Neel Somani has built a career that sits at the intersection of theory and practice. His work spans formal methods, mac ...

The Machine Primary Control Elements (MPCE) 1 and 2 are typically a relay with force guided contacts. When a safety interlock, light curtain, or e-stop switch opens a circuit, the MPCE NO contacts ...

Traditionally, safety circuits were independent of the network. This was deemed the fastest, least complex and most reliable way to implement safe function. Isolated circuits working alongside the ...

Functional safety accounts for time — to build on existing safety structure (category) approaches. As we explored last month in this article series, accounting for time requires more work from safety ...

Many of today’s legacy manufacturing systems were developed with a either a blind eye or a minimalist approach to safety. Older technology usually forced machines to come to a full stop and be in a ...

Machinery safety becomes increasingly necessary as complex plant floor operations become more automated. Accidents can injure people and damage machines. In addition to a multitude of costs associated ...

A single global machine safety standard has been in the works for a long time and will now be a little longer. The merger of safety standards ISO 13849 and IEC 62061 into one standard, IEC/ISO 17305, ...

Keeping up with changing safety standards is nothing new for machine builders, but the recent changes to the European Commission’s Machinery Directive, which took effect on December 29, 2009, will ...

Factory equipment continues to become increasingly intelligent in large part due to the improved processing power and communication abilities found within underlying controllers, sensors, and ...

Industry trade groups have weighed in — both pro and con — on whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration should update its 30-year-old lockout/tag-out rules. The proposed change ...