As the demand for robust and compliant embedded systems grows, considering functional safety from the start of your project is crucial for ensuring compliance and reliability. The following 8 benefits of using a pre-certified safety RTOS are based on SAFERTOS®, an IEC 61508 SIL 3 RTOS used in embedded systems. Download the “8 Reasons to Use a Pre-Certified Safety RTOS” PDF here.
RTOS Engineer at WHIS
Last updated 14th October 2025
1. Ease of Product Certification
The process of certifying SAFERTOS® in a product is simple and straightforward. All that is required is to follow the clear, concise instructions found within the safety manual on how to install, integrate and use SAFERTOS® within an application, and submit the resulting evidence to your auditors. Additionally, with our Design Assurance Pack (DAP), no re-testing on your target hardware is required, reducing your workload.
2. Lowers Risk
In many safety critical applications, the RTOS is the most critical component. The RTOS not only schedules the functionality of the software, it also schedules the operation of Safety Monitors and Safety Functions. Using a trusted component at the heart of your design shortens development schedules and de-risks the product certification process.
3. Isolation and Separation of Tasks
SAFERTOS® supports the isolation and separation of individual tasks using the processor’s memory protection features. Reduce development and production costs in your designs by enabling safety-critical code to coexist with commercial-grade code in the same code space, while maintaining physical isolation.
4. Determinism
SAFERTOS® is designed to deliver extremely high levels of determinism. Features frequently found in commercial grade RTOSes that affect deterministic behaviour have been removed, such as dynamic memory allocation.
5. Compiler and Processor Combination
SAFERTOS® is delivered bespoke to your specific compiler and processor combination; this ensures no re-testing is required, and your path to certifying an application built on SAFERTOS® is as smooth as possible.
6. Robustness
SAFERTOS® uses a robust implementation, designed to comply with the most rigorous international design standards. A deterministic design, self-verification features, parameter validation and stack checking routines all contribute to ensure SAFERTOS® performs as expected.
7. Quality Assurance
WHIS is ISO 9001 certified, with SAFERTOS® being pre certified to ISO 26262 & IEC 61508, while also complying to IEC 62304, DO 178C. SAFERTOS® is delivered with full source code and a Design Assurance Pack (DAP). The DAP contains every Design and Verification artefact created for your specific SAFERTOS® port, and provides complete transparency over the full Design Life Cycle.
8. Proven in Use
SAFERTOS® has a 100% certification rate in applications to date. It has been independently certified many times on numerous platforms to IEC 61508-3 SIL 3, the highest possible SIL level for a software only component and ISO 26262 ASIL D.
Why Should You Use A Pre-Certified RTOS?
8 Reasons to Use an RTOS From WITTENSTEIN
WITTENSTEIN high integrity systems (WHIS) are experts in embedded RTOS and Middleware technology with a specialization in safety certified software. Supplying advanced RTOS and Middleware components across a broad range of market sectors and applications, from basic embedded designs, up to complex safety systems demanding the highest levels of certification.
1. A Global Safety Company
WHIS is first and foremost a safety systems company with a history in aerospace. Our expertise is exemplified by SAFERTOS®, which is globally trusted and proven across a wide range of critical applications, from Safety Island, Autonomous Systems and Battery Management Systems, in industries such as automotive, industrial, medical and aerospace.
2. Comprehensive Product Range
The WHIS RTOS ecosystem consists of:
3. Partner Ecosystem
With FreeRTOS and SAFERTOS® sharing the same functional model, upgrading is seamless and reduces training costs for teams already using FreeRTOS. FreeRTOS, downloaded every 170 seconds in 2024, powers a massive global user base. SAFERTOS®, backed by strategic partnerships with silicon vendors and a range of supported platforms, offers unparalleled support for your next project.
4. Tool Support
SAFERTOS® is supported by a wide range of industry tool suppliers, including PLS Universal Debug Engine, Lauterbach TRACE32®, VectorCAST, Stateviewer, and Tracealyzer, ensuring efficient debugging, testing, and system optimization.
5. Quality
Built on robust quality systems and rigorously tested across diverse sectors, SAFERTOS® is a proven and exceptionally resilient solution for safety-critical applications. Supported by our Design Assurance Pack (DAP), SAFERTOS® delivers unmatched reliability and performance, ensuring it meets the highest standards in safety critical environments.
6. Training, Consultancy and Support
Our additional services are crafted to support our customers by leveraging our expertise to enhance your final design, streamline your design processes, and facilitate a smoother path to certification. Additionally, WHIS can provide bespoke, in-depth training courses. For example, assisting with OS porting to your hardware (DCR) and providing continuous support throughout your project, including IDE updates.
7. Flexible Licensing
We aim to provide customers with the license model that best suits their needs, supported by a transparent pricing policy. Our standard licensing model uses a royalty free, perpetual license.
8. Part of an International Corporation
WITTENSTEIN high integrity systems is part of the WITTENSTEIN group, a global technology company established in 1949. With a presence in over 45 countries and a workforce exceeding 2,800 employees, WITTENSTEIN achieved a turnover of over 500 million USD in the 2022/23 fiscal year.
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