Drives & Controls June 2022

n NEWS June 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com 6 IN OCTOBER 2019, the Germany machinery safety specialist Pilz was hit by devastating ransomware cyberattack which knocked out its production, IT and Web systems for months in some cases. The company, which refused to pay the ransom, had to revert to using phones and whiteboards. “It almost killed us,” admits joint managing partner, Thomas Pilz. But “we fought back,” he adds. “It was wake-up call.” Now, less than three years later, Pilz is launching its own industrial security service to complement its traditional machine safety activities and training courses. The service will take into account all aspects of protecting humans and machines. It will be “a one-stop shop,” according Susanne Kunschert, Thomas Pilz’s sister, with whom he runs the business. As happens in its safety activities, the first step in the new service will be to perform a risk assessment for a customer. This will assess potential weak points and classify the effects of potential cyberattacks from trivial to company-critical. In a second step, Pilz will create an industrial security concept aimed at sectioning networks based on the “zones and conduits”model described in the IEC 62443 standard. This will allow administrative and production networks to be separated, for example. Networks can also be segmented down to individual manufacturing cells. Workflows for countermeasures will be developed and which measures from user authentication and physical protection, to backing up and restoring data, will be checked. After appropriate measures have been implemented, either by the customer or by Pilz, they will be verified by tests and reviews, ensuring that the concept has been implemented in accordance with the specification. Kunschert suggests that the new service, due to launch later his year, will offer users benefits including: n ensuring the availability of machinery and systems; n guaranteeing the integrity of the data in machines, processes and end-products; n defining the responsibility for security measures between machine-builders and users; and n offering users practical support, based on Pilz’s personal experience of the effects of cyberattacks on machine safety. The new security assessment service for plant and machinery will supplement Pilz’s existing safety-related inspections of machines that focus on functional safety. www.pilz.com/en-INT Cyberattack victim Pilz launches an industrial security service p Coventry University is developing a national skills hub that will support specialist training in the PEMD (power electronics, machines and drives) sector, after securing £1m of funding from the Driving the Electric Revolution challenge created by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) . The hub will be a digital platform connecting training and education course providers with employers and learners, as well as PEMD professionals who want to develop expertise in specialist areas. The aim is for it to become the“go-to”place for employers needing PEMD skills. p US bearings-maker The Timken Company is buying the Slovakian firm Spinea , which makes cycloidal reduction gears and actuators for precision automation and robotics applications. Details of the transaction have not been released. Privately owned and operated since its founding in 1994, Spinea’s sales this year are expected to be around $40m. Timken says that Spinea complements its Cone Drive precision gearing range and will boost its position in automation. p The Blackburn-based industrial spare parts supplier Northern Industrial has opened a site in Germany, which it hopes will eventually equal its UK operation, focusing on customers in the EU, while a site in Mexico serves the Americas and the UK serves the rest of the world. The family-owned business, founded in 1978, supplies new, reconditioned and obsolete parts and repair services to 146 countries. Its UK operation holds more than £10m in stock, with more than 200,000 parts numbers frommore than 1,350 manufacturers. Last year Northern Industrial achieved its sixth successive year of growth, with a 20% rise in sales. p ThinGap , the Californian manufacturer of zero-cogging slotless motors, is merging with the precision motion group Allied Motion Technologies . The terms of the merger have not been revealed. ThinGap produces low- profile, brushless DC motor kits and assemblies using a proprietary wave-wound stator architecture and optimised rotors. Its high- torque-to-volume motors span ratings from 0.1–70kW and are aimed at precision applications. NEWS BRIEFS SCHNEIDER ELECTRICHAS announced a service plan for variable-speed drives that, it claims, will cut the risk of VSD failures by up to 65%, as well as reducing maintenance and planned downtime by up to 20%. The EcoStruxure Service Plan combines round-the-clock remote monitoring with preventive condition-based maintenance. The new service, announced at the Hannover Messe, is based on similar schemes that Schneider already offers for managing LV and MV electrical assets such as transformers, switchgear and circuit breakers, as well as three-phase UPSs (uninterruptible power supplies) up to 40kVA. The plan provides dynamic schedules for maintaining VSDs, combined with preventive visits. By monitoring the VSDs 24/7, potential issues can be detected, allowing users to reduce unscheduled and unnecessary downtime, extending asset lives, optimise operations, and improve safety for operators and equipment. Experts monitor the health of the connected VSDs remotely and offer recommendations for optimising their performance with customised quarterly reports and annual consultations. They will also will notify customers if they identify potential issues, suggesting corrective actions that can be implemented on-line or on-site. https://www.se.com/ww/en/work/services/ service-plan/ecostruxure-service-plan.jsp Remote service will cut VSD failure rates by ‘up to 65%’ Family business: joint managing partnersThomas Pilz and his sister, Susanne Kunschert