Process Safety & Incident Investigation
TÜV Rheinland Functional Safety Engineer (SIS) Certification
A certification-track programme delivered in accordance with the TÜV Rheinland Functional Safety Training Program, preparing participants for the FS Engineer (TÜV Rheinland) SIS certificate. Three days of classroom tuition and practical exercises build a working command of IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 — from hazard and risk assessment through SIL determination, Safety Requirements Specification, SIL verification and SIS operation — followed by the official TÜV Rheinland competency assessment on the final day.
Industry focus: Petrochemical & Manufacturing Plants
Who Should Attend
Designed for these roles
- Instrument, Control Systems and E&I Engineers working on safety instrumented systems
- Process and Process Safety Engineers involved in SIL determination and SIF design
- Senior Operations and Maintenance personnel involved in SIS testing and upkeep
- Engineering Managers accountable for functional safety competency under IEC 61511
Delivery formats
- Customised in-house training at your plant or office
- Public classroom delivery, subject to schedule
- Live online delivery where suitable
- Recommended group size: 8–20 participants
Problems Solved
What this course fixes
SIL determination carried out without a defensible, documented risk basis
Safety Requirements Specifications that omit critical assumptions on demand mode, voting and diagnostics
PFD calculations that do not reconcile with SIS device certificates or real testing intervals
Proof testing, bypassing and management of change handled without defined compensating measures
IEC 61511 Ed. 2 competency expectations that the organisation cannot evidence for lifecycle roles
Learning Outcomes
What participants can do after the programme
Outcomes are written as tasks, not topics — so managers can verify capability back at work.
- Interpret and apply the requirements of IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 across the SIS safety lifecycle
- Establish risk evaluation criteria and carry out SIL determination using LOPA and risk graph methods
- Develop complete Safety Requirements Specifications for safety instrumented functions
- Perform SIL verification, calculating PFDavg and spurious trip rates for voting architectures, diagnostic coverage and partial testing
- Reconcile SIS design assumptions with IEC 61508 device certificates and proven-in-use evidence
- Plan proof testing, online bypass compensating measures and management of change for protection layers
- Sit the official TÜV Rheinland FS Engineer (SIS) competency assessment with the required 3 years' functional safety experience for certificate issue
Course Outline
Detailed programme content
Day 1 — Standards, Functional Safety Management & Risk Assessment
- Module 1 — SIS Standards Overview: IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 background, editions and scope, functional safety lifecycle
- Module 2 — Management of Functional Safety: roles and responsibilities, competency requirements under IEC 61511 Ed. 2, functional safety plan and audits
- Module 3 — Hazards, Risk and Protection Layers: hazards, risk and ALARP principles, risk reduction and mitigation, LOPA and event tree methods
- Module 4 — Establishing Risk Evaluation Criteria: tolerable risk targets, Safety Instrumented Functions and Systems, demand and continuous modes of operation
Day 2 — Safety Requirements & SIL Verification
- Module 5 — Safety Requirements Specification, Part 1: SIF identification, allocation of safety functions to protection layers
- Module 6 — Safety Requirements Specification, Part 2: SIS architecture, redundancy and voting, Safe Failure Fraction and design options
- Module 7 — SIL Verification: PFDavg calculation using Boolean and Markovian approaches, diagnostic coverage, partial testing and spurious trip rate
- Module 8 — Device Data & Certification: IEC 61508 device certificates, adjusting for differences between SIS design and certificate assumptions, user approval and proven-in-use
Day 3 — Implementation, Operations & Practical Workshops
- Module 9 — Implementation, Commissioning and Validation: installation, site acceptance and validation of safety instrumented functions
- Module 10 — Operations & Maintenance: proof testing strategy and records, online SIS bypasses and compensating measures, management of change to protection layers
- Module 11 — Fire & Gas Systems in the SIS Context: detection and shutdown functions, F&G mapping to the safety lifecycle
- Module 12 — Consolidated Practical Workshop: end-to-end worked example from hazard and risk assessment to verified SIL — practical exercises throughout, based on real life examples
Day 4 — Review & TÜV Rheinland Competency Assessment
- Module 13 — Consolidated Review & Examination Preparation: key calculations, standards clauses and common examination traps
- TÜV Rheinland Competency Assessment: four-hour two-part assessment — 70 multiple choice questions and 10 multi-part questions, 75% pass score, monitored by TÜV Rheinland
Trainer Profile
Delivered by Amir Akhlaghi
Lead Trainer — Process Safety, HAZOP/HAZID & Functional Safety
25+ years industry experience
Amir has facilitated HAZOP, HAZID, LOPA, Bow Tie and SIL studies on some of the largest energy projects in the world — from Saudi Aramco gas compression platforms to LNG terminals in Germany and NGL fractionation in the Middle East. He teaches process safety the way a facilitator lives it: scenario credibility, safeguard challenge and the leadership skills that keep a study room honest.
Real project exposure
- Appointed HAZOP/PHA facilitator across Saudi Aramco programmes including Marjan, Berri, Safaniyah, Zuluf, Fadhili and Wasit
- HAZID, HAZOP and LOPA studies for LNG terminals, regasification and ship-to-ship transfer projects across Europe, Canada, the Middle East and Africa
- SIL assessment, HIPPS and functional safety reviews for gas compression, storage and loading facilities worldwide
Certifications
- Functional Safety Expert, FS Auditor & FS Assessor
- Technical Safety Authority — PHA / HAZOP / HAZID / ENVID / Bow Tie / SIL / LOPA
- Marine terminal safety specialist (LNG, LPG, NGL) — ISGOTT, SIGTTO, OCIMF
Trainer allocation is confirmed in your proposal. Substitute trainers hold equivalent certification and sector experience.
Next Step
Run this programme for your team
We will confirm available dates, trainer, duration and HRD Corp claimable investment — and adjust the outline to your equipment and standards at no extra cost.
No obligation. Proposals include HRD Corp claim guidance.
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