to ice cream producers and other food processing firms looking for integrated solutions. These specially designed solutions include everything from individual assembly lines to complete production plants, mixing equipment, and packaging lines. Gram’s customers are looking for increasingly advanced solutions, as their production processes include complex systems and many specialized functions. Every element in these systems must work reliably and with minimum downtime.

Before implementing the Rockwell Automation safety solution two years earlier, Gram often experienced problems with traditional safety systems, typically composed of a PLC, a separate safety PLC, and a servo system. Staff had to learn how to use three software programs, and how to connect the systems so they could communicate with each other. If the plant had to be modified, it would require time-consuming changes to electrical documentation as well as programming changes; where only a few specially trained staff could execute this work. The customer also often had to do more testing, which resulted in lengthy test periods.

“Close cooperation between Gram and Rockwell Automation changed all that,” says Miller. Specifically, changes related to safety zone control are now commonly carried out in agreement with the end user during commissioning.

Gram simplified system complexity and usability by basing its control topology on an Allen-Bradley GuardLogix platform that combines standard and safety control in a single platform. “This saves Gram cabling and components, as well as the time used to make the systems to communicate with each other,” says Bjarke S. Petersen, an engineer at Rockwell Automation. “Combining the three functions allows more staff to modify the plant according to customer requirements faster and more easily. Staff just needs to learn one software program, and electrical documentation has been simplified significantly.”

The results of incorporating this functional safety system were significant:
-  A completely scalable and fully flexible system
-  Reduced cabling and components
-  Individual parts communication via EtherNet/IP, a great advantage when working with international customers
-  The ability to troubleshoot and make repairs from Denmark regardless of the customer’s location, saving both Gram and its customers time and travel costs
-  Simplified electrical documentation
-  Confirmation to relevant safety standards with third-party approvals

“Gram found out what others are finding out: functional safety improvements can make operations safer while improving productivity and reducing or driving out unwarranted costs,” says Miller.

A Philosophical Shift
Miller believes a major philosophical shift in how manufacturers perceive safety is taking place. He says, “In the past, like with the drill, safety was added on after the fact. Machines never operated as well as they could, often because costs weren’t seen as justified. It was like, ‘I have a machine here and now I have to pay out all this money.’ The barrier was psychological as well as philosophical.”

“With the advent of functional safety, we’re seeing a shift in mindsets from the cost of safety to the value of safety,” he continues. “There’s always a cost, but it’s a justifiable cost; for many OEMs, it’s a differentiator, because now they can show productivity and reliability improvements over the lifecycle of the machine. It’s not additional safety costs, but rather a reduction in operational costs, something their end users are very interested in hearing about. That is something that will sustain functional safety as we move forward.”

Rockwell Automation Inc.
www.rockwellautomation.com
800.223.5354