Rockwell Automation has released the latest version of its popular ‘Machinery Safebook’ publication, a guide to safety-related control systems for machinery.
Machinery Safebook 5 expands on previous versions with a host of new information, examples and calculations, maintaining and reinforcing its position as an invaluable, best-practice teaching and reference tool for anyone that needs to understand the landscape and principles of the functional safety of machinery.
This 146-page booklet has been authored by subject matter specialists and is structured into chapters, covering: regulations, standards, strategies, calculations, design concepts, application examples and tools.
New and revised content in ‘Machinery Safebook 5’ includes:
• Risk estimation changes: updated from ‘Safebook 4’, this will allow readers to select the approach they need from official published guides and standards.
• Risk graph: the probability of occurrence of a hazardous event has been introduced in accordance with the latest edition of EN ISO 13849-1, providing the possibility for decreasing the PLr by one level in some circumstances, depending on the foreseeable probability of occurrence.
• Subsystems: more description on subsystems is now included to help readers understand EN ISO 13849-1 from the perspective of IFA’s SISTEMA Performance Level Calculator.
• System configuration examples: several wiring/system examples have been updated to include state-of-the-art equipment. It also considers new and changed standards.
• Application example: a clearer example has been used that is taken from one of many pre-engineered Machinery Safety Function documents that Rockwell Automation produces and makes available to anyone wishing to download them.
• Products, technologies and tools: this new section outlines products for use in machinery safety and looks at them from a technology viewpoint. There is also a section on engineering software and guidance tools to help streamline machinery safety projects.
‘Machinery Safebook 5’ is free and can be downloaded as a pdf file or requested as a hard copy document, which will be posted to the requestor’s address.
Helping mines get results from water improvements
News
South African mines operate under constrained, water-scarce conditions where every investment must be justified. Xylem’s Chetan Mistry explains how the right water technology partner helps mines prioritise high-value water systems across the mining lifecycle.
Read more...Robotic case packer achieves 99% uptime Rockwell Automation
Motion Control & Drives
DCC Automation designed a new robotic case packer for a nutrition supplement manufacturer using delta robots and a unified Rockwell Automation control platform, cutting changeover time from 45 minutes to 5 minutes, and achieving 99 to 99,5% uptime against the previous 10% per-shift downtime.
Read more...How sustainability unlocks real business impact Rockwell Automation
IT in Manufacturing
Sustainability has moved from a compliance obligation to a strategic driver of resilience and value for manufacturers. Rockwell Automation explains how its Triple A framework and connected-data approach help producers cut energy, water and waste while improving productivity.
Read more...How BIC overcame operational silos to integrate technology and people Rockwell Automation
IT in Manufacturing
Manufacturing giant BIC deployed Plex MES from Rockwell Automation at its Bizerte plant in Tunisia, replacing fragmented, partly in-house software with a single cloud-based execution system that broke operational silos and improved shop-floor visibility.
Read more...From the editor's desk: Pushing engineering to the limit Technews Publishing
News
Among the many things robots can do, it’s a lot of fun to follow how fast they are. They go from the Boston Dynamics cheetah, which first reached a record-breaking speed of 45,5 km/h, to the robot Charlie ...
Read more...Schneider Electric concludes Innovation Summit Middle East and Africa Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric's Innovation Summit Middle East and Africa, held in Abu Dhabi with more than 2500 attendees, explored the convergence of energy, AI and industrial software, launched an Industrial AI study and announced the NEST Accelerator Programme for energy and industrial tech startups.
Read more...Patented algorithm maximises operator efficiency Rockwell Automation
IT in Manufacturing
Rockwell Automation piloted a patented anomaly detection algorithm and FactoryTalk DataMosaix at its Twinsburg electronics plant, giving operators 30 to 60 days’ advance warning of stencil failure, improving fail rates by 22% and achieving a 200% return on investment.
Read more...VEGA brings measurement expertise beyond mining to Electra Mining Africa 2026 VEGA Controls SA
News
VEGA used its Electra Mining Africa 2026 stand to demonstrate that its level and pressure measurement instruments extend well beyond mining, covering water, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and oil and gas applications across the continent.
Read more...Sustainable solutions for sugar Bearing Man Group t/a BMG
News
BMG received a Special Commendation Exhibition Stand Award at the South African Sugar Technologists’ Association Congress, where it showcased an integrated turnkey drive solution designed to simplify the upgrading of ageing crushing-mill drive systems.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.