01
Safety Engineering
Safety engineering aims to prevent automated equipment from causing unacceptable harm. Safety must be designed into architecture, hardware, software, procedures, and human interaction rather than added as a cosmetic layer.
- Emergency-stop mechanisms.
- Physical guarding.
- Interlocks.
- Redundant sensing.
- Fault detection.
- Safe-state transitions.
- Access control.
- Operator procedures.
02
Failure Modes
Automated systems must account for sensor failures, actuator failures, communication loss, software faults, power loss, unexpected environmental conditions, and incorrect operator assumptions.
03