Glossary · Protective devices and interlocks
Safety zoning
Also known as: zone-based safety
In machine safety, safety zoning is the division of machinery into defined zones so that protective actions can be applied to the affected area, while other zones continue to run or remain in a safe state.
- Machine safety
- Risk assessment
In one sentence
Safety zoning splits a line or cell into zones so a guard opening stops only the affected area; zone boundaries and interactions must be analyzed.
Example
An integrated bottling line is divided into filler, capper and packer zones; opening a door at the packer stops only the packer zone, while the filler finishes its cycle and waits.
How it applies
- Integrated systems: Zoning is common in integrated systems where stopping everything for every access would be impractical. The risk assessment must show that hazards cannot reach from a running zone into a stopped one, such as material transfer or robot reach.
- Machine safety: Each zone needs clearly defined boundaries, safeguards and a stop reaction. Emergency stop zones must be recognizable to users, so that people know which part of the line a device stops.
- Systems engineering: Zone interfaces are a source of interaction hazards. Specify signals between zones and their behavior on communication loss.
- Technical documentation: Provide a zone map in the operating manual that shows zone boundaries, access points, emergency stop coverage and which zones stop when.