Join the CASS Community

How can I join the CASS Community?

CASS is an open and transparent methodology for assessing compliance to IEC 61508 and related standards. Are you involved in functional safety and wish to be kept up to date on CASS template and program developments? Do you have the interest and time to be actively involved in the management of the CASS templates and programs?

Apply to join The CASS Scheme Association (TCSA) community online today (a.k.a the CASS community). The CASS community is for those who use or are interested in the CASS templates (including associated scheme documents) and want to be kept up to date on the latest templates, the latest scheme updates, and updates from the management meetings. Participants in our CASS community have the option (via request and effort) to become a management member of the The CASS Scheme Association (TCSA). This membership request is made via one of the tick boxes below and the effort monitored via active participation at management meetings.

Participation in our CASS community is currently free-of-charge to all organisations. Membership of CASS, as a management member, is also free-of-charge to all organisations but requires greater commitment to our principles and activities.

Information about CASS is available from www.61508.org/cass.

NOTE: CASS RFSA is not a competence management scheme nor a competence management system.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Joining the CASS community does not confer any of the benefits associated with membership of The 61508 Association. Membership of The 61508 Association is completely separate (and can be applied for here).

The purpose of The CASS Scheme Association (TCSA) is to continue the development and maintenance of the CASS scheme as a conformity assessment methodology for safety-related systems that offers openness, traceability, auditability, integrity, and availability to all and is free-of-charge. One of the main purposes of the Association is therefore instigating, defining and / or contributing to CASS assessment templates. The other activity that The CASS Scheme Association (TCSA) maintains is a functional safety assessor registration scheme called the Registered Functional Safety Assessor (RFSA) scheme.

Category
Details
CASS Community
  • The CASS community is for those organisations that cannot commit the time and resource to the creation, review, and maintenance of CASS templates and scheme supporting documents (but still wish to be kept informed).
  • Each participant in the CASS community will list their company name only on the CASS pages of The 61508 Association website. Participants in the CASS community are not members of the Association and are not invited to TCSA management meetings as this is limited to management members only.
  • Participants in the CASS community are expected to use and positively promote the CASS scheme assessment templates.
  • Participants in the CASS community may ad-hoc review new CASS templates and documents (e.g., offer made with limit on review time).
  • Participants in the CASS community may feedback on current templates (e.g., from template use) and may suggest ideas for possible new scheme templates.
  • Participants in the CASS community will be sent regular information on CASS scheme developments and progress (e.g., management meeting updates).
  • Every three years CASS community participants will be asked to renew their status via the above form otherwise your participation will expire.
  • Participants in the CASS community may withdraw from the community on giving due notice to the management committee (via The 61508 Association contact form).
Management Member
  • Management membership of The CASS Scheme Association is open to all organisations that have an interest in CASS and that complete the declaration above. Please see our CASS pages for the benefits of management membership, which is currently free-of-charge (cost reviewed on an annual basis).
  • The CASS Scheme Association (TCSA) management committee shall be comprised from the management member(s) volunteering their time and resource to the aims and goals of the Association.
  • Management membership of The CASS Scheme Association (TCSA) is reviewed on an annual basis by the management committee. Management members that fail to attend enough management meetings and support the committee tasks will revert to become a simple participant of the CASS community.
  • The Association, as an unincorporated association, shall be controlled by the management committee of management members.
  • A minimum of three, in-person / hybrid, management meetings shall be held annually. These can be hosted by Association members or held in public spaces (as the Association has limited resources and membership is currently free). The Association may invite observers and guests to attend management meetings.
  • The 61508 Association (T6A) chair may be a regular guest at the management meetings.
  • Each management member will list their company name only on the CASS pages of The 61508 Association website.
  • The management members shall share the costs of the Association on a basis to be agreed between them and all expenses shall be funded in advance (currently run as no-cost).
  • No Association member shall commit the Association to any contract or expense without the consent of the management committee.
  • Management members shall be responsible for any Association debts and contractual obligations.
  • The management members shall be responsible collectively for the proper conduct of the affairs of the Association.
  • A company may resign from management membership on giving due notice and paying any outstanding monies due.
  • A company’s membership shall be terminated if at least two thirds of the existing management members vote for termination.
  • No Association management member shall commit the association to any presentation or paper without the consent of the management committee.
  • The Association management committee may select a suitable management member or request a volunteer to represent the Association and present on a CASS / functional safety related topic at a third-party event (e.g., T6A Symposium).
  • External presentations and relevant external events shall be approved by the management committee prior to the commitment to present.
  • Every three years management members will be asked to renew membership via the above form otherwise your membership will expire.
  • Management members may withdraw from membership and the committee on giving due notice to the management committee (via The 61508 Association contact form).

 

NOTE: An example of active participation (in relation to the RFSA scheme) in the Association is several years management membership as a representative of your organisation including attendance at many CASS meetings, active participation in meeting discussions, and technical involvement in CASS template updates / reviews.

 

How we use your information and communicate with you

We only collect and use, via legitimate interest, your name, email, telephone number, organisation, and address via the above application form and any emails you send. We only use this information to send you Association updates, invite management members to meetings, and contact management members for Association tasks and / or work. The CASS Scheme Association (TCSA) does not store any data as it has no systems.

The information you have provided above shall:

  • only be used by The CASS Scheme Association (TCSA), specifically the current TCSA management members (see CASS – The 61508 Association for the current list), and The 61508 Association (as we share a website) but not shared with any other organisation. Your application form will arrive with the T6A coordinator via email which will also be visible to our Association Chair (currently Lloyd’s Register).
  • be used internally within TCSA to understand our community / membership, its needs, and how participants / members use the CASS scheme material, in order for us to improve the scheme.
  • in respect of the organisation name only, be listed publicly as a participant of the CASS community or management member of The CASS Scheme Association.
  • be used to generally keep in touch (a little more detail below).

NOTE: The use of your information for the CASS Registered Functional Safety Assessor (RFSA) scheme is different from the above. This is detailed in the CASS RFSA scheme manual (available in the downloads section).

As an organisation seeking participation in the CASS community or management membership of The CASS Scheme Association, we would like to send news about CASS developments, upcoming meetings, renewal subscriptions (if applicable), and opportunities to serve on the management committee. Your submission of the application form above indicates your consent for us to do so. If at any point you would prefer not to hear from us, please contact us via The 61508 Association contact us form.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The 61508 Association (T6A) and The CASS Scheme Association (TCSA) are totally separate associations that typically do have some members in common. Participation in the CASS community or management membership of TCSA does not infer any benefits related to membership of T6A. As our application form is completed via this website, submitting your details for TCSA membership will mean submitting them to both T6A and TCSA.