Towards model-based development of safety-related control applications

Model-based techniques have been recently the topic of numerous publications in different domains. In addition to producing revised models and executable applications, model-based techniques could also aid the understandability of design and consistency between design artefacts. These properties are also focal to development of safety-related applications, in addition to the ability to produce documentation about the systems. In this paper, we strive to create a new model-based approach for development of safety-related applications by integrating risk analysis techniques and modeling notations from several related languages and standards. The notations and their characteristics are compared to the requirements of the vital functional safety standard, IEC 61508, and illustrated with an exemplary modeling case.