided day of rework pays for more than a year of membership.

$59
per month
(~£47/month) · Cancel anytime

One month of Premium costs less than a single hour of most functional safety consulting time.

Join now, download what you need, and cancel anytime if it’s not useful.

Join Premium — $59/month →
Not Ready for Premium?

Need the documents without the membership?

For engineers who need documents immediately without a subscription. Both packages are yours to keep, editable Word and Excel files.

FSMS Starter

£247

The governance foundation for any functional safety project. Five core documents that demonstrate you have an FSMS in place.

  • Functional Safety Management Plan
  • Personnel Competency Procedure
  • Competency Log Template
  • Project Safety Plan Template
  • Project Action Item Log (Excel)
Buy Now — £247 →

Invoice available — email richard@functionalsafetyplaybook.com

FSMS Professional

£497

The complete IEC 61511 procedure library. 12 documents, 350+ pages. Every procedure from LOPA through to proof testing.

  • Everything in FSMS Starter, plus:
  • FSA Procedure (Stages 1–5)
  • SRS Procedure & DSRS
  • LOPA, SIL Verification, Proof Test
  • MoC Procedure + Register

Introductory price — moves to £697 at 18 documents. Future documents included at no extra cost.

Buy Now — £497 →

Invoice available — email richard@functionalsafetyplaybook.com

Free Community

£0

Join discussions and connect with functional safety engineers across multiple industries. Good for engineers who want to explore before upgrading.

  • Community discussions and peer threads
  • Case studies and free resources
  • Network with FSEs across 20+ countries
  • Upgrade to Premium anytime
Join Free →

For certified engineers considering nuclear work: Get Into Nuclear is an eight-week live programme for TÜV or Exida certified FSEs wanting a structured route into the nuclear sector. Cohort limited to 10. £1,497.

Express interest in Get Into Nuclear →
Built by a Practicing Engineer

20 years in nuclear. Still learning.

I spent more than twenty years working on nuclear projects where functional safety decisions carry real consequences. On many projects I was the only functional safety engineer in the room.

When difficult interpretation questions arose, there was rarely anyone with the background to challenge the thinking. The Functional Safety Playbook exists because those conversations deserve a proper place to happen.

TÜV Functional Safety Engineer
Exida CFSE Certified
Masters — Nuclear Control and Instrumentation
20+ years nuclear project experience

“Forums like this are great for me to reach out for confidence checks more than anything. Never seen anything quite like it before — good access to material and real live engineers.”

Anth Gunn — I&C and Functional Safety Engineer, UK

Common questions.

Can Premium membership be expensed through work?

Many members expense membership as professional development. $59/month (~£47) and the one-off document packages (£247 and £497) both qualify in most organisations. Invoices can be provided on request — email richard@functionalsafetyplaybook.com with your company details.

Is the community actually active?

Yes. Technical discussions run weekly and Decision Review Live sessions regularly review real project scenarios. 83% engagement among members over the last 90 days, 100% retention among paying members.

What happens if I join Premium and it isn’t useful?

Simply cancel your membership. You keep any documents you downloaded and can leave at any time. Most members know within the first month whether the tools and discussions are valuable.

Is this only relevant to nuclear engineers?

No. Members work across oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, chemical processing, and space — any industry using IEC 61508 and IEC 61511. The nuclear guidance notes are for engineers considering that move specifically.

Stop making the hardest functional safety decisions alone.

Join engineers discussing real project scenarios every week. Access tools, documents and peer review designed to help you make better technical decisions.

Join Premium — $59/month → Or join the community free and upgrade when it makes sense.