Dave Collins, product manager of machine safety products at controls vendor Schneider Electric, in Palatine, Ill., cites a few, including improved communication capabilities for the entire manufacturing system. Operators and others can easily monitor the entire control and safety system from anywhere within the system, improving diagnostic capabilities. Machine control users obtain the ability to program both standard control and the safety-related portions of the system from the same application, requiring them to learn only one programming editor.
According to Mike Boudreaux, DeltaV SIS product manager at supplier Emerson Process Management, in Austin, Texas, integrated safety in process industries also provide these benefits:
• Reduced total cost
• Lower engineering and lifecycle cost
• Lower training and maintenance expenses
• Easier time synchronization
• Improved asset and event management
• Improved safety integrity
• Increased process availability
• Easier regulatory compliance.
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