WO2014136190A1 - Safety improvement support device - Google Patents

Abstract

An embodiment of this safety improvement support device is equipped with: an operation history unit that records, via a PLC, history information about the stoppage operations for multiple safety devices; a request reception unit that receives the type of the aforementioned safety device and a period specified by a user; a display unit; and a computation unit which, on the basis of the history information, displays on the display unit the temporal change in the stoppage state of the safety device during that period.

Description

Safety improvement support device

The present invention relates to a safety improvement support device for visualizing and analyzing an operation history of machine safety control to improve machine safety.

Although sufficient safety measures are taken at the time of machine design, it is necessary to improve the machine to improve safety because the machine is actually used in a different way from the design assumption. There is a case. In order to improve such a machine, the operation history of safety control devices such as safety switches and contactors is recorded, the history information is analyzed to identify the dangerous place and cause of the machine, and necessary measures are taken.

Conventionally, the technique shown in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2 is disclosed as a technique for recording the operation history of the control system and supporting the cause analysis and response of the failure.

JP 2004-334421 A JP 2006-301910 A

However, the above-described conventional technology has a problem that it does not have a function of providing information for analyzing the danger hidden in the machine and supporting improvement of safety.

This invention is made in view of the above, Comprising: By visualizing and analyzing the operation history information of a safety control apparatus, obtaining the safety improvement assistance apparatus which supports the operation | work which improves the safety of a machine is obtained. Objective.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides an operation history unit that records history information of stop operations of a plurality of safety devices via a PLC, a period specified by a user, and the safety device. A request receiving unit that receives a type, a display unit, and a calculation unit that displays on the display unit a temporal change in the stop state of the safety device during the period based on the history information. To do.

According to the safety improvement support device of the present invention, since the user can obtain a policy or hint for improving the efficiency of dangerous work, the work time can be shortened and the machine risk can be reduced. Play.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the safety improvement support apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display unit of the safety improvement assisting apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the safety improvement support apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display unit of the safety improvement assisting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the safety improvement support apparatus according to the third and fourth embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display unit of the safety improvement support apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display unit of the safety improvement support apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the safety improvement support apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display unit of the safety improvement support apparatus according to the fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a safety improvement support device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a safety improvement support apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The safety improvement support apparatus 10 includes a calculation unit 1, an operation history unit 11, a request reception unit 12, and a display unit 13. The safety improvement support device 10 is realized by, for example, a personal computer and a monitor device connected thereto. In FIG. 1, a safety PLC 21 that controls a safety device 22 that executes safety control such as a safety sensor, a safety switch, and a contactor is connected to the safety improvement support apparatus 10. When the value of the device changes in all or a specific safety device 22, the safety PLC 21 transmits the operation history information such as the time, the type and value of the safety device 22 to the operation history unit 11 and records it. The time may be recorded with a clock provided in the operation history unit 11.

The user 23 who intends to improve the safety of the safety device 22 controlled by the safety PLC 21 designates the period for which the operation is to be examined and the type of the safety device 22 to the request reception unit 12. The request reception unit 12 inquires of the operation history unit 11 directly or via the calculation unit 1 for the specified condition. The operation history unit 11 provides the corresponding operation history information to the calculation unit 1. The calculation unit 1 displays the operation history information obtained from the operation history unit 11 on the display unit 13 in a manner that is easy for the user 23 to understand. For example, the time change of the stop state of the safety device 22 is displayed on the display unit 13 in a manner such as a chart in which the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents ON / OFF of the safety device 22 as shown in FIG.

Hazardous work is maintenance work or cleaning work where workers enter the hazardous area of the machine, so identify the dangerous work from the work mode or opening and closing the door to the dangerous area, specify the work period, and work contents Confirm. In places where safety switches etc. are turned ON / OFF many times during the work period, it is predicted that workers will be exposed to danger many times, so review the work procedure or work space to determine the number of safety switch operations. The overall work time can be shortened. Since the safety improvement support device 10 according to the present embodiment can obtain a policy or hint for improving the efficiency of dangerous work, the work time can be shortened and the risk of the machine can be reduced.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the safety improvement support apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 3 further includes a storage unit 17 in addition to the configuration of FIG. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. When an operator enters a hazardous area of a machine, he first opens the guard door that surrounds the machine, gradually approaches the danger source, and finally reaches the danger source of a press or cutter behind the light curtain. touch.

