Last week, we were pleased to welcome a UL-certified trainer to our Peterlee facility for an in-person, 4-day training session on IEC 61508. The course focuses on functional safety in electrical systems, a crucial concept applicable across various industries. Functional safety aims to mitigate failures or ensure that when failures do occur, they happen in a predictable manner, allowing electrical systems to fail safely. We had colleagues from a wide range of departments complete this training—from electrical engineering to quality—ensuring that the knowledge gained from the course is spread throughout the business and further strengthens the quality and reliability of our battery packs.
What skills were learned through the IEC 61508 course
Over the course of the 4-day training, the team covered a wide range of topics related to functional safety, including; calculating failure rates, understanding modes of failure, defining safety requirements when writing software, analysing failures in both software and hardware, configuration management, and the safety lifecycle. This knowledge can influence supplier selection for a battery pack project by analysing failure rates against the required Safety Integrity Level (SIL) for end-user applications.

The team learned how to correctly, and in line with the IEC standard, document decisions are taken to use certain parts/methods and components. This documentation process brings transparency to any decisions made about the manufacturing of a custom battery pack. This extra level of transparency allows stakeholders to address any concerns they have promoting a continuous improvement culture through received feedback.
What does this mean for your battery packs
Throughout your battery pack’s production run, your project will be handled by experts whose knowledge has been independently verified by a third party, in line with widely recognised industry standards. With a deeper understanding of failure rates, our design engineers will have a better understanding of which components/suppliers will be the best fit in your battery pack project. The traceability we provide through documentation provides high-level understanding of which parts/methods our experts have picked to manufacture your battery packs.
Ready to partner with a team that’s committed to safety and transparency? Get in touch today to discuss how we can bring your next battery pack project to life.