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A Modular Hazard Ontology Based on IEC61508

Authors:

Thorvaldur Jochumsson, Kaj Hänninen, Mehrdad Saadatmand, Kristina Lundqvist

Note:

Accepted for publication at ESREL 2026 (Braga, Portugal).

Research group:

Safety-Critical Engineering

Publication Type:

Conference/Workshop Paper

Venue:

The European Safety and Reliability Conference

Abstract

This paper presents HO61508, a modular hazard ontology based on IEC61508. The ontology addresses ambiguities in safety terminology across domains in which IEC61508 is applied, providing a reusable foundation for domain-specific hazard ontologies. To demonstrate its adaptability, a hydrogen-specific ontological extension was developed, H2HO, which inherits the modular structure of HO61508 and is semantically aligned with ISO15916. Both ontologies were evaluated against quality criteria in terms of completeness, clarity, accuracy, and conciseness. The results indicate that the proposed modular approach enhances conceptual precision, supports interoperability across safety standards derived from IEC61508, and provides a formal basis for future standardization efforts in emerging domains.

Bibtex

@inproceedings{Jochumsson7369,
author = {Thorvaldur Jochumsson and Kaj H{\"a}nninen and Mehrdad Saadatmand and Kristina Lundqvist},
title = {A Modular Hazard Ontology Based on IEC61508},
note = {Accepted for publication at ESREL 2026 (Braga, Portugal).},
booktitle = {The European Safety and Reliability Conference},
url = {http://www.es.mdu.se/publications/7369-}
}