OPENTECHNICAL PUBLICATION
OT-2026-000000314

Using software encoded processing to achieve a SIL rating for safety applications executed in the cloud or in non-safety rated servers

Published: 2026-09-15T19:02:44.155994Z
Permanent URL: https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000000314
Categories: Sensors, Controls & Machine Vision > Industrial Control

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ABSTRACT

A cloud-based industrial safety system executes safety applications and
interfaces with industrial assets on the plant floor using software encoded
processing (SEP). The use of SEP ensures safety reliable execution of safety
applications and data communication software by redundantly executing native
code, thereby implementing a level of software-based fault detection that is
independent of the hardware on which the safety application operates. This
allows the cloud-based industrial safety applications to achieve at least SIL3
safety ratings for safety services even though the safety applications are
executed using standard COTS hardware that is commonplace in the server
market. The use of SEP to reliably execute safety software on the cloud can
make possible a wide variety of safety applications that would be difficult to
implement using purely localized industrial safety systems.

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OpenTechnical publication OT-2026-000000314
Published 2026-09-15T19:02:44.155994Z
https://opentechnical.org/p/OT-2026-000000314