All Handtmann food processing equipment sold in the United States and Canada is now shipped with International Electrotechnical Commission Category 3 safety compliance features as part of the standard factory configuration. Category 3 safety compliance, offered as an option in the past, fulfills requirements of IEC 61508 that defines the means for achieving functional safety in systems that incorporate electrical and/or electronic and/or programmable electronic (E/E/PE) devices.

Category 3 circuits ensure the safety function in the presence of a single fault by, for example, employing two redundant channels. This redundancy delivers greater protection for machine operators and maintenance personnel while minimizing risk and reducing insurance claims and costs for processors. It also reduces downtime.

According to Tim Spannbauer, Handtmann Inc. service manager, Category 3 certification of Handtmann food processing equipment sold in the United States and Canada “means our products are now equipped to address possible hazards caused by a failure of safety functions to be performed by the E/E/PE safety-related systems, including emergency shut-down systems, guard interlocking and emergency stopping systems, and remote monitoring, operation or programming functions.”

Spannbauer says Handtmann designers have recognized the potential economic consequences of E/E/EP failures for customers into today’s complex food processing operations and “have upgraded the redundancy of relevant electro-mechanical relays, non-programmable solid-state electronics, and programmable “smart device” electronics such as sensors, transmitters and actuators” as part of Handtmann’s aggressive “whole systems” approach to safety and the development of its safety-related systems.

More information on IEC Category 3 standards is available at www.iec.ch/zone/fsafety/. More information about Handtmann’s Category 3 compliance initiative and Handtmann equipment can be obtained by contacting your territory sales manager or at: www.handtmann.us/contact or www.handtmann.ca/contact.