WHIS presented with King’s Award for Enterprise

 
Image courtesy WHIS

Andrew Longhurst, Managing Director of WITTENSTEIN high integrity systems and the team welcomed the Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset, Mr Mohammed Saddiq, along with Deputy Lieutenants Brigadier Nigel Beacom and Mr Denis Burn, to its Long Ashton office for the formal presentation of the Award and a tour of facilities.

The award, the most prestigious honour for UK businesses, recognises the company’s global impact and sustained growth, with over 95% of its business conducted overseas. At the heart of its success is SAFERTOS, a trusted Real Time Operating System (RTOS) used by engineers worldwide to build reliable embedded systems for the automotive, medical, industrial and aerospace sectors.

SAFERTOS is a highly deterministic and reliable kernel, engineered to meet the stringent requirements of international safety standards. It provides a simple migration path for FreeRTOS, a popular route for many software engineers that start developing with this open source software. The key differentiator of SAFERTOS is the Design Assurance Pack (DAP) and Safety Manual it is delivered with, which includes all the certification evidence required to prove its compliance with various safety standards. This significantly simplifies and accelerates the certification process for the final product across industries.

SAFERTOS is deployed across a wide range of industries where system reliability and failure prevention are paramount. In the automotive sector, it is used in systems requiring certification to standards such as ISO 26262. These can be found all over the vehicle, from Radar/vision systems to Advance driver assist and autonomous systems.

For industrial applications, it provides the reliability needed to meet the stringent IEC 61508 standard. The medical industry utilises SAFERTOS for devices that must comply with IEC 62304 and FDA 510(k) requirements, such as infusion pumps or patient monitors. Additionally, it sees application in other safety-conscious fields such as aerospace, where deterministic behaviour and system integrity are essential for safe operation.

"We are incredibly honoured to welcome His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant to our offices to formally present us with this distinguished award," said Andrew Longhurst, Managing Director of WHIS, upon receiving the honour.

“This award isn’t just a recognition of our international success, it’s a reflection of the trust our customers place in us and the belief our team has in what we do. We have grown year on year through innovation, hard work and commitment and this award is a great example of that. It is a testament to the dedication of our entire team here.”

“Winning the King’s Award for Enterprise is a remarkable achievement, one that recognises not only the company’s excellence and ambition but also its positive impact on the local community here in Somerset,” said Mr Mohammed Saddiq, the Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset.

“WITTENSTEIN high integrity systems stands as a shining example of what can be accomplished with innovation, dedication and a strong sense of purpose.”

The King’s Award for Enterprise, now in its 59th year, allows recipients like WHIS to use the King’s Awards Emblem for the next five years, a mark of quality and success.

The company’s journey to the King’s Award has been shaped by years of rigorous engineering, continuous certification and a commitment to advancing safety-critical software that engineers can trust. The visit from the Lord-Lieutenant and his Deputies served as a powerful reminder of the significance of this achievement and the opportunities it unlocks.

WHIS is preparing to move into a new office space in January, designed to foster collaboration, creativity, and continued innovation. The move signals the beginning of an exciting new chapter as the company continues to expand its international reach and its commitment to excellence.

WHIS high integrity systems’ flagship product, SAFERTOS, is a safety-critical RTOS designed for embedded processors used in electronic sub-systems. It is widely deployed across sectors such as automotive, medical, industrial and aerospace and deployed in critical applications including medical robotics, autonomous vehicles, battery management systems, eVTOL aircraft, Advanced Driver Assist Systems and medical infusion pumps. 

To demonstrate the safety credentials of SAFERTOS, WHIS has achieved certification to multiple international functional safety standards. These certifications include ISO 26262 (automotive), IEC 61508 (industrial) and extend to full support for IEC 62304 (medical) and DO-178C (aerospace). WHIS exports 95% of its products to 42 countries worldwide.