Key Consultants
KEN G.L. SIMPSON, FIET, M.Phil, C.Eng.
For the last twenty years, following an early career in aerospace designing automatic flight control systems with Marconi Avionics and British Aerospace plc, Ken has been involved in the design and supply of Control and Safety Systems for the process industry, which has involved projects for clients worldwide, particularly in Europe, Middle East and the Americas.
Ken Simpson is a recognised authority on reliability issues and has published many articles concerning high integrity systems. He participates actively in various professional institutions and government safety committees relating to programmable electronic safety systems, and is on the international panel for IEC 61508 (General Functional Safety Standard for electrical/electronic based safety systems) and IEC 61511 (process industry sector specific of IEC 61508) and is a committee member of IGASE Programmable Safety System.
RON BELL, OBE, BSC, CENG, FIET
Ron was Head of the Electrical and Control Systems Group at the Health and Safety Executive from 1992 until May 2006 and now provides consultancy services in relation to safety critical control systems, functional safety management and undertakes training courses for the IEC on IEC 61508. He has chaired the impartiality committee for a certification body involved with functional safety complex products.
He is a UK member of the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority (CTSA) representing the Health and Safety Commission and advises the CTSA on all aspects of safety critical equipment of the tunnel infrastructure. Ron chaired the International IEC Task Group that developed IEC 61508 standard and is currently chair of the IEC 61508 maintenance committee.
DR. DAVID J. SMITH BSC, PHD, CENG, FIET, FCQI, HONSFSARS,MIGEM.
David has been directly concerned with reliability, safety and software quality for over 30 years and has written a number of books on the subject as well as numerous papers. His PhD thesis was on the subject of reliability prediction accuracy and common cause failure. He chairs the IGasE panel, which develops its guidelines on safety related systems (now in its third edition) and also made contributions to the development of IEC 61508. His main books are:
- Reliability Maintainability & Risk 7th edition Elsevier, ISBN 07506 6694 3 (the standard work on the subject)
- Functional Safety - a Straightforward Guide to IEC 61508 2nd edition, Elsevier, ISBN 07506 6269 7
SIMON J BURWOOD BEng (Hons.) MIET MSaRS CEng
Simon Burwood has worked in safety-related applications for the past 8 years. Having spent 3 years working in machinery safety he moved into the Oil and Gas industry, spending 4 years as a Functional Safety Consultant, chairing and facilitating SIL determination and HAZAN (LOPA) studies in the UK, the Middle East and Africa. He is also an experienced Safety Engineer and has worked for a major contractor in the offshore power industry, delivering Quantified Risk Assessment and SIL Verification studies for major projects. He is a certified Technis Reliability and Functional Safety Engineer and contributed to The Safety Critical Systems Handbook (2010 Edition – ISBN 978-0080967813).
