Why this Podcast?
It is 2025, and I am doing Functional Safety (FuSa) for almost 14 years now. I saw a huge number of trainings of different types, some good some with room for improvement. I myself trained a few hundred of engineers over the years.
A few years ago the idea of creating a Podcast about FuSa came to my mind. So far I wasn't able to realize it. Now I am taking a break which gives me time for a couple of private projects, eventually, one being this Podcast.
So here we go 🎉
What is this Podcast about?
Apparently, the topic is Functional Safety. To be specific, it's about automotive FuSa. But: This Podcast is not another ISO 26262 training. Main purpose is to explain FuSa with feet to the ground. Means, we will not be going through all the different parts of ISO 26262 but rather come from the design point of view. What do you have to do in your daily job to support the achievement of Functional Safety and the closing of the Safety Case?
This first season will provide the basics to establish a common starting point. But I am not going role by role or process step by process step. Each episode will be one specific topic which I discussed with both newbies and seasoned experts many times. And each time we all learned. Many of these topics I still see discussed a lot, for instance on LinkedIn. With this Podcast I am going to share knowledge and experience of many years with all of you. My aim is to help you understand FuSa better and achieve FuSa in your projects more efficiently.
In fact, FuSa isn't that complicated.
It's rather complex.
I am not going to share any detailed technical solutions. I am going to explain the basic ideas of FuSa and how to apply them. Or in other words:
I will tell you how to fish,
but you still have to do the fishing.
Is it going to work out? I really don't know. Let's give it a go and see. At least, it won't make the world a less safer place I think.
Who am I?
I am Wolfgang Freese, a PhD physicist who works in the area of Functional Safety since late 2010. When I started in the role of Functional Safety Manager there still was a lot of room for improvement in terms of processes, methods and tools (PMT). But first of all, the young team I joined... we had to learn it all from scratch. And that was the beginning of a long and challenging journey. Not for me only but for a team which I was lucky to be a member of.
I soon started to shape the FuSa within the company. I organized global workshops, defined and implemented team structures, developed and implemented PMTs. I failed a couple of times but we all learned from it. And improved and went on.
All this would not have been possible without the great support I received from both individuals and teams. From engineers to upper management. From all over the world (I was allowed to visit most of the sites). So many brilliant people I met. An experience I will certainly treasure in my heart for the rest of my life.
Now, in 2025, I am taking a break. And take the opportunity to realize this Podcast. May it help some of you next time you FuSa-think to yourself: "Hmm... and now?"
July 2025
Dr. Wolfgang Freese