Festo Didactic, SICK announce new robots safety awareness program

Festo Didactic and SICK have partnered to create a Safety Awareness Bundle that combines curriculum and hardware. The curriculum content focuses on robot risk assessments as well as the implementation of the system approach vs automation à la carte. The hardware includes a Festo Didactic manufacturing production system (MPS), a simulated Cyber-Physical Smart Factory with six-axis robot, SICK area scanners, safety PLC and safety relay.

“With such a demand for smart manufacturing methods to be demystified, students who have been exposed to this sort of implementation have a real advantage when it comes to applying to jobs compared to students not provided the same experiential learning and job training,” said Ted Rozier, director of engineering at Festo Didactic North America.

The curriculum is designed to help students understand the importance of risk assessment. It also helps them understand what to do with the digital data captured.

The curriculum walks them through the six-step method of robotics and automation equipment safety to understand topics such as:

1. Risk assessment
2. Safe design
3. Technical protective measures
4. Administrative measures/information about residual risks
5. Overall validation of the machine
6. Deployment of machinery

Students also learn the definition of terminologies such as performance measures, areas of severity, frequency and avoidance.