SICK has supplied its Flexi Soft programmable modular safety controller for a large-span configurable safety project at a UK steel processing facility.
The project was delivered with machinery safety specialist Safety Systems Technology, which was called in after an incident at a facility where sections of steel are welded into continuous lengths. The customer required a site-wide emergency stop capability that could improve safety and visibility across a plant with long conveyors and significant distances between local machine safety concepts.
Safety Systems Technology developed a unified safety solution linking machines, conveyors, local control panels, and a new main panel in the Welding House. The system creates four operational zones and provides a global emergency stop and global reset function, allowing the facility to be placed into a safe state during a hazardous situation.
The scale of the plant made conventional standalone safety approaches unsuitable for the required visibility and response. SICK’s Flexi Soft controllers were networked using the Flexi Line Interface, enabling field devices to be daisy-chained across the site while supporting communication between distributed safety controllers.
“We were pleased to continue our strong relationship with Safety Systems Technology and be part of such a large and important project,” said Wayne Morrison, SICK UK Technology Sales Engineer. “It demonstrates the extensive capabilities and range of SICK Flexi Soft modular safety controllers, Flexi Soft Designer configuration software and the Flexi Line Interface network.”
Real-time system visibility is provided through a PLC displayed on HMIs, giving operators and maintenance teams a clearer view of local and global safety states across the facility. In a plant where machines and conveyors stretch over long operating distances, that visibility replaces a more fragmented view built around isolated emergency stop circuits and machine-level information.
Flexi Soft is configured through SICK’s licence-free Flexi Soft Designer software and is intended for modular, expandable safety architectures. SICK said the platform can achieve Performance Level E in accordance with EN ISO 13849-1 and supports continuous diagnostics down to the automation level through fieldbus connectivity.
That diagnostic layer gives larger industrial sites a safety system that can identify which device, zone, or condition has triggered a stop, rather than only enforcing the stop itself. Faster fault location supports controlled recovery once the cause has been assessed and addressed.
“SICK’s technology helped us successfully create a much safer system at this site,” said Allan Harris, Director of Safety Systems Technology. “Having completed this project successfully, we now have a strong, ongoing relationship with the customer. We have worked with SICK Sensor Intelligence for many years, as we have evolved from a reseller of safety products to a designer and integrator of safety solutions and risk assessments.”
SICK said the project demonstrates the use of configurable safety systems in large industrial settings, including steel processing, ports, construction sites, and other facilities where machinery and conveyors extend across long operating spans. More information is available from the SICK Flexi Soft product range.