The worker operates the safety device 22 such as a door switch or a light curtain according to this movement. In the safety improvement support apparatus 10, based on the ON / OFF state of the safety device 22, it is possible to determine where the worker is located and how much danger the worker is exposed to. By determining the danger level for each safety device 22 in advance, the danger level of the operator can be monitored via the display unit 13. The storage unit 17 stores a danger level for each safety device 22. The danger level for each safety device 22 may be different for each safety device 22.

The calculation unit 1 obtains the overall risk level based on the state of the safety device 22 and the operation history information obtained from the operation history unit 11 and the danger level for each safety device 22 stored in the storage unit 17, and the display unit 13. Is displayed to the user 23. When a plurality of safety devices 22 are in a stopped (OFF) state, the danger levels of the stopped safety devices 22 may be added and displayed. The danger level may be displayed for the entire safety device 22 supported by the safety improvement support device 10 based on an instruction from the user 23 to the request reception unit 12, or for each period requested by the user 23, You may make it display the time change, time average, etc. of the danger level for every safety device 22, every place, every area, or those combinations. The danger level for each safety device 22 may be stored in the display unit 13. A display example of the display unit 13 in the second embodiment is shown in FIG. Based on this display, the user 23 can easily grasp the time change of the danger level to which the operator is exposed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment, a time chart may be displayed on the horizontal axis, and a chart showing ON / OFF of the safety device 22 on the vertical axis may be displayed on the display unit 13 together. Further, as described in the first embodiment, the place where the safety switch and the like are turned ON / OFF many times during the work period is expected to cause the worker to come into danger many times. A danger level may be set by a combination of the frequency per unit time of ON / OFF and the type of the safety device 22, and the time change of the whole, each place, and each area may be displayed on the display unit 13. . As described above, the safety improvement support apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can also obtain a policy or hint for improving the efficiency of dangerous work, so that the work time can be shortened and the risk of the machine can be reduced. it can.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of the safety improvement support apparatus 10 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The safety improvement support apparatus 10 of FIG. 5 further includes a statistical processing unit 14 in addition to the configuration of FIG. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. The statistical processing unit 14 counts and accumulates the total number of stop (OFF) times and stop (OFF) times of the safety device 22 as statistical data. The request receiving unit 12 acquires corresponding statistical data from the statistical processing unit 14 for the specified safety device 22 for a period specified by the user. The calculation unit 1 displays the total number of stop (OFF) times and stop (OFF) times of the safety device 22 on the display unit 13 based on the statistical data obtained by the request receiving unit 12.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, for each contactor of power, and for each safety device 22 that has issued a stop request for it, the name of the safety device 22 specified in a table format, the number of stops (OFF), and the stop ( OFF) Displays the time. In FIG. 6, the number of stop (OFF) times and the stop (OFF) time of the contactor 1 are further classified and shown for each safety device 22 that has issued a stop request to the contactor 1. The relationship between the power contactor and the safety device 22 that is the stop request source is recorded in advance in, for example, the statistical processing unit 14.

It can be considered that many safety devices 22 with many emergency stop requests are emergency stopped because there is a danger in the vicinity where the safety device 22 is installed. Further, the safety device 22 having a long emergency stop time means that it takes time to recover from the emergency stop. Therefore, the number of emergency stop requests can be reduced and the emergency stop time can be shortened by reviewing the structure and functions of the machine or the arrangement of the safety device 22 from the vicinity of the safety device 22 that has many emergency stop requests or a long emergency stop time. Can be achieved.

The safety improvement support apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can identify a dangerous part hidden in the machine and can formulate a priority order of safety improvement. This makes it possible to effectively improve the safety of the machine.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
The figure which shows the structure of the safety improvement assistance apparatus 10 concerning Embodiment 4 of this invention is the same as FIG. In the second embodiment, the calculation unit 1 calculates the overall and location-specific danger levels from the operation history information and the danger levels of the safety devices 22 and displays them on the display unit 13. In the fourth embodiment, the calculation unit 1 uses the statistical data stored in the statistical processing unit 14 to calculate the accumulated time of each danger level, the maximum value of the danger level in a specified period, and the like. For example, the statistical processing unit 14 stores the danger level for each safety device 22. Note that the storage unit 17 may be provided and stored in the storage unit 17 as shown in FIG. Further, the statistical processing unit 14 connected to the storage unit 17 may function as the calculation unit 1 using the danger level stored in the storage unit 17. The display unit 13 obtains statistical information about these danger levels from the calculation unit 1 or the statistical processing unit 14 and displays the statistical information on the user 23 as shown in FIG. 7, for example.

