The new standard - EN ISO 13849-1:2008 “Safety of machinery - Safety related parts of control systems” - provides a transition path from the previous five ‘Categories’ (B, 1, 2, 3, 4) to the new classification of five ‘Performance Levels’ or ‘PL’ (a, b, c, d, e). In some circumstances it may be possible to use alternative standards such as EN/IEC 62061.
However, the majority of machine builders are likely to turn to EN ISO 13849-1 because it has been specifically drafted to provide a transition path for those who design systems to categories defined by EN 954-1, which is to be phased out at the end of this year.
It covers all control system technologies (electrical, mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic) and can be used either for a complete system or for a subsystem. Over the coming years EN ISO 13849-1 is likely to become the most commonly used standard for machine safety systems.
Developed by Germany’s Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (BGIA), the SISTEMA tool helps to simplify calculation of the attained Performance Level (PL) of the safety related parts of a machine’s control system in the context of EN ISO 13849-1. It is available in English and German language versions and may be downloaded free of charge by following the link to BGIA’s website from www.discoverrockwellautomation.com/safety
Data for Rockwell Automation machinery safety products is now available in the form of a library file to be used with the SISTEMA calculation tool, based on EN ISO 13849-1. The library file can be downloaded free of charge, when you register at the above website.
The combination of the SISTEMA tool and the Rockwell Automation library provides machinery and system designers with comprehensive support when evaluating safety in the context of EN ISO 13849-1. Users are spared the time-consuming tasks of poring over tables and calculation since these are performed automatically within the software. The final results can be printed out in the form of a multiple page report.