Many machine designers think of interlocks as exclusively electrical devices; a switch is attached to a movable mechanical guard, and the switch is connected to the control system. Trapped Key Interlocking is…
Read MoreQ & A: Category 2 and Testing Intervals

During the Free Safety Talks that we did with Schmersal Canada and Franklin Empire, we had a “hot question” come up regarding Category 2 architecture and the testing interval requirement. The…
Read MoreFive reasons you should attend our Free Safety Talks

Reason #1 – Free Safety Talks You can’t argue with Free Stuff! Last week we partnered with Schmersal Canada and Franklin Empire to put on three days of Free Safety…
Read MoreCSA Z432 Safeguarding of Machinery – 3rd Edition
If you build machinery for the Canadian market, or if you modify equipment in Canadian workplaces, you will be familiar with CSA Z432, Safeguarding of Machinery. This standard has been…
Read MoreInterlocking Devices: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Note: A shorter version of this article was published in the May-2012 edition of Manufacturing Automation Magazine. When designing safeguarding systems for machines, one of the basic building blocks is the…
Read MoreInterlocked gate testing
Did you know that interlocked gates require stopping performance testing?
Machinery needs to be able to stop in the time it takes a person to open the guard and reach the hazard. If the distance from the guard opening to the hazard is short enough that a person can reach the danger point before the hazard can be controlled, the guard is useless. The resulting situation may be worse
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