Engineering and implementing machine safety remediation for more than 80 identified hazards across an aluminum extrusion line.
An aluminum manufacturer needed to address more than 80 safety hazards identified during a plant-wide safety assessment. Concept Systems provided the engineering and integration required to turn those findings into machine safety remediation across the facility’s extrusion line.
The project incorporated safety controls, guarding devices, area detection, emergency stops, and diagnostic tools while minimizing disruption to production.
The Problem: More Than 80 Identified Safety Hazards
The aluminum extrusion process involves hot billets, large presses, material handling equipment, stretchers, finishing saws, and other machinery that can expose personnel to hazardous motion and operating conditions.
A safety assessment of the facility identified more than 80 hazards requiring remediation. Hydro needed an integrator that could translate those findings into practical machine safety solutions, engineer the required controls, and implement the upgrades with minimal impact on production.
The challenge wasn’t simply adding safety devices. Each identified hazard required an appropriate risk-reduction strategy that could be integrated into the existing equipment while maintaining safe and practical operation of the extrusion line.
The Solution: Machine Safety Remediation
Concept Systems reviewed the findings from Hydro’s safety assessment and engineered the controls and machine safeguarding required to address identified hazardous motion throughout the extrusion line.
The solution integrated PLC-based safety controls with light curtains, area scanners, safety doors, emergency stops, safety contactors, and diagnostic HMIs. Each safety function was designed around the hazards and operating requirements of its specific area.
Machine Safeguarding and Area Detection
Concept integrated multiple safeguarding technologies to control access to hazardous areas and interrupt unsafe motion when required.
Safety light curtains detect when their protective field is interrupted and stop hazardous motion within the affected area. KEYENCE safety area scanners provide additional detection where personnel could enter or remain within hazardous zones.
Safety doors were also incorporated with coded RFID and guard-locking functionality. Access is controlled so hazardous motion must reach a safe condition before personnel can enter protected areas.
Local and Global Emergency Stops
The extrusion line already included local emergency stops for areas such as the furnace, press, material handling system, and finishing saw. Concept incorporated those devices into a broader emergency-stop strategy while maintaining localized control where appropriate.
Local E-stops stop equipment within their designated areas, while global E-stops provide the ability to stop hazardous motion across the extrusion line.
Safety Controls and Diagnostics
Concept implemented more than 80 safety contactors to interrupt hazardous motion identified during the assessment. When the required safety conditions are satisfied, equipment can operate normally. If a safety device is triggered, the corresponding safety function interrupts power or motion to the affected equipment.
Diagnostic HMIs provide operators and maintenance personnel with visibility into the status of safety devices and the overall safety system, making it easier to identify the condition preventing equipment from operating.
Functional Safety Verification
Concept worked closely with Hydro throughout engineering, implementation, testing, and verification to ensure the required safety functions operated as intended.
This collaborative approach allowed the team to translate the safety assessment into specific engineered improvements while coordinating implementation around the facility’s production requirements.
The Results
Concept Systems translated the safety assessment findings into engineered machine safety improvements across the aluminum extrusion line while minimizing disruption to production.
- Addressed more than 80 identified safety hazards
- Integrated light curtains, area scanners, safety doors, emergency stops, and other safeguarding technologies
- Implemented more than 80 safety contactors to control hazardous motion
- Added diagnostic HMIs for greater visibility into safety-system status
- Established local and global emergency-stop functionality across the extrusion line
- Completed onsite implementation in approximately two weeks
- Continued an ongoing safety-remediation partnership spanning multiple Hydro projects
Project Details
Project Duration
2 Months
Team
Client: 4 people
Concept Systems: 4 people
Technology Used
Rockwell Automation
Keyence
Banner
Concept Systems Time on Site
2 Weeks
From identifying machine hazards to engineering and implementing specific improvements, Concept Systems helps manufacturers move from risk assessment to remediation.