Exam Types

Process Safety Applications

The CFSE Governance Board, in conjunction with industry experts, determines curricula based on the competencies required by international standards and industry best practice. As industries evolve through the application of improved or different technology, the Board reserves the right to revise curricula to reflect these changes.

The CFSE GB highly recommends that you study at least 40-50 self study hours for preparation of the CFSE/CFSP exam.

Questions related to configuration of Management, Functional Safety Management and Safety Architecture may be asked.  These are all areas that must be understood by both hardware and software engineers in order to avoid safety design errors.  Engineers should have a good understanding of diagnostic techniques that often require a combination of hardware and software.

Preparation Resources:
a. exida Safety Book Package

1. The Process Safety Applications program applies to personnel involved in the implementation of safety-related systems in Process Applications.

2. Preparing to pass the exam

1. The CFSE/CFSP Process Safety exams consist of questions prepared and reviewed by the Process Safety Advisory Board. A periodic review is done to assure that questions are understandable to those well versed in the applicable standards and fields of practice.

   The CFSE/CFSP Process Safety program requires demonstrated competency in current standards. Anyone not up to date will be unlikely to pass. While experience and conservative judgment is important to safety, experience alone is not enough. Additional preparation is needed for anyone not completely up to date with current standards and practice.

2. All CFSE/CFSP exams are open book with all readily available published references allowed to be used during the exam. Please also note that the candidates are specifically encouraged to at least bring a copy of part 1 of 61508 and similar relevant parts of the sector-specific IEC standards relevant to their area. For example, Process Applications candidates should also bring at least part 1 of 61511, Machine Applications candidates should also bring at least 62061, Software candidates should also bring at least part 3 of 61508, and Hardware candidates should also bring at least part 2 of 61508.

   Other textbooks, publicly available published course materials, and workbooks are also allowed and may be useful to the candidates. Although occasional general hand notes in personal exam-specific notes.

3. The curriculum for this program consists of general knowledge plus the knowledge in the applicable field of expertise:

1. General requirements of IEC61508 and IEC61511
2. Other relevant national and international standards (US EPA RMP, US OSHA PSM, ISA 84.01)
3. Common terms and definitions a. Safety, availability and reliability relationships
4. Safety Lifecycle concepts and objectives
5. Requirements for Management of Functional Safety
6. General documentation requirements a. Change control requirements b. Approval requirements, independence of approval
7. Hazard identification, analysis and risk assessment concepts and procedures a. ALARP and tolerable risk b. Identifying safety functions
8. Consequence analysis concepts
9. Likelihood analysis concepts
10. SIL selection concepts and procedures a. Layer of Protection Analysis
11. Safety Requirements Specification requirements
12. Typical failure modes of equipment used in SIS
13. Wearout mechanisms of equipment used in SIS
14. SIL verification concepts and procedures a. Understanding of different calculation methods and limitations b. Understanding of failure rate data and limitations c. Understanding of periodic test procedures and effectiveness
15. General design concepts and procedures
16. Detailed design concepts and procedures
17. Installation requirements
18. Safety validation concepts and procedures                    
19. Management of change concepts and procedures                    
20. De-commissioning concepts and procedures                    
21.    

4. CFSE Sample Exam: CFSE Sample Downloadable in .PDF format