The adoption of automation in factories has been on the rise in recent years, as manufacturers seek to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase productivity but this adoption while being advantageous for production has possible consequences for the general operations within a facility. Overall, the increased use of complex automation solutions in modern factories has led to a growing need for sophisticated safety solutions. These solutions need to be designed to prevent accidents while allowing for efficient interaction between operators and machines, and the growing use of COBOTS is only adding to the complexity of the safety challenge. So where should you start? Equipment designers must undertake a full risk assessment to BS EN ISO 12100:2010 before starting the design of the safety-related control system for any machinery. The purpose of the risk assessment is to identify potential hazards associated with the machinery and determine the necessary safety measures to reduce or eliminate these hazards. This includes normal operation as well as the maintenance and setting-up of the equipment. BS EN ISO 12100:2010 provides a systematic approach for conducting a risk assessment and helps designers identify any potential hazards associated with the machinery. Additionally, the safety-related control system design should comply with the BS EN ISO 13849-1:2015 standard, which specifies the requirements and procedures for the safety-related parts of the control system. This standard provides the guidelines for the design, implementation, and validation of safety-related control systems, ensuring that they are designed to the required safety level - you wouldn’t expect to see a washingmachine door switch used on the access door of a robot palletising cell. Neglecting to undertake a full risk assessment and not considering the BS EN ISO 13849-1:2015 could result in safetyrelated failures and hazards to the operators, leading to injuries or even fatalities. Therefore, it is essential for equipment designers to follow these standards to ensure the safe operation of machinery. What about COBOTS? While collaborative robots, or cobots, are designed to work alongside human workers, they still require a thorough risk assessment before being put into use. Many engineers may assume that cobots are safe to use due to their collaborative nature, but they still pose potential hazards to human workers, such as collisions, entanglement, or crushing, the assessment should include factors such as the task that the cobot is performing, the environment it is working in, and the potential interactions with human workers. Safety solutions for the modern factory Simply shutting down the equipment entirely is not an option for modern equipment in many cases, operators must interact with the machine including programming/teaching, set-up and maintenance tasks. This interaction between the equipment and the machine is often overlooked at the design stage leading to makeshift solutions or giving the operators a motivation to defeat the safety-devices. Thankfully leading industrial safety solution provider Euchner has developed the technology to address these challenges and Is machinery safety system design keeping up with automation complexity? COVER STORY
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