Esterel Technologies
What is IEC 61508?
IEC 61508 was developed to create a standard for the functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related systems. IEC 61508 allows for the standalone certification of a software component, unlike DO-178B/ED-12B.
The documentation requirements of IEC 61508 are similar to DO-178B/ED-12B, but tend to lean more heavily on design, usage, and manufacturing, due to the standalone component aspects of this certification. One of the most critical documents is the Safety Manual
, which contains the rules and guidelines on how to use the software component in a system that is certified.
The IEC has a great FAQ at: http://www.iec.ch/61508/Index.htm
