Safety for large manufacturing systems

Machines and systems are assembled together to form ever larger systems. Together the machines make up large manufacturing systems, such as FMS-systems, packaging systems or assembly lines. In large automation systems, reliablility and safety are even more important factors than in separate systems, especially since the consequences of a failure can be much wider. One way to minimise the concequences is to divede the area into sectors which can be controlled separately. A large system also includes a large number of hazardous locations and therefore the safety issue is easier to handle by preventing presons from entering the system while it is running. The safety measures can then be concentrated at the boundary of the system. The problem often lies at entrances where there is flow of materials and persons may intrude into the hazardous area. This paper introduces several methods for designing the safety measures. Two large packaging systems and loadin stations of FMS are used a case studies.