Confirmation Measures
ISO 26262-2 & -8: Reviews, Audits & Functional Safety Assessments
- Chapters
- 12
- Chapters
- Interactive Diagrams
- 6
- Interactive Diagrams
- Independence
- ASIL D
- Independence
- Methodology
- FSA
- Methodology
Quick answers
- What are confirmation measures in ISO 26262?
- Confirmation measures are the independent checks ISO 26262-2 requires to confirm that a project actually achieves functional safety, rather than trusting the people who did the work to grade themselves. There are three types: confirmation reviews of key work products (such as the HARA or safety plan), functional safety audits that check the implementation of the safety processes, and the functional safety assessment (FSA) that judges whether the item achieves functional safety. Each measure carries an independence requirement, graded I1 to I3, that scales with the ASIL of the item - the higher the ASIL, the more independent the person confirming must be.
- What is the difference between a functional safety audit and a functional safety assessment?
- A functional safety audit is a process check: it examines whether the safety activities required by the safety plan are actually being implemented, using sampling and objective evidence, and produces an audit report with findings. A functional safety assessment (FSA) is broader and product-directed: an independent assessor judges whether the item achieves functional safety, covering the whole lifecycle, the work products and the audit results, and issues a verdict - accept, accept with conditions, or reject. The audit feeds the assessment; the assessment is the gate before release.
Why it pays for itself
Pick the right independence level
Apply the ASIL-to-independence mapping (I1 to I3) to every confirmation review, audit and assessment, and know when role separation inside the team is enough versus when external independence is required.
Plan measures before they bite
Integrate confirmation reviews, functional safety audits and the FSA into the safety plan with scheduled gates, assigned roles and budgets, instead of discovering missing independence two weeks before release.
Close findings with real evidence
Classify findings by severity, assign owners and deadlines, and release each finding only with verifiable closure evidence - the pattern assessors expect and rubber-stamp reviews fail to produce.
What you’ll be able to do
Plan Confirmation Measures in the Safety Plan
Schedule and resource confirmation reviews, audits, and FSAs aligned with project phase gates and ASIL-graded independence requirements.
Determine Correct Independence Level
Apply the ASIL-to-independence mapping (I1/I2/I3) to select appropriate reviewer or assessor profiles for each confirmation activity.
Conduct Compliant Confirmation Reviews
Execute reviews with correct scope, checklists, and documentation per ISO 26262-2 Clause 5.4.7, capturing findings and tracking them to closure.
Manage Findings to Closure
Classify, assign, and resolve confirmation findings with appropriate corrective actions and verifiable closure evidence before releasing the finding record.
Assemble the FSA Evidence Package
Compile all confirmation measure outputs into a coherent evidence package supporting the functional safety assessment decision.
Avoid Common Compliance Failures
Recognize and correct the most frequent independence violations, incomplete reviews, and missing evidence patterns that cause assessment non-conformances.
Chapter by chapter
- 01
Key Terminology
Define confirmation review, functional safety audit, functional safety assessment, and independence levels (I1-I3) as specified in ISO 26262-2. Understand why these activities are mandatory, not optional, for ASIL B and above.
- Confirmation review
- Audit vs. assessment
- Independence I1/I2/I3
- 02
Confirmation Process Flow
Trace the complete confirmation workflow from planning through execution to finding closure: how triggers are set, who initiates each measure, required inputs and outputs, and lifecycle integration points.
- Trigger events
- Process lifecycle
- Input/output mapping
- 03
Confirmation Reviews
Learn how to plan, conduct, and document confirmation reviews per ISO 26262-2 Clause 5.4.7. Covers review scope definition, reviewer independence criteria, checklist construction, and non-conformance handling.
- Review planning
- Independence criteria
- Non-conformance tracking
- 04
Functional Safety Audits
Understand functional safety audits as process compliance checks: audit scope, auditor qualifications, sampling strategies, objective evidence collection, and production of the audit report with findings.
- Audit scope
- Evidence sampling
- Audit report structure
- 05
FSA - Functional Safety Assessment
Deep-dive into the Functional Safety Assessment as the most comprehensive confirmation measure: assessor independence requirements, assessment object selection, lifecycle coverage, and the final assessment report structure.
