SICK Expands Networked Machinery Safety Across Steel Processing

Industrial facilities with long conveyor systems and distributed machinery often face fragmented safety architectures that make emergency response coordination difficult. In this context, SICK’s Flexi Soft modular safety controller was deployed by Safety Systems Technology to create a unified machinery safety network across a UK steel processing facility.

Replacing isolated safety systems with plant-wide control
The project followed a safety incident at a steel processing facility where large steel sections are welded into continuous lengths. The existing setup relied on standalone safety concepts on individual machines, including conveyor rope switch systems, creating operational separation between safety functions.

Safety Systems Technology was tasked with redesigning the site’s protection architecture to enable an immediate plant-wide emergency shutdown capability. The resulting approach replaced isolated systems with a single integrated machinery safety framework linking machines and conveyor infrastructure across the facility.

For heavy industrial automation environments, this type of redesign addresses a recurring challenge: maintaining functional safety across physically distributed assets without creating disconnected control zones.

Managing safety across long industrial distances
The scale of the facility introduced a core engineering constraint. Long conveyor systems transporting large steel profiles created substantial distances between local machine safety points, making conventional standalone safety logic impractical.

To address this, Safety Systems Technology implemented a configurable network of safety controllers using SICK’s Flexi Soft platform. Field devices were daisy-chained through the Flexi Line interface to establish a plant-wide distributed safety network.

As part of the redesign, local control panels positioned throughout the site were grouped into four operating zones, all connected to a central panel in the main welding building. This architecture enables a global emergency stop and reset function capable of placing the entire facility into a safe state during hazardous events.

Functional safety with real-time visibility
Beyond emergency shutdown capability, the deployment introduced centralised visibility into plant safety status.

A PLC-based interface delivers real-time system overview data through HMIs, allowing operators to monitor safety conditions across the facility. In industrial safety engineering, this visibility supports faster diagnostics, clearer operational awareness, and simplified fault management.

The Flexi Soft platform is configured through SICK’s licence-free Flexi Soft Designer software and supports modular expansion for future safety requirements. The controllers also provide continuous diagnostics down to the automation layer via fieldbus connectivity.

The platform is specified to achieve Performance Level E under EN ISO 13849-1, the highest machinery safety performance classification within the standard, making it suitable for high-risk industrial applications requiring robust functional safety coverage.

A scalable model for distributed industrial safety
While the deployment was implemented in steel processing, the underlying architecture is relevant to other large industrial sites where safety functions must span long physical distances, including ports, construction environments, and large-scale manufacturing operations.

The project illustrates how modular safety controllers, distributed networking, and real-time diagnostics are increasingly shaping modern industrial safety system design, particularly where legacy standalone protection systems limit coordinated response capability.

Edited by Aishwarya Mambet, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.

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