Life Cycle Traceability Demonstration – Beer Brewing System
For the purposes of demonstrating the safety processes and techniques used by Verocel in compliance with DO-178B, a portion of the software for a computer-controlled, home-constructed beer brewing system has been selected and subjected to the rigors of Level A certification.
- The brew mashing system (Recirculation Infusion Mash – RIM system) was initially built as a manually-controlled machine. The computer was added later as an example of a real-time system.
- The monitor program was originally written in Ada 95, in accordance with the restrictions of the Ravenscar profile.
- After Verocel completed the certification package for Wind River VxWorks/Cert, the brew monitor program was rewritten in C demonstrating much of the VxWorks/Cert functionality, then compiled and linked with the VxWorks/Cert operating system.
The temperature monitoring part of the system was selected, and DO-178B Level A certification materials were produced in accordance with the certification plans, standards, and procedures used by Verocel for this type of work. Verocel used all of its development and qualified tools to produce the traceability artifacts required for certification.
The Verocel approach is to capture the certification “lifecycle data package” onto a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. The data package includes all documents, software requirements, design descriptions, code tests results, etc., required for certification/approval.
In this demonstration version, all process document files are replaced by files that identify the cover page and table of contents, but do not contain the body of the document itself. Also, the review checklists for this demonstration version contain the traceability information and digital reviewer signature, but none of the Verocel process-specific checklist items.
The source code is complete and can be built and executed on a PowerPC target computer. Some verification artifacts are complete for the core monitoring part of the system, but some are not "officially" reviewed.
Click here for a detailed description of the overall beer brewing system.
Click here to go to Verocel’s Technical Papers
Safety Disclaimer
A beer brewing system is NOT safety critical. The brewer has ultimate control. In the event of a hazardous condition, power can easily be disconnected to restore the system to a safe state.
