Safety Technology Strategies for Industry’s Combined Hardware/Software Reality
Why this article is worth your time:
- Learn how to successfully address the integration of new safety technologies with legacy systems.
- Find out how to reduce human error with sensors.
- Get insights into how GM improved worker safety with simulation technology.
To keep industrial and manufacturing equipment, machinery and personnel safe, several rules of thumb apply. Obvious and effective practices include: establishing a culture of safety, using tools and machinery properly, conducting regular facility inspections and safety training programs, deploying wearables and personal protective equipment, and adhering to standards such as those set forth by OSHA, IEEE and others.
But not all industries have the same types and levels of safety challenges. For example. chemical and gas producers face issues that wire-harness or component makers do not.
Fortunately, there are highly effective tools and strategies available that can minimize and, in some cases, eliminate many safety risks.
Software’s growing role in safety
Sensors, software, data processing, digital twins, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), guarding systems and light curtains are all touted as common safety tools on the automated factory floor.
Safety systems prevent negative events before they occur, making it difficult to measure ROI since these events may never materialize, leaving no direct data to prove the system's impact. To address this, manufacturers should establish a baseline before implementing new technologies and measure performance over a defined period after deployment.
But what are the top technologies most often used today?
According to Austin Anderson, product owner for the Fluke Reliability Azima DLI’s condition monitoring software, manufacturers should consider safety software as important as data coming in from sensors. He described a system designed to enhance worker safety as having sensing technology, data processing and control systems all working together.
Siemens’ technical product manager Josh Carlson sees a bright path forward via manufacturing software for planning, simulating and validating human tasks, robotics processes and automation in a 3D environment powered by cloud technologies. The key to long-term success here, he said, lies in choosing the right solutions that integrate well with existing workflows, including hardware safety devices like sensors, controllers, switches and relays. Manufacturing simulation software enhanced with AI, cloud functionality and immersive technologies (such as AR and VR) provide manufacturers with the best opportunity for reducing safety risks, he added.
Mark Breese, principal consultant at Yokogawa RAP, cites the move towards work-process digitalization in more high-risk industries and other sectors as they realize the benefits of automating safety processes. He also noted the use of AI-based technologies to further augment safety by ingesting vast amounts of data and information and providing insight based on it.
Reducing human error with sensors
Although automation technologies can perform many tasks better than humans and with dependable consistency, the possibility for human error still exists.
According to Dave Cameron, director of product and project management at Bosch Rexroth, sensors and cameras can reduce human errors when working with controllers to guide operators in correct production processes. Controllers plus software provide the safety monitoring necessary for critical human safety and improved manufacturing processes. For example, employing limited-speed safety functions to control motion can also prevent scrap in production, a great alternative to starting and stopping motion in many applications.
Noting that complex automation technologies that include sensors and controls require specialized skills to implement correctly, T.J. Kusnierek, sales product manager for shopfloor solutions at Bosch Rexroth, advised manufacturers to not overlook easy-to-implement protective barriers that provide high levels of safety while reducing human errors.
Because complex automation technologies that include sensors and controls require specialized skills to implement correctly, manufacturers should not overlook easy-to-implement protective barriers that provide high levels of safety while reducing human errors.
“Installing a physical barrier is a simple way to protect workers and most include the necessary components to mount safety sensors if companies want to add an additional layer of safety,” he said.
Another key to reducing human error is not creating more rules that add confusion, said Breese. “Humans tend to look for short cuts, so the real advantage of good software technologies are that they allow users to get a more intelligent perspective on work by making it more visible and by ensuring that the safety controls are always relevant to the work. The short cut [to this reduction in human errors] is the removal of all the spurious, irrelevant information so users only read and see what they really need to. This also provides significant benefits to mental health and well-being, as the stress of wading through irrelevant data is gone.”
Safety tech implementation challenges
Like any new technology implementation, safety tech has its own integration and operation issues, along with the need for personnel training and, typically, additional costs.
