Ensuring systems engineering data integrity with a central data repository

This paper presents a data model that defines the key artefacts of the systems engineering and safety processes of machine control systems. The model defines artefacts related to the overall system and its context, requirements and their validation, risk assessment, behaviour (system use cases and functional specifications), system structure and documentation. Emphasis is on defining the linkage between these artefacts, also across process boundaries. These links form the traceability chains from risk assessments to safety requirements, functional specifications, designs, implementation, verification and validation. Besides providing traceability of artefacts, such a model allows centralized, single source, data repository implementations that ensure consistent view of artefacts in different design disciplines, like software development and electrical CAD. Examples of tool integrations using the model are demonstrated. The benefits are also emphasised from the perspective of documentation. A centralized artefact repository can support the automated creation of documents based on demand. For example, the system requirements specification and the relevant parts of the technical file, which is required by the Machinery Directive, can be generated from the database