Presented by Jamie Thomas, a TÜV-Certified Machinery Safety and CE Marking Expert, this webinar will guide attendees through the key changes and new requirements introduced in the revised ISO 10218. Jamie will break down what the updates mean for manufacturers, system integrators and end users, and explore practical approaches and technologies that can support compliance with the updated standard.

If you are interested but the time of the webinar isn’t suitable for your schedule, please register anyway and you will send you a recording of the webinar after the event.

Jamie has an electro-mechanical background and nearly 20 years of experience in industrial automation and safety.

Pilz’s free Webinar series aims to give you the essential facts and updates on a range of key Machinery Safety topics without you having to leave the office. Presenters will cover the key facts in around an hour and will offer participants the added opportunity to get instant support for specific questions.

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Safety Requirements and Integration of AGVs is an advanced level course held on Tuesday 17 March and Tuesday 7 July. This course is designed for those working with AGVs, AGV systems and AMRs in industrial environments. It covers the latest safety standards – including ISO 3691-4 – and provides practical guidance on risk assessment, hazard reduction, and safe system integration.

Robot Safety and Integration is an advanced level course held on Monday 16 March and Monday 6 July. This course is designed for those integrating robots and collaborative applications into industrial environments. It covers key international standards like ISO 10218-1 and 2, and dives into risk assessment, cyber security, safety functions, and validation requirements. Participants learn how to design risk reduction measures and implement integrated control strategies – all while maintaining high productivity.

Both courses are running from the Machinery Safety Training Academy in Corby, Northamptonshire.

Pilz UK Training Courses offer delegates the opportunity to build up their Machinery Safety knowledge to their individual level of qualification. Delegates can expect to walk away from both courses with an understanding of their relevant standards, potential pitfalls and proven risk reduction methods. Increase your productivity… safely!

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What does EN ISO 13855 regulate and what’s new?

The international standard EN ISO 13855 forms the basis for the safe design of machinery. It defines how safeguards such as light curtains, laser scanners or guards must be positioned so that people are reliably protected. The focus is on the safety distance, i.e. the distance required for machinery to stop in time before a person is endangered.

With the 2024 revision, the standards body is responding to technical developments and practical experience gained in recent years. There are key changes:

• New terms and definitions
• The basis for calculating the safety distance has been adjusted
• Additional notes on practical application

This gives design engineers, planners and inspectors a more precise and practical basis for standard-compliant implementation.

Benefits of the Safety Distance Calculator

• Automatic calculation of the safety distance for all safety light curtains on the market
• Suitable product recommendation from the ranges PSENopt and PSENopt II
• Saves time by shortening the search for the right light curtain
• Intuitive operation with additional information and graphical representation of the calculation
• Flexibility for applications in special purpose machine building and retrofitting

From safety level to the right product

The Safety Distance Calculator helps users calculate applications with vertical protected fields (perpendicular approach) for finger, hand and body protection. The tool suggests a suitable product, based on the calculations and the required safety level. Integrated info points provide in-depth explanations, while the graphical representation makes the calculation transparent and comprehensible.

Determine the appropriate safety distance in accordance with EN ISO 13855:2024 now.

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Within its “Identification and Access Management” portfolio, Pilz offers a comprehensive range of products, solutions and software for the implementation of both safety and security tasks.

These cover applications from simple authentication to complex access permissions, and access management through to safe operating mode selection, maintenance safeguarding and safeguarding of data and networks.

One such solution is the ‘key-in-pocket’ maintenance safeguarding system for protection against unauthorised restart. This solution ensures that a machine cannot resume operation while people are still in the danger zone. The key-in-pocket maintenance safeguarding system is designed for machines with danger zones, which are protected by a safety fence and which employees need to access – robot cells for example.

In comparison with conventional lockout-tagout (LOTO) systems, maintenance safeguarding with the Key-in-pocket solution is implemented via RFID keys with corresponding permissions and a safe list in the Pilz controllers. As a result, it provides purely electronic restart protection and makes mechanical interlocking devices and warning tags redundant.

