AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS I
ndustry 4.0 (I4.0) is a major paradigm shift as cyber-physical systems have the potential to significantly enhance industry performance, facilitate new products and spark innovative business models systems. When faced with the challenge of
navigating such a complex new risk landscape, effective safety and security are key challenges as this can build trust with asset owners and operators.
I4.0 systems introduces new complexities and challenges, so there must be a shift from static to dynamic risk assessment. It is becoming increasingly impossible to apply existing risk assessment criteria to a dynamic I4.0 operating environment that is characterised by multiple
general physical hazards that are used during such as ISO 12100 - Safety of machinery - General principles for design - Risk assessment and risk reduction, have not been designed around the concept of machine connectivity and interoperability. While hazards depend on the intended use and other limits of the machine in the physical world, conventional safety concepts do not consider the sources and effects of cyber threats that could create new hazards. Another limit related to hazards is that safety measures are designed to protect only human health using a ‘worst-case’ approach. In practice, when a machine operates in applicable hazardous situations may differ worst-case and stand-alone scenarios. Additional hazardous situations may also arise from machine-to-machine interaction. They can be related to human health, property and environment, as well as to undesired operational downtime or bottlenecks.
TO AUTOMATION SAFETY
By Darren Hugheston-Roberts, Head of Machinery Safety, TÜV SÜD This would assist system designers and
ISO 3691-4 - Industrial trucks — Safety
2. Speed control system 3. Braking system control
In current practice, speed limitations due to a human presence are therefore applied even if there are no humans in the actual AGV operating area.
“A safety profile should be modelled to describe asset safety from a general and an application-specific perspective.”
For example, an automated guided vehicle
(AGV) navigating towards a machine in an operating area with a human presence represents a ‘collision risk’. This risk may be mitigated by using three safety measures incorporated in AGV design (according to
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approach to a machine for docking may pose a collision risk between two industrial assets. This unsafe docking event risk may be mitigated by using two safety measures incorporated in AGV
1. Speed control system
Although there is no risk for humans in a
to protect industrial assets from expensive damage. The use of a context-sensitive safety approach could achieve the goal of property protection combined with higher system These scenarios demonstrate the need
for adaptive production systems capable of monitoring and recognising hazardous situations during runtime, to ensure that residual risks are handled within current practices. To meet the new needs of I4.0, a new event-triggered, dynamic risk assessment and automated validation of safety measures approach is therefore required.
JULY/AUGUST 2025 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
operators to navigate complex risk landscapes, in both virtual simulations and real-world applications. This requires a continuous and holistic risk assessment to ensure stable operations, increased productivity and reduced downtime in a smart manufacturing environment, which necessitates a digital representation of the physical manufacturing system, using digital twins and asset administration shells. In today’s I4.0 domain, digital twins operate
in parallel to the real-world factory, where thousands of sensors constantly collect and process data, either locally or on a larger scale. It is, therefore, vital that the digital twins
asset safety from a general and an application- be processed by an inference engine against and risk-mitigation capabilities in a real-world application, thereby providing automated risk evaluations at runtime. While Industry 4.0 (I4.0) sees reduced risk
connected interfaces introduce a new set of risk issues. As production facilities become more complex, operators must manage a rapidly evolving system that incorporates multiple interdependencies, while minimising downtime. It is, therefore, vital to consider the shifting
landscape of risk, which is why I4.0 requires a new risk management approach that is customised to each individual actual use case.
TÜV SÜD
www.tuvsud.com
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