A holistic view of Safety and Security

Why is it important for OEMs and operators to take the Safety and Security lifecycle into account in machine projects?

Jaime Alonso: A strict focus on the machine life­cycle is cru­cial for OEMs and oper­a­tors for sev­eral rea­sons. Firstly, it enables cost-effec­tive risk man­age­ment. When safety and cyber­se­cu­rity aspects are taken into account early on in the devel­op­ment phase, risks to oper­ating per­sonnel, pro­duc­tion down­times or data loss can be sig­nif­i­cantly reduced over the entire ser­vice life of the machine – and expen­sive retro­fits can be avoided in the future.

Sec­ondly, it guar­an­tees full com­pli­ance with applic­able reg­u­la­tions and stan­dards. This enables OEMs to posi­tion them­selves as sup­pliers of modern, safe machinery, to gain access to inter­na­tional mar­kets and imple­ment best prac­tices to pre­vent acci­dents, down­times and damage to their image. Oper­a­tors, in turn, fulfil their oblig­a­tion to pro­vide a safe and secure working envi­ron­ment.

What’s more, the life­cycle approach pro­motes coop­er­a­tion and trans­parency between all par­ties. When everyone – from design to oper­a­tion – knows and under­stands their role in the life­cycle, the result is a more reli­able and robust overall system.

OEMs and oper­a­tors are both affected, but in dif­ferent ways. OEMs focus on devel­oping com­pliant, safe machinery and must incor­po­rate safety aspects from the outset, both tech­ni­cally and in terms of doc­u­men­ta­tion. Oper­a­tors, on the other hand, are respon­sible for safe oper­a­tion – they must use sys­tems cor­rectly, train employees and comply with processes. The OEM lays the foun­da­tion, the oper­ator main­tains it. Their roles are dif­ferent, but suc­cess depends on their coop­er­a­tion.

Why is it important to consider Safety and Security together?

Jaime Alonso: Tra­di­tion­ally, Safety and Secu­rity were treated as sep­a­rate dis­ci­plines. How­ever, in today’s net­worked fac­to­ries, this sep­a­ra­tion no longer works. A secu­rity inci­dent can have a direct impact on func­tional safety – for example, if a hacker dis­ables a safety func­tion or manip­u­lates the behav­iour of a machine. Con­versely, a poor safety design can expose vul­ner­a­bil­i­ties that could be exploited by attackers. So bringing these areas together is no longer optional, but essen­tial for main­taining oper­a­tional integrity.

Pilz recog­nises this and advo­cates for a holistic and inte­grated approach, in which Safety and Secu­rity are con­sid­ered together throughout the entire life­cycle of indus­trial sys­tems. This syn­ergy enables more robust safety strate­gies, sup­ported by spe­cialised tools, tar­geted training and con­sulting ser­vices, which cover both dis­ci­plines. Tech­ni­cally this approach is based on inter­na­tion­ally recog­nised stan­dards such as:

• IEC 62443 for the secu­rity of indus­trial net­works and sys­tems
• ISO 13849 and for the func­tional safety of machinery
• IEC 61508 for the safety of electrical/electronic/programmable elec­tronic sys­tems

By aligning our­selves with these stan­dards, we ensure that Safety and Secu­rity mea­sures are not only com­pliant, but also inter­op­er­able and scal­able in dif­ferent indus­trial envi­ron­ments.

This inte­grated approach is par­tic­u­larly impor­tant in indus­tries such as con­sumer goods, food and bev­er­ages, as well as the auto­mo­tive industry, where both human safety and data integrity are of the utmost impor­tance.

What can companies do to ensure that their employees take Safety and Security seriously – and how can this be integrated into machine-related processes?

Jaime Alonso: Cre­ating a cul­ture where Safety and Secu­rity are taken equally seri­ously begins at lead­er­ship level and is main­tained through training, engage­ment and account­ability. It is not enough to install safety devices or imple­ment cyber­se­cu­rity pro­to­cols – employees must under­stand why these mea­sures are impor­tant and how they affect their daily work.

Com­pa­nies should inte­grate Safety and Secu­rity into all phases of the machine life­cycle – from design and pro­cure­ment through to oper­a­tion and main­te­nance. This includes reg­ular tech­nical assess­ments, clear doc­u­men­ta­tion and trace­ability, as well as ongoing training. When employees are informed and involved, safety becomes a matter of course – not just a com­pul­sory exer­cise.

When does it make sense to involve external consultants or partners such as Pilz in a project?

Jaime Alonso: The ear­lier, the better. Involving external experts such as Pilz even at the con­cept and design phase of a machine project can sig­nif­i­cantly improve the results. We help iden­tify risks early on, before they become embedded in the system, and offer alter­na­tive solu­tions to ensure that both Safety and Secu­rity are inte­grated into the archi­tec­ture, sys­tems and processes.

It’s not just con­sulting; training also plays a key role in building internal com­pe­tence and resilience. Pro­grammes such as FIS and CESA (Cer­ti­fied Expert for Secu­rity in Automa­tion) enable tech­ni­cians, engi­neers, project man­agers and safety offi­cers to under­stand and apply Safety and Secu­rity prin­ci­ples effec­tively. These training courses and cer­ti­fi­ca­tions not only sup­port com­pli­ance with legal require­ments, but also pro­mote a cul­ture of proac­tive risk man­age­ment throughout the com­pany.

We also sup­port com­pa­nies with com­mis­sioning, mod­erni­sa­tion and risk analysis fol­lowing inci­dents. Whether you are starting a new pro­duc­tion line or upgrading older equip­ment, our aim is to help you comply with reg­u­la­tions, reduce down­times and pro­tect people as well as sys­tems.

Ulti­mately, a part­ner­ship with Pilz means access to a global net­work of cer­ti­fied experts, proven methods and a clear com­mit­ment to con­tin­uous improve­ment. It’s not just about com­pli­ance – it’s about building trust, resilience and oper­a­tional excel­lence from the ground up.