Consider Newer Electrical Safety Products and Technologies
Equipment SafetyProductSafety

Consider Newer Electrical Safety Products and Technologies

Designers can improve personnel safety by incorporating modern products and technologies, and by following a “design for safety” approach. Marty Kronz at AutomationDirect wrote an article for the February 2023 issue of Applied Automation. Titled Addressing Electrical Safety Hazards, this article identifies how some newer products, sometimes in combination with automation, can increase the effectiveness…
Safe Automation Design through a Layered Approach
ProductSafety

Safe Automation Design through a Layered Approach

Industrial automation safety designers should implement a hierarchy of controls. Josh Draa, PLC Product Engineer at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the August 2022 issue of Applied Automation. The article is titled Implementing a Hierarchy of Automation Safety, and it describes the importance of project and operations. Responsible industrial automation safety design requires a combination…
What is a Safety Laser Scanner?
ProductSafety

What is a Safety Laser Scanner?

There are many safety devices available to ensure machine safety and to detect personnel entering unsafe areas. Cable pull switches, safety light curtains and interlock switches (non-contact and the many types of tongue interlock switches) are just a few of them. Most of you have probably heard of, or used, these devices in some capacity,…
Common Overlooked Safety Violations
ProductSafety

Common Overlooked Safety Violations

While we sometimes say things like “safety first” or “safety is no accident”, and I’m sure you’ve heard, “safety is a choice”, there are times when safety details are overlooked. We have the best of intentions but can be negligent regarding full safety protocol. Have you ever bypassed a safety device to save a few…
Safety Standards Update Summer 2020
ProductSafety

Safety Standards Update Summer 2020

Safety standards are vitally important to follow, understand, and implement to eliminate and avoid injuries to personnel from machinery. This is our biennial update as to major changes to American National Standards Institute or ANSI code, and most specifically the B11.0 dedicated to “Safety of Machinery”. Since 1922, the B11 standards for machine safety were…
Keep Industrial Electrical Safety First
ProductSafety

Keep Industrial Electrical Safety First

For industrial machinery and systems, designers must apply the right products for physical, electrical power, and automation safety. Kevin Kakascik, Technical Marketing Engineer at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the May 2020 issue of Machine Design titled Electrical Safety on the Factory Floor. Here’s a summary, click on the link above for the full text….
Integrated or Separate Safety Systems
ApplicationMachine ControlProductSafety

Integrated or Separate Safety Systems

Machine designers must consider many factors when deciding on safety system architectures for factory automation. Larry Reynolds, product engineer for safety components at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the September-October 2019 issue of ISA’s InTech titled Integrated or Separate Safety Systems. Here’s a summary, click on the link above for the full text. Factory equipment…
Cable-Pull Safety Switches
Machine ControlProductSafetySafety Common Sense

Cable-Pull Safety Switches

Full coverage E-Stop protection around your machinery We all know the importance of having emergency stop devices near and around machinery. There are numerous regulations (ANIS, ISO, IEC) that define emergency stop device requirements. In short they all state that they are actuated by a “single human action”, should be used to de-energize equipment to…
Locking Safety Interlock Switches
ProductSafetySafety Common Sense

Locking Safety Interlock Switches

Most of us are familiar with safety interlock switches that can disable a safety circuit and notify us if a guard has been removed, the gate is open or something has been tampered with. There are many options to chose from including tongue interlock switches, hinge safety interlock switches and non-contact safety switches. Many of…
Bypass-Resistant Safety Devices Ensure Effective Machine Guarding
ProductSafetySafety Common Sense

Bypass-Resistant Safety Devices Ensure Effective Machine Guarding

Machine safeguarding devices protect operators at points of access and operation. Here’s how they work. Jim Krebs, Technical Marketing Engineer at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the April 2019 issue of ISHN titled Bypass-resistant safety devices ensure effective machine guarding, where Jim describes the need for machine safeguarding, and how the various types work. The…