Posted to News on 23rd Jun 2010, 10:32
Pilz Safety Compendium - a free guide to functional safety
Pilz is now offering copies of The New Safety Compendium free of charge. [STOP PRESS. There is now a Second Edition of the Pilz Safety Compendium.] The Safety Compendium, first published in 2010, was written to help machine builders and system integrators understand and implement functional safety. Running to almost 200 pages, the Safety Compendium is described as 'an orientation guide for the application of functional safety standards' - yet readers are reminded that it is no substitute for the detailed information that can be found in the standards. [Read our review of the New Safety Compendium - Ed.]
Written by a committee comprising machinery safety experts from Pilz, an academic and two lawyers specialising in product safety and liability, the compendium is intended to be an authoritative work on the subject of functional safety within the context of machinery. Furthermore, the text addresses the directives and laws in not just Europe, but also in America, Asia and Oceania.
Aside from the Preface and Appendix, The New Safety Compendium is divided into five sections, each of which has a clear list of contents to help readers find the information they need as quickly as possible. There is also a comprehensive index included within the Appendix. The compendium sections are as follows:
- Preface
- Standards,directives and laws
- Safeguards
- Safe control technology
- Safe communication
- Safe motion
- Appendix
Each section discusses the topics to a level that will be adequate for most readers. Clear illustrations, flow diagrams and tables complement the text where appropriate. Particularly useful are the tables that highlight the main differences between the old Machinery Directive and the new Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC).
For designers, machine builders and system integrators seeking information that will assist them in creating standards-compliant safety-related control systems, the book contains a wealth of information about how to apply the standards, as well as detailed information concerning alternative technologies (safety relays and configurable safety relays, for example), and fieldbuses and networks capable of handling safety-related data. In the section devoted to safe motion, illustrated examples show what can be achieved using drives with integral safety functionality.
Pilz is offering The New Safety Compendium as a free download from www.pilz.co.uk (Webcode 6018) or as a free printed book - telephone +44 (0)1536 460766 or email [email protected].
