Safety in the cloud
February 2018, IS & Ex

At the SPS IPC Drives 2017 trade fair, Phoenix Contact presented a cloud application for recording and analysing safety-related data. With the Proficloud solution, companies receive important information on the optimisation of sequences in production.

The safety of machinery is, and remains, a critical subject for machine operators, plant engineers, and systems manufacturers. Their first priority is the safety of machine users, but this can also cause unplanned operational interruptions. A common cause of failures is inadequate design. The ability to access safety system data via the IoT in real-time and to convert this into meaningful information unlocks enormous potential. With Phoenix Contact cloud-based solutions, status information on standard and safety functions is transmitted continuously via a Profinet control solution to the Proficloud where it is evaluated.

Thanks to the holistic consideration of resources and machinery, completely new opportunities are opened up for operators and designers to increase the operational performance. This enables, for example, the determination of inter-dependencies between safety and process parameters. Or the monitoring of operational and maintenance processes across the entire line during normal operation. With access to this information, measures can then be derived and operational patterns determined. The machinery design can thus be optimised and work sequences designed to be more efficient.

For more information contact Sheree Britz, Phoenix Contact, +27 (0)11 801 8200, sbritz@phoenixcontact.co.za, www.phoenixcontact.co.za

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