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So, thanks to feedback from previous attendees, opportunities to sit C&G have been developed and expanded, making it easier to get expert training on your terms.

New for 2026, there will be a later start option for C&G, with the training starting Monday midday and finishing Friday midday. And, as in previous years, the course will be running at locations across the UK, with Warrington and Newcastle available early in the year.

And, of course, City & Guilds is also available in the traditional, tried and tested format at Pilz HQ in Corby, Northamptonshire, running from Monday to Thursday, starting at 9am and finishing at 5pm.

Described by a recent attendee as “one of the best learning experiences I’ve had in my career”, while others have praised the “interesting and engaging content” and “a great course I’d highly recommend to anyone working in industrial automation, machinery design, or safety compliance.”

Headed up by experts who draw on lived-industry experience and working examples, attending delegates will walk away with an understanding of machinery safety regulations, standards and risk management specific to the UK.

Available dates for all iterations of the City & Guilds Assured 4-Day Machinery Safety course can be found on the Pilz website.

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PSENmgate assures greater ease of operation and more flexible installation. The new versions of the safety gate system thus include additional application areas – for example for packaging technology, in machine construction or for robot applications.

PSENmgate thus offers new possibilities for implementing customised safety concepts for access guarding.

Greater ease of operation

A new version of PSENmgate with a longer housing has space for more control elements, such as pushbuttons, illuminated buttons or key switches. It is ideal for applications that require comprehensive operating functions at the safety gate. On top of that, in addition to the four buttons, this product version also offers an integrated emergency stop as well as the option of an escape release.

Optimise cable routing

There are also versions with a cable outlet that is routed upwards, through which they can be adapted to the respective machine environment. They can thus be integrated flexibly into existing plants. At the same time, this version simplifies the wiring and therefore the assembly. This leads to optimised cable routing and shorter times for installation. Users benefit from faster commissioning of safety gate safeguards on machinery. Thanks to the coded actuator, there is also a high level of manipulation protection.

In addition to the existing door handles for sliding gates, the safety gate system now includes a new door handle version: The new door handle has been optimised specifically for swing gates and comes in two different sizes, allowing for flexible installation. Users are thus offered an individually adaptable solution for swing doors thanks to the combination of the PSENmgate safety gate system and the door handle.

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We truly live in a golden age of technology. Innovations are transforming how we work and live every day – from smarter systems to more connected operations. While these advancements can supercharge productivity, they also bring new and complex safety challenges.

AGVs and Robots are no longer the future; they’re the now. As these technologies become regular fixtures on factory floors, understanding the safety standards that govern their operation isn’t just important – it’s essential.

Pilz offers two expert-led training courses designed to help you navigate this evolving landscape with confidence.

Safety Requirements and Integration of AGVs: This course is designed for those working with AGVs, AGV systems and AMRs in industrial environments. It covers the latest safety standards – including ISO 3691-4 – and provides practical guidance on risk assessment, hazard reduction, and safe system integration.

Click here for a full rundown of the AGV course.

Robot Safety and Integration: This course is designed for those integrating robots and collaborative applications into industrial environments. It covers key international standards like ISO 10218-1 and 2, and dives into risk assessment, cyber security, safety functions, and validation requirements. Participants learn how to design risk reduction measures and implement integrated control strategies – all while maintaining high productivity.

Click here for a full rundown of the Robot Safety course.

Both are running from the Machinery Safety Training Academy in Corby, Northamptonshire: Safety Requirements and Integration of AGVs – Tuesday 7th October; Robot Safety and Integration – Monday 6th October. For more details, contact the Pilz Training Team via training@pilz.co.uk

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MACHINERY SAFETY on TOUR (MSoT) is a free one-day interactive and practical session packed with the expertise and learnings that come with being a market leader for nearly 40 years.

World-class Machinery Safety expertise deserves a world-class venue – and the next stop on the MSoT tour is the renowned Bristol Robotics Laboratory on Wednesday 19 November.

