{"id":4752,"date":"2026-04-07T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/de\/?p=4752"},"modified":"2026-04-16T10:36:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:36:02","slug":"innovations-machine-safety-safe-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/innovations-machine-safety-safe-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"More than just protection: A look behind the scenes of safe automation technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For a long time, the maxim when it came to safety was to safe\u00adguard machinery using strict, inflex\u00adible con\u00adcepts \u2013 a method that was effec\u00adtive, but rigid. That\u2019s why at first glance, there appears to be no room for new tech\u00adnolo\u00adgies in machinery safety. Almost by def\u00adi\u00adn\u00adi\u00adtion, it is a con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive com\u00adpo\u00adnent in con\u00adtrol and automa\u00adtion tech\u00adnology. Another reason is that safety, unlike hardly any other area, is shaped by laws, stan\u00addards and norms. These change only rarely and deter\u00admine what is and is not per\u00admitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How safety and innovation go together<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Industry is con\u00adstantly working to improve tech\u00adnical approaches, processes and pro\u00adduc\u00adtion sequences in order to opti\u00admise effi\u00adciency and costs. Safety must address com\u00adpa\u00adrable chal\u00adlenges in the field of automa\u00adtion tech\u00adnology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not pos\u00adsible without breaking new ground. One example is the PNOZ \u2013 Pilz, NO for \u201cNOT-AUS\u201d (German for E\u2011STOP) and Z for \u201czwangs\u00adge\u00adf\u00fchrt\u201d (pos\u00adi\u00adtive-guided). Launched by Pilz in 1987, it was the first safety relay to reli\u00adably stop machinery in the case of danger. It was smaller than the con\u00adven\u00adtional cir\u00adcuit, easier to handle and, above all, safer \u2013 as con\u00adfirmed by a cer\u00adti\u00adfied type approval test. This came at a time when machinery safety was becoming increas\u00adingly impor\u00adtant also from a legal per\u00adspec\u00adtive, but at the same time had to be imple\u00admented as simply as pos\u00adsible for plant oper\u00ada\u00adtors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Innovation made by Pilz<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Pilz launched the 1.<\/mark> PNOZ in 1987.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Pilz holds
220<\/mark> patent fam\u00adi\u00adlies.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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To date, 0<\/mark> acci\u00addents have been caused by a Pilz product.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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1995<\/mark>: Pilz writes indus\u00adtrial his\u00adtory with the world\u2019s first safe PLC, the PSS 3000<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 1995, Pilz dared to take an even bigger step: leg\u00adis\u00adla\u00adtion at the time expressly pro\u00adhib\u00adited the use of elec\u00adtronics for safety func\u00adtions in con\u00adtrollers. Nev\u00ader\u00adthe\u00adless, Pilz recog\u00adnised the poten\u00adtial and launched the first freely pro\u00adgram\u00admable safety con\u00adtroller PSS 3000 in 1995. The legal require\u00adments only changed fol\u00adlowing tough nego\u00adti\u00ada\u00adtions with fed\u00aderal min\u00adistries and Euro\u00adpean com\u00admit\u00adtees. PSS 3000 paved the way for the IEC\/EN 61508 series of stan\u00addards pub\u00adlished in 2001, which still today is regarded as the basic stan\u00addard for func\u00adtional safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPilz has grown in tandem with machinery safety, but machinery safety has also grown in tandem with us,\u201d says J\u00fcrgen Kitzing, sum\u00admarising. He and his team are respon\u00adsible for get\u00adting Pilz prod\u00aducts approved by T\u00dcV, BG and others. \u201cPilz made indus\u00adtrial his\u00adtory,\u201d says Berthold Heinke, looking back. Until 2018, he was Head of the Elec\u00adtronics Com\u00adpe\u00adtence Centre of the German employers\u2019 lia\u00adbility insur\u00adance asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion for wood\u00adworking and met\u00adal\u00adworking (BGHM). For decades, Pilz has worked closely with employers\u2019 lia\u00adbility insur\u00adance asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtions and approval bodies, so that new tech\u00adnolo\u00adgies can be trans\u00adlated into prac\u00adtical, safe prod\u00aducts. Pilz repeat\u00adedly presents these insti\u00adtu\u00adtions with tough nuts to crack. The 220 patent fam\u00adi\u00adlies held by Pilz, i.e. the reg\u00adis\u00adtered inven\u00adtions, is evi\u00addence of this alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How safe products are developed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Designing