IEC 61508 · Safety-critical systems · MBD

Critical systems engineering

We support the development of industrial and other safety-critical systems in which safety, reliability and engineering process rigour are decisive. We work to IEC 61508, Model-Based Design and the MATLAB and Simulink toolchain.

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About

KOLSYSTEM Sp. z o.o. is a small, expert engineering company based in Katowice, Poland. We specialise in the development, testing and verification of systems in which failure is not an option.

We combine experience gained in the demanding railway environment with an IEC 61508-based approach to functional safety. On that basis we support industrial projects and work across sectors wherever the safety of a system function must be designed, verified and documented.

We work in MATLAB and Simulink, using specialist toolboxes — including the IEC Certification Kit — that support modelling, testing, requirements analysis and the preparation of material for the conformity assessment process.

  • Experienced specialists

    Projects are led by engineers with many years of hands-on practice in safety-critical systems — from model to evidence documentation.

  • Flexibility

    A small team means short decision paths, a fast start and a scope matched to what the project actually needs.

  • Direct contact

    You talk directly to the engineers delivering your project — no intermediaries, no sales layer.

Our approach

We build systems where failure is not an option — with process rigour, full requirements traceability and audit-ready evidence.

Services

Capabilities spanning the full system lifecycle — from requirements to compliance evidence.

  • Systems engineering

    Defining architecture, decomposing functions and steering the project coherently from concept to integration.

  • Requirements analysis and management

    Specification, structuring and full traceability of requirements across the entire system lifecycle.

  • Model-Based Design

    Development based on executable models — from concept, through simulation, to code generation.

  • Modelling and simulation

    Models of dynamics, algorithms and the system environment, allowing behaviour to be tested before implementation.

  • Embedded systems development

    Embedded software for real-time platforms, with the emphasis on determinism and reliability.

  • Verification and validation

    Systematically demonstrating that the system meets its requirements — at model, code and system level.

  • Test automation

    Test environments and scripts that shorten regression cycles and make results repeatable.

  • Functional safety

    Hazard and risk analysis, definition of safety functions and support for activities carried out to IEC 61508 and the required SIL.

  • Project documentation support

    Technical and process documentation prepared for reviews, audits and compliance evidence.

  • Code generation and verification

    Automatic code generation from models and model-to-code equivalence testing (SIL/PIL) confirming that the implementation matches.

  • Structural coverage analysis

    Measurement and analysis of structural coverage of both model and code (including MC/DC), supporting evidence of test completeness.

  • Consulting for R&D teams

    Advisory work, process reviews and knowledge transfer for teams developing safety-critical systems.

Industry and safety-critical systems

Functional safety rigour for industrial systems and for any solution where reliability matters.

IEC 61508 provides the framework for the functional safety of electrical, electronic and programmable systems. We apply its principles in industrial projects and wherever risk and safety evidence must be managed systematically.

IEC 61508 rigour
  • Safety as the overriding design criterion
  • Hazard and risk analysis as the basis for safety functions
  • Requirements traceability from specification to test result
  • A controlled functional safety lifecycle
  • Documentation and evidence ready for independent assessment
  • Systematic verification and validation

Technologies and tools

A working environment built around the MathWorks ecosystem and compliance processes.

  • M

    MATLAB

    Analysis, algorithms, data processing and automation of engineering tasks - the common language of the whole process.

  • S

    Simulink

    Modelling and simulation of dynamic systems and control logic - from concept to a model ready for code generation.

  • IEC

    IEC Certification Kit

    Tools and material supporting software development in line with functional safety requirements, including IEC 61508.

  • +

    Specialist toolboxes

    Tools supporting requirements analysis, model and code testing, coverage measurement and automated reporting.

What this delivers in a project

  • Earlier defect detectionproblems caught at model level, not during integration.
  • Simulation before implementationsystem behaviour verified before a single line of code exists.
  • Test automationfast, repeatable test campaigns and regression without manual work.
  • Repeatable analysisthe same inputs always produce the same, auditable result.
  • Traceabilitya continuous link between requirements, models, tests and results.
  • Compliance supportdocumentation and evidence prepared for assessment against project requirements.

IEC 61508 and functional safety

Our approach rests on IEC 61508 - the functional safety standard for E/E/PE systems, applied in industry and across a range of safety-critical applications.

  • IEC 61508

    The basis of functional safety

    A framework for designing and managing E/E/PE systems that carry out safety functions.

  • IEC 61508-1

    Safety lifecycle

    General requirements for managing functional safety across the entire system lifecycle.

  • IEC 61508-2

    E/E/PE systems

    Requirements for the design of safety-related electrical, electronic and programmable systems.

  • IEC 61508-3

    Safety-related software

    Requirements for software development, including specification, implementation, testing and verification.

  • IEC 61508-5

    Safety integrity levels

    Methods supporting the determination of SIL levels appropriate to the risk and the required safety functions.

  • CENELEC

    Sector experience

    Practice gained in the railway industry strengthens our approach to process rigour, traceability and safety evidence.

How we see our role: KOLSYSTEM is not a certification body. We support clients in preparing the processes, documentation, analyses and evidence required in projects carried out to IEC 61508 and the relevant sector standards - so that the team is ready for reviews, assessment and cooperation with assessment bodies.

How we work together

  1. 1

    Needs analysis

    We get to know the project context, its constraints and its goals - both technical and process-related.

  2. 2

    Scope definition

    We agree the scope of work, acceptance criteria, schedule and cooperation model.

  3. 3

    Engineering delivery

    We carry out the work according to the agreed process and report progress regularly.

  4. 4

    Verification and testing

    Results are systematically verified against requirements and quality criteria.

  5. 5

    Handover and support

    We hand over the results together with documentation and provide continued technical support.

Example project areas

Typical tasks in which we support teams developing safety-critical systems.

  • Control algorithms and safety logic

    Design and simulation of control algorithms in Simulink, together with edge-case analysis.

  • MIL / SIL / HIL test environments

    Building environments for testing the model, the code and system integration against a simulated environment.

  • Code generation from models

    Preparing models for automatic code generation and verifying model-to-code equivalence.

  • Requirements traceability

    Linking requirements to models, tests and results in a coherent, auditable evidence chain.

  • Analyses for safety evidence

    Support for the analyses and safety argumentation prepared as part of a safety case.

  • Adopting Model-Based Design

    Migrating an existing R&D process to model-based work - tools, process and competence.

Do you have an industrial project where safety matters?

Describe the scope briefly - we will come back with a concrete, engineering answer.

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Contact

Tell us about your project - we answer like engineers, to the point.

Contact details

Registration details

NIP (tax ID)
954-278-16-88
REGON
368149910
KRS
0000693250

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Location

KOLSYSTEM Sp. z o.o. · ul. Uniwersytecka 13 · 40-007 Katowice, Poland
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