Factory Automation – a challenge for functional safety?

In the smart factory, machines communicate with each other, control themselves and processes are becoming increasingly agile. At the same time, man and machine are working ever more closely together – the keyword being cobots. This also changes the requirements for functional safety – i.e. the protection of people and the environment from threats that can emanate from machines. Functional safety and security go hand in hand, addressing the comprehensive protection of physical and cyber aspects in this advanced manufacturing setting. Up to now, safety concepts have been very hardware-related and thus static. The modern smart factory, however, needs flexible solutions that ensure both the protection of people and machines and the necessary flexibility and availability. In this episode, we are discussing how this can be solved with Stephan Strohmeier, Head of Safety & Security Solutions at NewTec GmbH and Sven Blankenberg, Regional Application Manager Central Europe West at EBV Elektronik.

Get more insights into the factory automation of the future and visit our Factory Automation website.