HEALTH & SAFETY
“After all, a machine does not become less safe simply because the machining process is optimised using AI methods.” The terms “safety” and “security” are sometimes difficult for Germans to distinguish between (the German word “Sicherheit” covers both aspects), but they will be clearly separated at METAV 2020 in two different events. In a nutshell, cybersecurity is about protecting machines from human attacks. Safety is all about protecting people from machines – or themselves.
FOCUS ON HUMAN-MACHINE INTERACTION
A major problem remains that machine tool accidents only happen very rarely, but when they do, they are often caused by operator error and can lead to very serious, if not fatal, injuries. The top priority is therefore protecting the “source of error” from harming him or herself. The three-step ISO 12100 risk minimisation strategy says that the first concern here must be to promote integrated and safe machine design. The second concern is implementing protective and complementary measures. Only when the first and second level measures have been consistently applied and merely relevant residual risks remain, can the aspects of instructions and user information be addressed.
The METAV Safety Day will focus on the topic of human-machine interaction. The greatest dangers arise from errors in the clamping process, which can result in parts coming loose and flying off, as well as from entering the protective area of a machine that is still working, or from tampering. Dr. Volker Wittstock, research associate in the Professorship for Machine Tool Design and Forming Technology at the Chemnitz University of Technology, conducted safety tests into the problem of vertical turning in milling machines with a group of trainees. He observed the processes, analysed assembly errors and calculated human error probability levels. This led to the research topic “Determination and comparability of human and technical reliability for improved workpiece clamping in vertical / CNC turning”. He applied for funding from the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF) via the VDW Research Institute for this. Work on the project will begin at the beginning of March. According to Wittstock, the aim is to develop a new method for evaluating the cause-and-effect relationship that can arise in the event of possible failure of manual workpiece clamping and subsequent unintentional release. The solution is primarily aimed at supporting small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) involved in manual or semi- automated production.
According to Wittstock, the planned user tests will involve as many companies as possible, and identify weaknesses in human-machine interaction. Here he sees potential for improving instructions or the general awareness of safety-relevant contexts, for example through prioritisation. At the METAV Safety Day, it is expected that Wittstock will be asked whether it is best to convey this information by smartphone, via a screen on the machine or even via Virtual Reality (VR). No clear solutions have yet emerged, he says, especially since the requirements of the new Machinery Directive will also play a role. A digital instruction manual would, however, represent a highly flexible solution. An instruction handbook, either on paper or in the form of a PDF file, as currently provided for in the new version of the Machinery Directive, is unlikely to provide similar levels of flexibility.
Safety Day, which the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association) is staging on 10 March at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre as part of the METAV trade fair (9 to 11 March 2020).
METAV
www.metav.com
FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS | FEBRUARY 2020 15
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