Past Events

MACHINE SAFETY CONFERENCE - ENIGMA SOLVED!

The Machinery Safety Conference and Exhibition organised by BARA (the British Automation and Robot Association) held on 21 June 2007 at the National Codes Centre, Bletchley Park, successfully decoded the current machine safety standards situation, and gave an insight into the transition from EN 954-1 to standards based on the concept of functional safety. Presentations by key players in the industry (an audience of over 100) used case studies to illustrate how functional safety in machine and robotic automation has been implemented in practice.

Steve Shaw, of the HSE (Health and Safety Executive), opened the conference with a tutorial on Risk Assessment and Safety Integrity Level (SIL) assignment, whilst providing a view on the current standards situation. Philip Parry, also from the HSE, then presented a paper on functional safety and power drive systems for safety-related applications. He answered several questions relating to implementation of safety-related control of drives. Paul Laidler (of Laidler Associates – the event sponsor) and Steve Allen (Procter Machine Guarding) undertook a well received double act, showing project management of a safety solution on a robotic cell, including CE marking and guarding. The remainder of the day featured case studies, demonstrating safety-related engineering in a variety of applications utilising safety-related networking technologies.

Stephen Langley (ISS Safety) used a robotic application to illustrate the benefits of using a Rockwell safety PLC and combining safety and standard I/O on a single DeviceNet network, utilising CIP Safety. Stephen comments: “The conference organisers should congratulate themselves on organising a well balanced conference that provided delegates with information on the development and application of new machine safety standards.”

Stephen Langley, ISS Safety, presenting - Image: GLock

Seb Strutt (Sick UK) provided eagerly received advice on applying different networking technologies to a safety-related application, showing different potential architectures and giving is assessment of the pros and cons of each. This prompted a very lively debate, setting the scene for the panel session and some controversial questions. Stewart Robinson (Pilz Automation Technology) gave an overview of current network safety technologies, and presented a forthcoming solution – SafetyNet p, the Ethernet successor to SafetyBUS p.

Seb Strutt , SICK UK, presenting - Image: GLock

Peter Cheetham (Sigmapi Systems) went on to present an overview of AS-Interface Safety at Work technology, illustrating application examples. He says: “Sigmapi Systems, representing the AS-interface Expert Alliance, found it an excellent conference for academics and industrialists to share expertise, problems and new solutions.”  Finally, Mike Golding (Fortress Interlocks) discussed the convergence of interlock technology, showing new technology in robot applications, with options for safety networking. Stefan Zaitschenko , Senior Electrical Project Engineer with Corus UK Ltd in Teeside, says, "Very rarely do we have the opportunity to question key experts in the field". His colleague George Mounsey, based at Scunthorpe continued, “The day gave a comprehensive and timely update of the latest developments in functional safety.”

Jon Severn, the editor of MachineBuilding.net, comments: "I found the event very informative, and it was useful to hear about not just current (and newly introduced) standards, but also forthcoming standards. The mixture of presentations relating directly to standards and those based on case studies worked extremely well, and the tabletop exhibition alongside the conference provided an excellent opportunity to meet the presenters and see some of the latest machinery safety products."

Afterwards, nearly all of the delegates and speakers took the opportunity of a guided tour of the Bletchley Park code breaking site, and the birthplace of the modern computer. They were among the first to see a fully working, rebuilt version of the Turing Bombe – the machine that was used to crack the Enigma codes. The Bombe, which remained a secret for almost 50 years, has just been commissioned. On 17 July 2007, to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the British Computer Society, the Bombe Rebuild was switched on after 12 years of meticulous reconstruction.

Tony Sale discusses COLOSSUS with delegates - Image GLock

Following the success of the Machinery Safety Conference series and the continued high level of interest shown in the subject of standards and safety-related networking, BARA is now organising future events to cover these areas; the next one will be held in the North West in the autumn/winter (date to be confirmed).

Dr Richard Piggin, Conference Director and Chairman of BARA's Safety SIG (Special Interest Group), comments: "These conferences continue to be extremely popular, as witnessed by the capacity attendance. Delegates clearly articulating the need for a forum where functional safety standards and legislation can be discussed, particularly with the HSE (a BARA Safety Special Interest Group member). Machine designers and builders, system integrators and users of machinery have expressed their better understanding and improved knowledge these events impart. As the subject develops further, with the transition to new standards, and it becomes increasingly complex, BARA will continue to educate the market and provide a forum for debate."

MEMBERSHIP

If you are interested in joining the Safety Special Interest Group please contact the SIG chair, Dr Richard Piggin, email: bara_a@wmgmail.wmg.warwick.ac.uk