Siemens’ Carlson suggests manufacturers should first identify their specific safety challenges and goals as they keep an eye on meeting the required industry standards. Initial costs and integration challenges could steer some manufacturers to consider cloud-based solutions, he said. “With the benefits of cloud-based deployment, manufacturers gain a cost-effective, flexible and secure approach to scale their operations efficiently.”
While overcoming initial costs and integration challenges is inevitable, real success comes when manufacturers align their production processes with their chosen automation and safety technologies. But this is more easily said than done.
Bosch Rexroth’s Kusnierek sees a paradox of choice as a challenge due to the abundance of safety technologies on the market that boast a variety of benefits. He said companies often struggle to focus their ideas and implement the right safety technologies that will have the most impact while optimizing their investment. For this reason he stresses that it’s important for manufacturers to work with a knowledgeable partner who can help them determine the best technologies for that unique application.
Further complicating this decision, said Bosch Rexroth’s Cameron, is that, in some cases, it can be harder and more costly to update existing systems than it is to implement new production lines using the latest technologies. “The issue of compatibility of deployed controllers and older hardware can sometimes be limiting,” he said.
Overcoming safety system implementation challenges
Issues related to integrating new safety technologies with legacy systems, personnel training and other challenges require specific strategies, which can include phased implementations, return on investment (ROI) analyses and continuous training programs.
Manufacturing simulation software, enhanced with AI, cloud functionality and immersive technologies (such as AR and VR) provide manufacturers with the best opportunity for reducing safety risks.
Breese’s advice is to always start with a solid foundation based on the cause and not the symptoms of any current issues. He recommends always looking at safety risk assessments tied to digital permissions first, because, if the risks are visible, manufacturers can apply the appropriate controls. This approach drives consistently safe work, with fewer or no incidents, and with the assurance that competent people are performing the work.
Once the foundational base is in place, risk assessment results should drive decisions on plant data, work procedures, the need for robotics and any tie-ins with safety instrumented systems.
Carlson adds that manufacturers can overcome many safety-related challenges by prioritizing a phased implementation of simulation software targeting a specific problem or a small number of initial use cases to provide the proof necessary to gain acceptance. Implementing a continuous training program that includes immersive virtual training using a digital twin of manufacturing systems is a proven way to further the adoption of these technologies to enhance safety, he said.
Concurring with the idea of testing out small use cases first, Fluke Reliability’s Anderson highly recommends pilot projects. “This approach makes the initial costs more manageable and allows for a smaller, more focused group of people to get familiar with the technology,” he said. “It also provides the technology provider an opportunity to train the team and demonstrate the value of the program on a smaller scale, which can serve as a steppingstone for broader adoption.”
Anderson added that a persistent issue manufacturers need to recognize when it comes to safety technology purchases is that ROI can be difficult to quantify. “Safety solutions prevent negative events before they occur,” he said, “making it difficult to measure ROI since these events may never materialize, leaving no direct data to prove the system's impact. To address this, manufacturers should establish a baseline before implementing new technologies and measure performance over a defined period after deployment, such as three-month, six-month and annual measurements of system ROI. This approach enables a clearer understanding of the system's effectiveness and the true ROI.”
GM’s safety success with simulation
To highlight the benefits of new safety technologies, Siemens’ Carlson referenced General Motors’ use of simulation to improve its manufacturing process design safety across physically separated teams. Here, GM is using Siemens Process Simulate manufacturing simulation software and immersive VR tech to improve collaboration across teams, virtually identify issues early and design safer workstations.
Process Simulate is a 3D software platform for manufacturing process verification. It allows users to plan, simulate and validate human tasks as well as robotics processes throughout the product development lifecycle.
The Global Ergonomics Lab in Manufacturing Engineering at GM conducted VR sessions using Process Simulate to immerse product and manufacturing engineers into their designs, providing visualization of diverse assemblies and operations in a 3D environment. The immersive studies evaluated human line of sight, accessibility and hand clearance during the vehicle development process for the design of safer workstations.
The studies also increased collaboration between product engineering and manufacturing engineering to reduce late design changes in the product lifecycle. Reportedly, as a result of using Process Simulate software, GM was able to significantly reduce both costs and safety risks.
More industrial safety coverage from Automation World:
Leaders relevant to this article: