Electronic Key System EKS FSA (For Safety Applications)

Security was yesterday
Protection of a system or installation against unauthorized access works in the usual way with the EKS FSA. All the important data required for access authorization is stored on a chip – the EKS key. This offers considerably more protection for an installation that would ever be possible with a password.

The EKS key guarantees that it is really used only by a single authorized person. For every key is unique, and can therefore be individually matched to the person it was issued to. The freely writable memory on the key also allows additional relevant data to be stored. It is also possible to allow access to different machines and installations with only one key by storing several access rights on it. All these features already characterized the Electronic Key System EKS from EUCHNER in the past.

The new feature offered by the EKS FSA is that this personalized access authorization can now also be used to enable safety-relevant functions on a machine. This could include, for example, the authorization to activate a dangerous operating mode in which it is necessary to work with bypassed safety guards.

To do this, the user simply inserts his key in the EKS FSA. When the key is inserted, a hardware output is set which is integrated in the safety system of the installation. In addition, the control system checks whether this user is entitled to select a certain operating mode.
These two signals can then be used, in conjunction with an enabling switch for example, to enable work with open safety guards and enabling switch.
The fact that such a function is possible can prevent tampering with the installation, which might otherwise have been necessary. The machinery directive has long demanded the prevention of foreseeable misuse (Directive 98/79/EC, Annex I, 1.4.1: “It must not be possible to easily bypass the safety guards or render them ineffective”).
A study carried out recently by the German employers' liability insurance association showed that many accidents occur as a result of tampering. This naturally leads to the question of why tampering took place. EUCHNER has looked closely at this question, and has arrived at the conclusion that some types of work on a machine were not possible in any other way in the past.
This work can now be “legalized” with the EKS FSA. The personal code on each key allows each user for a specific operating mode to be clearly defined. This is in contrast to conventional keys, where it is not possible to reliably verify the assignment of machine functions to a specific person.