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What will make my machine safe?
2.2 What will make my machine safe?
The basis of any safety technology is a risk
assessment of the machine. Here, harmonized
standards for the specific machine type – the C-
standards – are helpful. If there is no appropriate C-
standard, or only one that does not apply to all
aspects of the machine, EN ISO 12100 comes into
play. This explains how the boundaries of the
machine are determined, which hazards need to be
taken into account and how the risk estimation and
risk evaluation are to be performed (see Figure 3).
The risk evaluation is usually conducted with a risk
graph. In this context, the most well-known risk graph
is EN ISO 13849-1 (see Figure 4, Page 11), which
presents only an approximate classification of
severity of injuries, hazard exposure frequency and
hazard avoidability. Other risk graphs are equally
applicable.
Risk reduction is only addressed in the second step.
It must be kept in mind, risk reduction measures carry
an explicit priority here. According to EN ISO 12100,
inherently safe design must always be applied first. In
most cases, these types of solutions are also the most
cost-effective. If risk levels cannot be adequately
reduced by inherently safe design, technical
protective measures can be applied. Their
effectiveness and suitability must also be evaluated
as described in EN ISO 13849. Only when technical
measures do not adequately reduce risk either can
user information be used as final option. However,
this can be extremely comprehensive, since they
open possibilities to thoroughly document safe
operation and correspondingly training of the
operator.
2.3 The safety function
If the risks have been identified and evaluated and
technical protective measures should be employed to
reduce them, EN ISO 13849-1 is then applied. Here,
the first step in implementation is always formulation
of the safety function, frequently referred to with the abbreviation SRP/CS (Safety related part of a control
system). In practice, the term “subsystem” is often used with the same meaning. The particular safety function
must be selected so it will reduce the risk to an acceptable level. When formulating the protective function, it is
helpful to clearly designate the Trigger event, the Reaction and the Safe state. In general, several elements are
used to realize the safety function, with a 3-stage implementation as typical. The situation is captured by sensor
technology, identified as Input in EN ISO 13849-1, that detects the hazardous state. The logical processing is run
in Logic. The reaction is realized through the Output, or, the actuator technology, and leads to a safe state. In
most cases, the individual elements serve not just one, but several, safety functions. For instance, the same
contactor can be used for safety-oriented switching of an emergency stop safety function or a safety function that
monitors access to a hazard area. Likewise, the same safety logic applies in both cases. Only the Input will be
different in these two cases; specifically, one an emergency stop switch and one a light grid or light curtain.
Each of the applications presented in this manual demonstrate a complete safety function; however, depending on
the example, the focus can be on either the Input or Output side. If the number of in- and outputs is not the limiting
element and there are no special requirements for diagnosis of the sensors and actuators, most examples can be
Illustration 3: Risk assessment