Ensuring safety in design of safety critical computer based systems

•Safety critical systems are designed to function in safe manner.•Due to safety significance of such systems, these need to be designed carefully to ensure their reliability requirements.•The strategy discussed the modeling and analysis techniques to safety critical CBS for full proof design.•The techniques to improve the faulty design are also proposed.•The application of the proposed techniques is shown on a reactor protection system.

Safety critical systems are designed to function in safe manner so that its failure should not lead to the catastrophic effects, including injury or death to humans, and harm to the environment. These systems take themselves to a safe state, thus ensuring goals of safety. Due to safety significance of such systems, these need to be designed carefully to ensure their reliability requirements. The strategy discussed the modeling and analysis techniques to safety critical computer based systems using Petri net for full proof design. The techniques to improve the faulty design are also proposed. The application of the proposed techniques is shown on a reactor protection system.