OceanGuard FGSS Obtains First SIL Functional Safety Certificate

Recently, the OceanGuard® Fuel Gas Supply System (FGSS) independently developed by Headway Technology Group (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. officially obtained the SIL functional safety certificate issued by DNV. This makes Headway the first FGSS manufacturer in the world to obtain the SIL certificate. The certificate awarding ceremony was held on June 29 at Headway’s offices.
 
At the certificate ceremony, Chen Keng, Area Manager of North China, and Vice President of DNV Group, expressed his recognition of Headway's strong R&D capability and the technical level demonstrated in the FGSS project. He stated that DNV conducted a comprehensive review of the OceanGuard® FGSS system units and functional safety-related documents (including HOZAP analysis, functional safety management plan, PFD, alarm list, etc.) in accordance with the SIL standard, and further confirmed the functional safety design complies with the relevant provisions and can meet the requirements of SIL certificate.

According to the director of the Headway FGSS team, the key components of OceanGuard® FGSS are designed and produced according to the international standards and specifications required by SIL certificate to ensure the reliability, utility, and safety of the components, to ensure the safety of the ship, environment, and crew as well as escort the operation of the ship.

 

OceanGuard's control unit 

 
OceanGuard® FGSS has been awarded the Approval-in-Principle (AiP) by many international major classification societies such as DNV, ABS, BV, RS, RINA, NK, etc. It can be adapted to various types of dual-fuel engines with low and medium speed of major manufacturers and single and dual-fuel engines for inland waterway vessels. The entire gas process package adopts customized development and modular design, which can realize the optimal layout according to the ship type and ship layout; the main control and safety system adopts a structure of diversity with redundancy, which allows the equipment to detect its working status at any time to ensure the reliability of the safety system; at the same time, Headway can also provide the LNG cold energy utilization solutions according to the technical requirements of different ship types with the achievement of reducing the ships' energy consumption.

In addition, with more than 120 service stations and multiple branches in 56 countries, Headway can also provide customers with comprehensive, 24/7, localized LNG new fuel supply solutions and technical services. It is reported that Headway will also simultaneously launch a new fuel supply system suitable for LPG, methanol, and ammonia fuel to meet the demands from the shipping industry in the future.

OceanGuard®FGSS has obtained SIL certificates. SIL certificate is an internationally recognized functional safety certification which is based on IEC61508, IEC61511, IEC61513, ISO 13849-1, IEC62061, IEC61800-5-2, and other international standards. With the purpose of protecting the personal safety, environment, and property, the SIL certificate is to manage and control all stages of the product's entire lifetime by utilizing the proven methods, to reduce the likelihood of system failure, and improve the reliability, utility, and safety of the system.