a func\u00adtion\u00adally safe product is one thing, imple\u00admenting it is quite another. But what makes a product func\u00adtion\u00adally safe in the first place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Func\u00adtion\u00adally safe means that all of a machine\u2019s safety-related func\u00adtions are imple\u00admented in such a way that any error will not lead to the loss of the safety func\u00adtion and, as a result, an acci\u00addent on the machine is safely pre\u00advented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To achieve this, a safety product must be able to do two things: Firstly, it must be able to react to random hard\u00adware errors, if a com\u00adpo\u00adnent should fail or in the event of mechan\u00adical damage, for example. This is rel\u00ada\u00adtively easy to resolve by ensuring that the indi\u00advidual com\u00adpo\u00adnents are redun\u00addant, i.e. dupli\u00adcated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, it is also impor\u00adtant to avoid sys\u00adtemic errors, such as errors in the hard\u00adware or soft\u00adware pro\u00adgram\u00adming. This is sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcantly more com\u00adplex. Take a look at the work of soft\u00adware devel\u00adopers and you\u2019ll see: the actual pro\u00adce\u00addure for pro\u00adgram\u00adming safety barely dif\u00adfers from that used for stan\u00addard automa\u00adtion soft\u00adware. The dif\u00adfer\u00adence lies in the detail: \u201cSafety can only be achieved through clean working prac\u00adtices, recur\u00adring reviews and exten\u00adsive testing. That means a lot of effort,\u201d explains Matthias Holz\u00e4pfel, Vice Pres\u00adi\u00addent Product Devel\u00adop\u00adment at Pilz, who has worked as a devel\u00adoper at Pilz for over 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201eWhen it comes to safety, expe\u00adri\u00adence pays.\u201c<\/p>\nMatthias Holz\u00e4pfel, Vice Pres\u00adi\u00addent Product Devel\u00adop\u00adment at Pilz<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

He can con\u00adfirm: \u201cWhen it comes to safety, expe\u00adri\u00adence pays. It\u2019s impor\u00adtant to share this wealth of knowl\u00adedge inter\u00adnally.\u201d Pilz makes sure this hap\u00adpens with its best prac\u00adtice teams, for example, in which the devel\u00adopers of dif\u00adferent prod\u00aducts share their expe\u00adri\u00adences and pass on their knowl\u00adedge of best prac\u00adtice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experience is good, a lived safety culture is better<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At Pilz, it is Christoph Weishaar\u2019s job to ensure that expe\u00adri\u00adence and rou\u00adtine do not allow care to slip. He is the Safety Man\u00adager and Explo\u00adsion Pro\u00adtec\u00adtion Officer. \u201cSafety is any\u00adthing but a fore\u00adgone con\u00adclu\u00adsion. Espe\u00adcially if there are no mis\u00adtakes over very long periods of time. Then there is a risk that impor\u00adtant mat\u00adters will be over\u00adlooked or that nec\u00ades\u00adsary mea\u00adsures will not be taken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201eSafety is not a fore\u00adgone con\u00adclu\u00adsion.\u201c<\/p>\nChristoph Weishaar, Safety Man\u00adager and Explo\u00adsion Pro\u00adtec\u00adtion Officer at Pilz<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

As Safety Man\u00adager, he is the link between the tech\u00adnology, the legal require\u00adments and the oper\u00ada\u00adtional appli\u00adca\u00adtion of the prod\u00aducts. For example, if a poten\u00adtially safety-related fault occurs in the field, it trig\u00adgers an internal analysis process that looks at the fault in its entirety. Depending on the case, this may result in the affected cus\u00adtomers being noti\u00adfied or even in the product being redesigned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as Pilz has its prod\u00aducts approved, so too does it have its func\u00adtional safety man\u00adage\u00adment (FSM) audited and cer\u00adti\u00adfied by T\u00dcV S\u00dcD. In other words, the way in which prod\u00aducts are devel\u00adoped and man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adtured safely. What\u2019s more, since 2022, Pilz\u2019s devel\u00adop\u00adment process has been proven to be not only Safe but also Secure: T\u00dcV S\u00dcD has tested and cer\u00adti\u00adfied Pilz\u2019s devel\u00adop\u00adment processes based on the stan\u00addard IEC 62443\u20134\u20111.