Aiming to Become the World Leader in Pursuing and Achieving Safety and Security as Part of the IDEC Group
Our parent company IDEC Corporation’s vision is to become the world leader in pursuing and achieving safety and security. We promote various measures from the perspectives of Technology, Human, Management, and Standards to achieve that vision.
In addition to technological developments that utilize the safety technologies the company has cultivated since our founding, we spearhead strengthening management by fostering expert safety personnel through systems such as the safety assessor and robot safety assessor systems, pushing for occupational safety and health, and ensuring machine safety; forming social rules from a global perspective, such as international standardization; and more.
IDEC became the first Japanese company to join the Vision Zero campaign, in January 2018, as one way to promote this kind of safe, secure business.
What is Vision Zero?
Vision Zero is an European approach to occupational health and safety, with the aim of workplace safety, health, and wellbeing, with the participation of many of the world's leading companies. Vision Zero, which also meets the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), is aiming in the same direction as IDEC, which protects the safety of industrial sites through cooperative safety of humans and machines (Safety 2.0).
"Cooperative Safety / Safety 2.0" promoted by IDEC Group
The introduction of collaborative robots and AGVs (automated guided vehicles) / AMRs (automated guided vehicles) is progressing at various sites. The purposes are various, such as improving productivity, dealing with labor shortages due to the declining birthrate and aging population, and reducing the burden on workers. With the advance of robots into the human work area, a new proposal has been made to connect people, machines, and the environment with IT, and to maintain safety by utilizing sensing and connectivity technologies, that is, "Cooperative Safety / Safety 2.0".
Changes to the Definition of Safety and the Way of Thinking about Ensuring People’s Safety
"Safety" is defined in international standards as " freedom from unacceptable risk" (ISO/IEC Guide 51).
Methods of ensuring safety thus far (as shown below) have evolved from relying on people’s attentiveness (Safety 0.0) to getting them away from machines or stopping the machines (Safety 1.0). Going further, "Cooperative Safety / Safety 2.0" has been advocated for and established as a way of thinking about safety that is needed in this new era, where humans and machines coexist in more environments thanks to progress in smartification through technological innovations.
● Changes to the Way of Thinking about Ensuring People’s Safety
Safety 0.0
People must use dangerous machines with caution → People protect themselves
Safety 1.0
Make dangerous machines safer → Moving away from or stopping machines is the principle This technology ensures safety by adding functions to machines and equipment that let them move away from other people and machines or stopping when people approach.
Safety 2.0
Connecting people, things (machines), and environments through ICT technology → Cooperative safety is the principle Safety 2.0 is a technical way to achieve cooperative safety and is defined as “achieving cooperative safety by sharing information between humans, machines, and environments". Safety 2.0 is technology that effectively ensures safety by flexibly changing the state equipment is in based on information from people, machines, and the environment, in environments where people and machines coexist.
Cooperative Safety / Safety XNUMX is a concept that goes beyond Safety XNUMX (ensuring safety with human attentiveness) and Safety XNUMX (ensuring safety with the principle of people and machines moving away from each other and stopping). Safety and security have been the DNA of the IDEC Group since its founding, and we were one of the first to take on Cooperative Safety / Safety XNUMX, the latest concept in safety.
What Can be Achieved with Cooperative Safety / Safety 2.0
● Safety without stopping
By controlling the speed of machines and establishing their zones based on each person’s ability, it is possible to achieve both safety and productivity.
For example, determining the skill level and physical condition of each worker and finding the optimum controls for each of them that will ensure safety without stopping the machine more than needed improves safety and productivity.
● Visualizing safety
By using ICT to constantly monitor people’s physical conditions and equipment conditions, it becomes possible to visualize how safe a situation is and take appropriate measures when an abnormality occurs.
● Collaborative fail-safes
Conventional fail-safes are design concepts that involve parts, machines, or equipment itself breaking on the safe side when they break down. With Cooperative Safety / Safety XNUMX, ICT can be used to achieve fail-safes that integrate machines, people, and the environment.
● Saving space in areas with equipment
By allowing humans and machines to coexist, safety fencing is no longer required and machines/equipment take up less space.
We also provide a wide range of services such as safety consulting.
The IDEC Group also provides safety consulting. Many employees have acquired the safety assessor qualification, robot safety assessor qualification, and management safety qualification implemented by Japan certification. Among them, there are several safety lead assessor qualification holders with high difficulty, and from the latest safety standard trend seminar including Safety 2.0, We provide a wide range of services, including the implementation of corporate safety education.
Contact UsWe, IDEC Factory Solutions support customers' concerns about "safety". Please feel free to contact us for more information.