- Assessor independence
- Assessment scope
- Report structure
- 06
Independence Requirements
Map ASILs to required independence levels (I1 for QM/A, I2 for B/C, I3 for D) with organizational, financial, and spatial independence criteria. Understand when role separation is sufficient vs. external independence required.
- I1/I2/I3 by ASIL
- Organizational criteria
- External vs. internal
- 07
ASIL-Dependent Formality
Scale confirmation measure depth with ASIL: checklist depth, sampling rates, reviewer experience requirements, reporting obligations, and escalation paths when independence or formality cannot be achieved.
- Formality scaling
- Sampling strategies
- Escalation paths
- 08
Planning Confirmation Activities
Integrate confirmation measures into the safety plan: scheduling gates, assigning responsible roles, identifying required competencies, budgeting time, and coordinating with project milestones and phase transitions.
- Safety plan integration
- Role assignment
- Milestone alignment
- 09
Findings Management
Handle confirmation findings systematically: classify by severity (minor/major/critical), assign owners, set closure deadlines, implement corrective actions, and obtain confirming evidence before releasing the finding.
- Finding classification
- Corrective actions
- Closure evidence
- 10
Evidence Integration
Assemble the safety evidence package from confirmation measure outputs: link review reports, audit findings, FSA decisions, and corrective action records to the safety case and maintain document traceability.
- Evidence package
- Traceability to safety case
- Document linkage
- 11
Best Practices
Adopt industry-proven practices: early planning avoids schedule compression, living checklists reduce effort, cross-functional review teams improve coverage, and automated evidence collection reduces administrative burden.
- Early planning
- Living checklists
- Automated evidence
- 12
Common Pitfalls
Avoid the most frequent failures: treating confirmation measures as rubber stamps, incorrect independence classification, incomplete finding closure, missing safety plan updates, and inadequate assessor competency.
- Rubber-stamp risk
- Independence errors
- Incomplete closure
Not just text: the visual toolkit
Confirmation Process Flowchart
End-to-end interactive flowchart showing the confirmation workflow: trigger, planning, execution, finding management, and closure with decision points and ASIL-dependent branches.
Independence Level Matrix
Interactive ASIL-to-independence-level matrix (I1/I2/I3) with organizational structure examples and decision criteria for each combination of activity type and ASIL.
Audit Evidence Map
Visual mapping of audit evidence types to ISO 26262 work products, showing which documents satisfy which audit objectives and how sampling depth scales with ASIL.
Findings Severity Classifier
Interactive tool to classify confirmation findings by impact and urgency, assigning severity levels and recommended closure timelines with escalation triggers.
Safety Plan Confirmation Timeline
Gantt-style timeline showing how confirmation reviews, audits, and FSAs integrate with project phase gates and milestone decisions across the safety lifecycle.
FSA Evidence Package Diagram
Visual structure of a complete FSA evidence package: assessment objects, evidence types, independence declarations, findings, corrective actions, and final assessment decision.
ASIL C Electric Parking Brake Confirmation Cycle
Complete confirmation measure execution for an ASIL C EPB system: confirmation reviews at concept and system design phases, a functional safety audit at the hardware design milestone, and an independent FSA prior to start of production.
- Confirmation review 1: FSC completeness against HARA (I2 independence satisfied)
- Confirmation review 2: TSC and hardware architecture (peer from different project)
- Functional safety audit: process compliance check with 14 findings, 3 major
- Major finding closure with evidence: updated FMEDA recalculation accepted
- FSA by certified external assessor: conditional acceptance with 2 open points
- Final FSA sign-off after open point closure at SOP minus 6 weeks
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Who this guide is for
- Safety managers planning confirmation reviews, audits and the FSA into a project schedule
- Engineers assigned as confirmation reviewers who need to know what independence they must have
- Teams preparing for a functional safety assessment and assembling the evidence package
- Quality and audit professionals mapping ISO 26262 confirmation measures onto existing audit programs
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Confirmation Measures
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