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once product devel\u00adop\u00adment is com\u00adpleted, but before the external approval process begins, all new Pilz prod\u00aducts must still undergo testing in the company\u2019s own lab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adto\u00adries, including an accred\u00adited EMC lab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtory for elec\u00adtro\u00admag\u00adnetic com\u00adpat\u00adi\u00adbility with immu\u00adnity tests and emis\u00adsion mea\u00adsure\u00adments. Pilz has also built mechan\u00adical test rigs and cli\u00admate cham\u00adbers to sim\u00adu\u00adlate extreme envi\u00adron\u00admental con\u00addi\u00adtions such as wet, cold and heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prox\u00adimity to product devel\u00adop\u00adment has the advan\u00adtage that product fea\u00adtures can be tested quickly and simply, and product improve\u00adments can be tested directly on-site in the lab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtory. Pilz\u2019s lab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtory has been accred\u00adited to DIN ISO 17025 by the German Accred\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtion Body (DAkkS) since 2004. This proves the quality and com\u00adpe\u00adtence of the test lab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtory in accor\u00addance with inter\u00adna\u00adtional stan\u00addards and sim\u00adpli\u00adfies inter\u00adna\u00adtional product approvals con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important number: Zero<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One figure clearly illus\u00adtrates just how well Pilz man\u00adages to com\u00adbine tech\u00adno\u00adlog\u00adical progress, func\u00adtioning devel\u00adop\u00adment processes and prac\u00adti\u00adcality: zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA Pilz product has never caused an acci\u00addent \u2014 whether in industry on presses and pack\u00adaging machines or in railway tech\u00adnology or amuse\u00adment parks,\u201d says Christoph Weishaar with pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cus\u00adtomers can rely on the fact that the pro\u00adtec\u00adtion of human, envi\u00adron\u00adment and assets is guar\u00adan\u00adteed. Today, how\u00adever, safe automa\u00adtion tech\u00adnology has to do more. \u201cGood safety is unob\u00adtru\u00adsive, it nei\u00adther hin\u00adders the oper\u00adator nor impairs pro\u00adduc\u00adtivity,\u201d explains Arndt Christ, Vice Pres\u00adi\u00addent Product Man\u00adage\u00adment. \u201cOn the con\u00adtrary: prop\u00aderly dimen\u00adsioned safety helps to pre\u00advent fail\u00adures and reduce down\u00adtimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201eGood safety is unob\u00adtru\u00adsive, it nei\u00adther hin\u00adders the oper\u00adator nor impairs pro\u00adduc\u00adtivity.\u201c<\/p>\nArndt Christ, Vice Pres\u00adi\u00addent Product Man\u00adage\u00adment at Pilz<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How is this achieved? \u201cOur prod\u00aducts always have a spe\u00adcific task to fulfil, for example a gate guard locking device. So the appli\u00adca\u00adtion per\u00adspec\u00adtive plays an essen\u00adtial role in the design of our prod\u00aducts,\u201d explains Arndt Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One result of this is that Pilz offers spe\u00adcial mod\u00adules or ver\u00adsions of many of its prod\u00aducts for use in spe\u00adcific areas, such as pack\u00adaging, railway or burner tech\u00adnology. Another is that Pilz places great value on func\u00adtion\u00adality and user-friend\u00adli\u00adness through the open\u00adness of its prod\u00aducts, simple and fast fault diag\u00adnos\u00adtics, reduced engi\u00adneering times, intu\u00aditive oper\u00ada\u00adtion and pro\u00adgram\u00adming, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safe automation technology as the supreme discipline in automation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ulti\u00admately it\u2019s clear: safe automa\u00adtion tech\u00adnology is not devel\u00adoped from good ideas alone, but from con\u00adsis\u00adtent, pre\u00adcise and respon\u00adsible action \u2013 and the courage to break new ground. The result: product solu\u00adtions that not only pre\u00advent acci\u00addents and sup\u00adport users in their everyday lives, but also give cus\u00adtomers peace of mind when it comes to safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Safe automa\u00adtion tech\u00adnology from Pilz<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At first glance, machinery safety often appears rigid, rule-bound and lacking in inno\u00adva\u00adtion. On closer inspec\u00adtion, how\u00adever, automa\u00adtion demands that safety tech\u00adnology keeps pace. For decades, Pilz has demon\u00adstrated that inno\u00adva\u00adtion and safety are not mutu\u00adally exclu\u00adsive, but open up new avenues together. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":4827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,79,52,1,78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-einblicke","category-not-on-start","category-pilz-im-gespraech","category-pilz-magazine","category-special-hmi-2026"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4752"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4830,"href":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4752\/revisions\/4830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilz-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}