If the safety improvement target is always set as a specific criterion such as a danger level of 3 or less, or a danger level of 3 hours or less per month, the user 23 determines whether there is a problem with machine safety. Can know. In other words, the safety improvement support apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment enables target management for improving machine safety. If it is determined that there is a problem regarding the safety of the machine, the user 23 can analyze and improve the dangerous work as described in the second embodiment.

Embodiment 5 FIG.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of the safety improvement support apparatus 10 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The safety improvement support apparatus 10 in FIG. 8 further includes a device life unit 15 that records a list of life information such as the number of times of life of the used safety device 22 in the configuration of FIG. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG.

Among the safety devices 22, the contact device is used in a normally closed state in which the contact is turned off from the energized state. Since the contact is damaged by the discharge arc when the contact is opened, the life of the safety device is determined by the number of times of OFF (stop). Therefore, a list of the number of lifespans of the safety device 22 is written in the device lifespan unit 15, and the statistical processing unit 14 manages the number of times the safety device is turned off and the number of lifespans. The calculation unit 1 obtains and compares the number of OFF times and the lifespan of the safety device 22 from the statistical processing unit 14 and the device lifespan 15 and compares the OFF number with a specified boundary value, for example, 90% of the lifespan number or 100 times the lifespan number. If it exceeds% or the like, it is displayed on the display unit 13 together with the warning or together with the warning. For example, in FIG. 9, a warning is given by changing the display color of the corresponding part (contactor 1).

As described above, the safety improvement support device 10 according to the fifth embodiment can visualize the lifespan of the contactor, the safety switch, and the safety relay, so that the safety device 22 performs maintenance before the safety is impaired. Can do.

As described above, the safety improvement support apparatus 10 according to the first to fifth embodiments of the present invention can improve the safety based on the operation history of the machine safety control device. Furthermore, by realizing a reduction in the number of emergency stops and the emergency stop time, it is possible to improve the operating rate of the machine.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Further, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent requirements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and is described in the column of the effect of the invention. When an effect is obtained, a configuration from which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention. Furthermore, the constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

As described above, the safety improvement support device according to the present invention is useful for work for improving the safety of a machine that is safety-controlled by a plurality of safety control devices, and in particular, a policy for improving the efficiency of dangerous work. Or it is possible to give hints to the user so as to identify the dangerous parts lurking in the machine, and it is suitable for planning the priority of safety improvement.

1 operation unit, 10 safety improvement support device, 11 operation history unit, 12 request reception unit, 13 display unit, 14 statistical processing unit, 15 device life unit, 17 storage unit, 21 safety PLC, 22 safety device, 23 user.

Claims (5)

1. An operation history unit for recording history information of stop operations of a plurality of safety devices via the PLC;
   A request reception unit for receiving a period specified by the user and the type of the safety device;
   A display unit;
   Based on the history information, a calculation unit that causes the display unit to display a temporal change in the stop state of the safety device during the period;
   A safety improvement support device characterized by comprising:
2. A storage unit for storing a plurality of safety device risk levels;
   The safety improvement support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit displays a time change of the danger level on the display unit based on the history information and the danger level.
3. An operation history unit for recording history information of stop operations of a plurality of safety devices via the PLC;
   A statistical processing unit that calculates and holds statistical data about the number of times and time of the stop operation based on the history information;
   A display unit;
   Based on the statistical data, a calculation unit that causes the display unit to display the number and time of the stop operation for each safety device;
   A safety improvement support device characterized by comprising:
4. A storage unit for storing a plurality of safety device risk levels;
   The safety improvement support device according to claim 3, wherein the calculation unit displays the number of times of the danger level and the accumulated time on the display unit based on the statistical data.
5. It further comprises a device life part that records life information of the safety device,
   5. The safety according to claim 3, wherein the calculation unit displays a warning on the display unit for the safety device whose life is approaching, based on the statistical data and the life information. Improvement support device.

Images