Agricultural and forestry machinery

The malfunction of a technical system must not endanger persons.

Manufacturers of technical products in the agricultural industry are obliged to develop their systems in accordance with the current state of the art.

ISO 25119 defines requirements for the functional safety of electrical and electronic systems. By applying the standards mentioned, corresponding safety certificates are created to document fulfilment of the requirements.

With the publication of ISO 25119 "Tractors and machinery for agriculture and forestry - Safety-related parts of control systems", specific requirements for agricultural machinery, its development processes and the product itself have been set for the first time.

They replace IEC 61508 as the previous generic standard for functional safety. The aim is to make vehicles safer and more reliable.

Under the Product Liability Act, manufacturers of technical products are required by law to develop their technical systems in accordance with the state of the art in science and technology in all aspects of safety.

The burden of proof in the event of damage lies with the manufacturer. If a vehicle is developed and manufactured in accordance with safety standards at all levels, the vehicle manufacturer has a solid basis for providing evidence.

Manufacturers must not only consider one part of the system in the respective development phase, but the entire system within the entire life cycle. This ranges from the first development steps to decommissioning.

The entire system must achieve the required Agricultural Performance Level (AgPL) of the safety objective. All components (especially the software) that contribute to achieving this safety objective are considered for this purpose.