How To Reset Automated Equipment Inside a Safeguarded Space Where There Is No Visibility

The advice from ISO13849 also states that the reset actuator shall be situated outside the safeguarded space and in a safe position from which there is good visibility for checking that no person is within the danger zone.

However, we all know the practicalities of always being able to visibly see the whole safeguarded space is not realistic in all applications. What do we do if an operator may need to walk around the far side of the equipment to perform an activity where they will not be visible? How do we avoid someone picking up a workpiece from under a piece of equipment and them not being seen when someone presses restarts the system?

Some schools of thoughts would be to restrict the ability for a person to stand in these less-visible areas by fitting sloping surfaces or other means. Another suggestion could be to use presence detection to detect whether a person is ever present within the area – In large areas or those with environmental restrictions like dust or process material makes these options unfeasible or cost-prohibitive.

The practical advice given in the standards is use a second reset device. In this arrangement the reset function is initiated within the dangerous zone by the first device in combination with a second reset device outside the safeguarded space. The combination of these devices as a reset procedure needs to be completed within a limited time before the control system can accept a start command.

When we typically see this in applications, we know these reset devices inside the safeguards as ‘acknowledgment pushbutton’. The procedure is that an operate must acknowledge no one is currently behind the piece of equipment blocking visibility before leaving the area to complete the reset on the second device. The sequence of operation and time limits are all programmed within the PLC.