Alongside gaining the latest insights into Machinery Safety legislation, trends, and best practices, attendees can also enjoy a guided tour of this cutting-edge research facility. Key topics covered include:

The Machinery Safety landscape: An overview of relevant issues and current and upcoming Standards & Regulations such as the new Machinery Regulation and changes to EN ISO 13849.

Identification and access management: Why you need to control access. The latest strategies and techniques to prevent unauthorised manipulation and unexpected restart.

Industrial Security: Why Safety cannot be guaranteed without Security. Legislation and proven Cybersecurity strategies and solutions to prevent tampering or malicious attacks.

Real world examples of tests and inspections: Stop performance testing to ensure the proper installation, correct safety distances and safe functioning of a light curtain. Pressure and force measurement testing of a collaborative robot in accordance with method 4 of ISO/TS 15066.

Spaces on the session are free of charge, which includes lunch and refreshments, but the event is expected to reach capacity, so registration is essential. Secure your place here.

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MACHINERY SAFETY on TOUR (MSoT) is a free one-day interactive and practical session packed with the expertise and learnings that come with being a market leader for nearly 40 years.

World-class machinery safety expertise needs a world-class location and so the first MSoT of 2025 will be hosted at the AMRC in Sheffield on Wednesday 24 September. And, in addition to walking away with the latest machinery safety knowledge, attendees also have the opportunity to take a guided tour of the spectacular AMRC facility.

The key current issues and topics being covered in the session include:

The machinery safety landscape: An overview of relevant issues and current and upcoming standards and regulations such as the new Machinery Regulation and changes to EN ISO 13849.

Identification and access management: Why you need to control access. The latest strategies and techniques to prevent unauthorised manipulation and unexpected restart.

Industrial security: Why safety cannot be guaranteed without security. legislation and proven cybersecurity strategies and solutions to prevent tampering or malicious attacks.

Real world examples of tests and inspections: Stop performance testing to ensure the proper installation, correct safety distances and safe functioning of a light curtain. Pressure and force measurement testing of a collaborative robot in accordance with method 4 of ISO/TS 15066.

Spaces on the session are free of charge, which includes lunch and refreshments, but the event is likely to fill to capacity and registration is essential. Secure your place here.

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We all know the CE mark. You can see it on electrical appliances, toys or household goods, but also on plant and machinery of course. The CE mark is effectively the seal that shows that products placed on the market within the European Economic Area (EU and EFTA) meet essential health, safety and environmental requirements.

By attaching the mark, the person placing the product on the market signals that they have complied with the applicable legal requirements for the safety of the product within the EU. Every product that falls under an EU directive has required an EC Declaration of Conformity for the past 30 years.

These directives include the Machinery Directive, which has also been mandatory since 1995. It describes standardised health and safety requirements for interaction between human and machine, and replaced the host of individual state regulations that existed on Machinery Safety.

What was initially a major challenge for companies is now something no one wants to do without. CE marking and the Machinery Directive create transparency and trust between manufacturers and users. They are therefore success stories. In other parts of the world, they have served as a model for establishing legal frameworks for Machinery Safety, and indeed continue to do so.

Security: 30 years later

Let’s go back to the mid-1990s, when Tim Berners-Lee publicly released the technology for using the world wide web at the CERN research centre in Switzerland. The breakthrough for networking and digitalisation in society and industry.

30 years later, security is defined differently. Because as a result of this very networking and digitisation, products and machinery with digital elements are exposed to completely different risks, through data manipulation for example. European legislators have reacted: the principle of CE marking remains in place. The requirements for obtaining it have been adapted to the state of the art. The new Machinery Regulation was published in 2023 and will replace the Machinery Directive in 2027. I’d like to briefly introduce two innovations, Artificial Intelligence and Industrial Security.

Can Artificial Intelligence be safe?

“A robot may not injure a human being.” That’s how Isaac Asimov formulated a so-called robot law for intelligent machines in one of his science fiction stories back in 1942. Today, 83 years later, further developments in Artificial Intelligence mean that the rules for interaction between human and machine must be reconsidered.

