Safety Interlocks for Control Systems
Overview
Safety interlocks are protective mechanisms that prevent equipment damage and ensure safe operation. In control systems, the primary risks are output saturation and exceeding safe operating limits.
Instruction
- Perform a critical pre-control check to verify that sensor readings are within physical bounds and not NaN or infinite.
- Identify and define the absolute safety limits (Maximum and Minimum) for both measurements and control outputs.
- Implement a "Check BEFORE Output" logic where safety conditions are evaluated immediately before any control command is sent.
- Trigger an emergency cutoff (setting output to a safe minimum) whenever a critical threshold is breached.
- Maintain a structured safety log recording the timestamp, measurement, and the specific event that triggered an interlock.
- Utilize output clamping to ensure that manual or automated commands never exceed the hardware's safe operating range.
When to Use