Since there now two standards, ISO 13849-1 and IEC 62061, users constantly face the question of which of the two standards to apply in an individual case, and whether the two standards will soon be comined into one. In 2010, initial efforts in this direction resulted in the document published under the two numbers ISO/TR 23849-1 and IEC/TR 62061-1. This document indicates when to use both ISO 13849-1 and IEC 62061 and describes the differences and idiosyncrasies of both standards. However, the document fails to clarify any of the contentious issues for the user, and as such is of practically no benefit to him.
Current resolutions from the working groups IEC/TC 44 and ISO/TC 199, which are responsible for ISO 13849-1 and IEC 62061, provide reassurance on at least one point. The stability date has been set until the end of 2016 for both standards. That means that no new editions of the standards are permitted before the end of 2016. In other words, the methods for calculating safety functions will remain stable until the end of 2016. This gives users and manufacturers of machinery and safety components planning reliability for the next few years. Despite this, it is still to be expected that there will be amendments, additions or clarifications to both standards, which will affect the current content.
Nonetheless, according to resolutions from the two working groups, this stabilisation phase should be used to collect experiences in the application of both standards and, where applicable, to devise a plan for merging the two standards. This may result in a new document from the end of 2016, but not necessarily. As neither the experiences nor the potential consequences have been adequately prepared as yet, trend information is not expected for 2-3 years at the earliest.
So, pending further notice, users of both standards will be able to apply their favourite standard as usual, without running the risk of being surprised by the current changes.
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