Assisted risk assessment for versatile assembly systems

A contribution to the safe commissioning of convertible plug-and-produce systems

Abstract

The use of adaptable plug-and-produce (PnP) systems for assembly tasks [1 - 4] can increase system responsiveness to changing batch sizes and product variations resulting from constantly changing customer requirements. New assembly processes can be integrated with system modules without significant engineering effort [1]. However, this adaptability poses a major challenge from a safety point of view, because every system change requires a new risk assessment and an update of the documentation [8]. This increases costs and shifts the bottleneck from the reconfiguration of the plant to the safety approval process. AutoSafety is an innovative concept for assisted risk assessment based on a software solution which  accelerates the safe commissioning of newly configured PnP-systems.