Legislators have also recognised this and taken the subject of Artificial Intelligence into account in the new Machinery Regulation. It talks about machines with self-evolving behaviour. How safe can a machine be if the way it reacts in dangerous situations is determined not by humans, but by an algorithm?

In an extreme case, consideration must be given as to whether self-learning software can potentially result in a new machine. An extremely interesting subject, not just for the manufacturer, but also for the notified bodies.

AI doesn’t just affect the world of machinery. The EU Regulation on Artificial Intelligence, the so-called AI Act, regulates in general terms what AI systems may and may not do.

The regulation prohibits various AI practices, such as the manipulation of people. This means that AI must not lead people to make a decision that would cause significant harm to themselves or others. Also, certain applications, in the areas of education, critical infrastructure or law enforcement for example, have been categorised as high-risk AI systems, which must meet special requirements. These high-risk AI systems must also be CE marked in future.

At Pilz we see the AI Regulation as an important regulation, which ensures that opportunities can be exploited, while also ensuring that the risks posed by AI are reduced.

No CE mark without security

Due to the rapid increase in cyber attacks and damage caused by manipulation, in future the new Machinery Regulation will also require protection against the corruption of safety functions, of controllers for example, and thus sets out requirements for Industrial Security.

Overall, the EU has introduced legal requirements for Industrial Security for engineering on three levels. There are requirements for machinery, products with digital elements and companies.

• The Machinery Regulation applies to machinery.
• The Cyber Resilience Act defines cybersecurity requirements on products with digital elements.
• And the EU Directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, the so-called NIS 2 Directive, applies to almost every company in our sector with more than 50 employees.

This presents the industry with a huge task: all three laws have already been published by the EU. The clock is already ticking for two of these, namely the Machinery Regulation and CRA, and the industry now has around one and a half years to adapt development, production and engineering accordingly, including all associated processes and tasks such as training or documentation. A truly mammoth task – just like the implementation of the Machinery Directive back then.

We’ve already spoken about the Machinery Regulation. The CRA requires that products with digital elements are designed, developed and manufactured in accordance with basic cybersecurity requirements. In concrete terms this means that there are now requirements for risk assessment and assurance, vulnerability management, documentation and reporting obligations.

This affects us too. So, in order to implement this, several years ago we introduced a certified “secure” development process in our product development areas in accordance with IEC 62443-4-1, and had it certified in 2022. That enables us to guarantee that our developments comply with the CRA. Pilz has a very extensive product portfolio and each product had to be assessed to determine the extent to which it is affected by the CRA and whether it may need to be adapted. This assessment has taken place and the corresponding measures were introduced at an early stage.

The third piece of legislation, the EU’s NIS-2 Directive, which obliges companies to prepare for cyberattacks, has still to be transposed into national law. The date for this was actually by 18 October last year. Currently, 9 of the 27 EU member states have completed transposition. In the remaining countries, such as Germany or Austria, political circumstances often prevent laws from being passed.

Security not just for the law’s sake

Pilz’s plea: from our own experience of the cyberattack on Pilz in 2019, I can say that it would be disastrous to wait until there is agreement at political level before implementing security protection measures. It’s not about fulfilling legal requirements, but about securing the company and its continued existence.

With all the new requirements, the question arises as to whether other markets besides the EU will also face the new challenges, such as Artificial Intelligence or cybercrime. To answer that, I ‘d like to return to the successful CE marking model. As with the Machinery Directive, it is to be expected that European laws and standards will serve as a worldwide model when it comes to AI and cybersecurity. Most governments have a strong interest in ensuring that their citizens are as well protected as possible from hazards, while machine builders and producers are keen to be able to market their products worldwide. This means that economic operators outside the EU will also have to meet the new requirements if they wish to continue importing into the EU.

As you can see, security has many facets that affect us, our partners, customers and society in general. The new approval process in India and the new AI and security requirements in the EU are examples of how important it is to have functioning cross-market cooperation. Laws and international standards are key. They help us to rely on global technical security mechanisms.

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