The IEC 61508 is not, strictly speaking, a standard; rather it is a series of standards for the functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic (E/E/PE) safety-related systems. Part 1 is the main standard and parts 2 to 7 are supporting documents. The seven are listed by IEC (the International Electrotechnical Committee) as follows:

* IEC 61508-1 (1998-12) Ed. 1.0 - Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related system - Part 1: General requirements.
* IEC 61508-2 (2000-05) Ed. 1.0 - Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related system - Part 2: Requirements for electrical/electronic/programmable electronic systems.
* IEC 61508-3 (1998-12) Ed. 1.0 - Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related system - Part 3: Software requirements.
* IEC 61508-4 (1998-12) Ed. 1.0 - Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related system - Part 4: Definitions and abbreviations.
* IEC 61508-5 (1998-12) Ed. 1.0 - Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related system - Part 5: Examples of methods for the determination of safety integrity levels.
* IEC 61508-6 (2000-04) Ed. 1.0 - Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related system - Part 6: Guidelines on the application of IEC 61508-2 and IEC 61508-3.
* IEC 61508-7 (2000-03) Ed. 1.0 - Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related system - Part 7: Overview of techniques and measures. n

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