T6A Symposium
The 61508 Association (T6A) Symposium
a.k.a our T6A Symposium
The association biennially runs a T6A symposium on functional safety for the benefit of its members to share knowledge and encourage development. The symposium is often also open to non-member functional safety practitioners to encourage networking.
Our T6A symposium is a full-day in-person networking event focussed on functional safety and safety-related systems. Papers and workshops that can be covered include any topic related to functional safety (which could cover any of various sectors).
Our T6A symposium focuses on important functional safety principles and includes consideration for current issues and future trends. Our symposium has two streams, one for papers and another for our partners and more technical workshops such as those covering Conformity Assessment of Safety-related Systems (CASS) assessment templates.
Speakers from end users, manufacturers, consultants and conformity assessment bodies, all heavily involved in functional safety / safety-related systems, share their knowledge and expertise on their topic. We always allow ample opportunities throughout for questions, discussions and networking (after presentations, in panel discussions, in breaks and especially over lunch, which is included).
Our T6A Symposium 2026 will be Wednesday the 25th of November 2026 in York. We have a large event centre and our attendee capacity has significantly increased from 2024. Our T6A Symposium 2026 agenda is below and we will keep this webpage updated as we progress.
We hope to see you at the next T6A Symposium! Please come and network! We have plenty of space.
T6A Symposium – Guidance in Functional Safety Compliance
The form below (now open for registration!) allows you to apply for registration at our T6A symposium. Attendance is only available as in-person and is free-of-charge for the full day including refreshments and lunch. Many of our Association members will attend but we have plenty of “open” spaces offered on a first come, first served basis (ALL general functional safety practitioners are welcome). Association members may sponsor (recommend) a non-member for attendance. Your registration at the T6A symposium is not confirmed until you have received a confirmation from the Association. Your registration is not transferable, holds no monetary value, and can be cancelled at any time by The 61508 Association.
Once you submit your request for registration at the T6A Symposium, the information will be forwarded to our association coordinator who will process your request. Please bear with us, it will take us some time to review the registrations, but we will come back to you.
Our 2026 mainstream, now the centre stream, will be in the hotel “event centre”; a large room with a massive event screen, raised stage for presenters, and even a discussion panel area. We have gone much bigger for 2026 including lots more space for even more attendees with more agenda time allocated for discussion! Please do come and join us.
Please refrain from bringing valuables as our symposium will be held in a large public space without secure storage. Thank you.
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Our T6A Symposium 2026 Agenda (25-Nov-26):
Slot |
Start Time |
Centre Stream(Event Centre) |
Partner Stream(Minster Room) |
Finish Time |
| – | 08:30 | *** REGISTRATION DESK OPENS (Oak Room) *** | N/A | |
| 1 | 09:30 | Welcome by the Chair of The 61508 Association (T6A) | 09:40 (10) | |
| 2 | 09:40 | Todd-Parry Principle: CASS and its importance for industry (Peter Brown – Lloyd’s Register / Andrew Derbyshire – ERM) | 10:00 (20) | |
| 3 | 10:05 | A-3: IEC 61508 Edition 3 update (Hassan El Sayed – UL / Peter Brown – Lloyd’s Register) | B-3: CASS 61511 workshop – Process industry templates (Andrew Derbyshire – ERM / Deepti Chauhan – Sensia Global) | 10:45 (40) |
| – | 10:45 | COMFORT BREAK AND NETWORKING (Oak Room) | 11:15 (30) | |
| 4 | 11:15 | A-4: Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and functional safety (Ian Woodrow – Cairn Risk) | B-4: The InstMC SIG Slot: TBA (Presenter – Company) – We have invited the InstMC to present | 11:55 (40) |
| 5 | 12:00 | A-5: Panel Discussion: Competence – A functional safety discussion (Damian Marsden – ERM + Panel) | B-5: ISO 26262 Edition 3 update (David Ward – HORIBA MIRA) | 13:00 (60) |
| – | 13:00 | LUNCH BREAK AND NETWORKING (Oak Room) | 14:00 (60) | |
| 6 | 14:00 | A-6: System Integrity – A joined up approach to safety and security (Jon Wiggins – DEKRA) | B-6: The IET TN Slot: TBA (Presenter – Company) – We have invited the IET to present | 14:40 (40) |
| 7 | 14:45 | A-7: Panel Discussion: Artificial Intelligence (AI) – A functional safety discussion (Presenter – Company + Panel) | B-7: CASS Scheme workshop – Product, machinery, cyber, and self-assessment templates (Peter Brown – Lloyd’s Register / Andrew Derbyshire – ERM) | 15:35 (50) |
| – | 15:35 | QUICK COMFORT BREAK (Oak Room) | 15:50 (15) | |
| 8 | 15:50 | A-8: Functional Safety – Where process meets machine (Peter Brown – Lloyd’s Register) | B-8: Reserve – TBA (Presenter – Company) | 16:30 (40) |
| 9 | 16:30 | “Final” Discussion session (all attendees), questions, and formal CLOSE | 17:00 (30) | |
| – | 17:00 | Informal post symposium questions / discussions (plenty of our members will stay to talk) | 17:45 (45) | |
NOTE 1: All combined sessions are held in the “Event Centre”, or Centre Stream, location.
NOTE 2: Our agenda will include various discussion options and networking opportunities (formal and informal) throughout the day with a “final” session at the end of the day (discuss any topic). Panel discussion sessions will include a panel on the stage but we actively encourage audience participation during these panel sessions (the conversations will not be planned out in advance). The final informal session will allow individual questions / smaller discussions for those wanting to stay but attendees are free to leave. The CASS workshops are walkthroughs of parts of templates and an opportunity to ask any questions related to the use of these assessment templates.
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The Milner York (Hotel) location and directions information: Contact & Location | The Milner York
Data Privacy:
The 61508 Association (T6A) will only use the personal data provided via this form, via legitimate interest, for the purposes of managing and enabling your attendance at the T6A symposium. The T6A will retain a list of symposium attendees for internal use but will not distribute this list to its members. The T6A will not provide the personal data to any external parties other than the hotel hosting the event, unless if required by law.
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