The AS-interface (AS-i) organisation has published a 75-page booklet on networked safety in automated applications. Entitled Safety in Automation and available free of charge from the publisher, provides an introduction to AS-i safety networking and explains how AS-i 'Safety at Work' devices operate alongside conventional AS-i actuators and sensors networked on the same cable.The booklet also provides a considerable amount of applications-based material to help AS-i users make best use of the networking protocol. One section is devoted to the 'Safety Monitor' and its capabilities, including six logical elements to cope with both simple and complex safety functions. Safety Monitor resides on the network to monitor the outputs of each safety device. it has no bearing on standard operations and both sets of devices co-exist transparently on the network until a fault is detected, at which point the Safety Monitor shuts down the system in accordance with a pre-determined safety strategy.Applications examples include emergency stops, door locks and opto-electronic devices such as light curtains and beam sensors, and there is a description of the transfer of safety signals between AS-i and a higher level network. To round things off, safety expert Michael Schaefer provides a useful perspective of latest safety regulations and standards.Email: chairman@as-interface.co.uk