ISO 26262-2:2018

Overview

ISO 26262-2:2018 - Management of functional safety is Part 2 of the ISO 26262 series for automotive functional safety. It defines the management framework and process requirements to integrate functional safety activities across the safety lifecycle for safety‑related electrical/electronic (E/E) systems in series‑production road vehicles (excluding mopeds and certain special‑purpose vehicles). The edition updates the original 2011 series and provides guidance on tailoring, integration, and organization‑level responsibilities for functional safety.

Key topics and technical requirements

ISO 26262-2 focuses on management activities rather than specific technical implementations. Major areas include:

• Overall safety management: company‑level safety policy, safety culture, quality management and handling of safety anomalies.
• Project‑dependent safety management: planning and coordination of safety activities during concept and product development (system, hardware, software), including tailoring and reuse of existing elements.
• Safety lifecycle planning: integration of functional safety activities into a company’s development framework and tailoring for modifications or integrations of legacy systems.
• Confirmation measures and independence: requirements for verification reviews, confirmation reviews, and independent assessment authority.
• Safety case and release for production: documentation and evidence required to justify that safety goals are met prior to production release.
• Production, operation, service and decommissioning: post‑release safety management, responsibilities and required processes.
• Competence and role definitions: competence management, defined roles and responsibilities for safety activities.
• ASIL‑dependent requirements and adaptations: requirements that vary by Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) and adaptations for vehicle classes (e.g., motorcycles, trucks/buses).
• Interface topics: interaction with cybersecurity and other safety‑relevant domains (informative guidance in annexes).

Practical applications and users

Who uses ISO 26262-2:

• Automotive OEMs and Tier‑1/Tier‑2 suppliers for establishing compliant safety management systems.
• Functional safety engineers, project managers and system architects responsible for safety lifecycle planning.
• Quality assurance, process auditors, and certification bodies assessing organizational capability for functional safety.
• Teams integrating legacy E/E systems or altering production systems that require tailoring of the safety lifecycle.

Practical uses include creating safety management plans, defining safety roles, preparing safety cases for production release, conducting functional safety audits and assessments, and aligning company processes with ASIL‑based requirements.

Related standards

ISO 26262-2 is part of the ISO 26262 series (Parts 1–10) - the automotive adaptation of IEC 61508. Relevant adjacent parts include:

• Part 1: Vocabulary
• Part 3: Concept phase
• Part 4/5/6: Product development at system, hardware, software levels
• Part 7: Production and operation
• Part 9/10: Analysis and guidelines (and semiconductor guidance)

Keywords: ISO 26262-2:2018, functional safety management, automotive functional safety, safety lifecycle, ASIL, E/E systems, safety case, functional safety audit.