The evolution of integrated safety logic

Control Intelligence

Two decades after its introduction, machine safety technology keeps getting more interesting. Safety in a machine-control context was born in 1996 with the EN 954-1 standard allowing only relay logic or simple electronics. Although process industries have widely used programable safety controllers since the 1980s, it wasn’t until 2002 that NFPA 79 finally allowed for programmable safety controllers in machines.

Today, integrated safety logic has found its way into a great variety of industrial devices, such as DIN-rail or machine-mounted safety I/Os and servo-drive systems. This proliferation of safety hardware and architectures means machine builders can introduce far more safety functionality in more places to better protect people, equipment and products.