Managing ASIL D functional safety for eDrive programs at scale

Client & context

GKN Automotive supplies electric all-wheel-drive and eDrive systems to German OEMs. Electrified drivelines sit at the highest end of the automotive risk scale: unintended torque is an ASIL D hazard.

The problem

eDrive programmes for German OEMs had to be managed to ASIL D — the highest integrity level ISO 26262 defines — while coordinating suppliers and governing a phased path from proving ground to public road. A gap anywhere in the safety argument would block OEM release.

What I did

• Led functional safety management up to ASIL D for AWD/eDrive engineering teams, including supplier safety coordination and technical analysis of hazardous events, with verification aligned to project milestones.
• Defined, implemented, and verified Technical Safety Requirements and Technical Safety Concepts, and designed system- and software-level safety mechanisms (AURIX TC23x internal HW mechanisms, voltage monitoring, ELMOS driver monitoring, start-up MCU test, SafePath testing).
• Analysed third-party safety manuals (AURIX TC23x, TLF35584, Vector OS, AURIX SafeTlib) and performed AURIX FMEDA to recalculate SPFM/LFM from FIT rates.
• Created a progressive safety checklist keyed to the Usage Restriction Level (trained driver, proving ground, public-road deployment), ensuring every safety mechanism was validated before each release.
• Guaranteed testing, timing, A-SPICE, and ISO 26262 compliance across the programme.

The outcome

Standards & tools