Pilz is a leader in safe and secure automation technology. With its innovative solutions and decades-long expertise, the company has established itself globally as a complete solution provider for safety and automation technology. Pilz’s automation solutions enable machine builders and factories to become more digital, connected, flexible, efficient, safe and secure. Recently we spoke with Amol Bari, head – services business, Pilz. Here is an excerpt from the interview.
Mahan Hazarika: Please tell us in brief about your company
Amol Bari: We have been a pioneer and leader in safety automation solutions since our inception. Our innovative, customer-oriented automation solutions are in accordance with applicable standards and laws making us extremely successful globally. Pilz India is a subsidiary of Pilz GmbH & Co. KG that was set up in 2011. Since 2011, Pilz has been providing safe automation solutions to Indian manufacturers by enabling its customers to overcome complex applications – we have built our technical competencies to provide safe automation solutions to the Indian industry. Our objective is to automate plants, factories, and machinery with guaranteed safety of humans, machines, and the environment.
Mahan Hazarika: How do your automation solutions help the packaging and F&B industries?
Amol Bari: Today, machine builders and factories are not just looking at automation solutions, with packaging and F&B being the most technologically advanced industries. Machine builders and factories are on their digital transformation path to build Industry 4.0 and IIoT-ready machines, lines and factories. With Pilz automation solutions, machine builders and factories benefit from more digital, connected, flexible, efficient, safe, and secure solutions.
We support the complete automation, safety, security, and digitalization needs of primary, secondary and end-of-line systems with our future-proof, innovative, intelligent technologies and solutions. Moreover, the industry benefits from our comprehensive service portfolio ranging from risk assessment and safety validation to full engineering. Our services portfolio identifies the requirements and assesses the specific risks prevailing locally on the machine. We assist machine builders and factories with safety through the whole machine life-cycle with our services such as risk assessment, safety concept, safety design, system implementation, and safety validation.
We additionally assist in conformity with international standards and regulations. We undertake plant assessment, machinery safety evaluation, lockout tagout systems and inspection of safeguarding devices, ensuring absolute safety when operating machines on the factory floor.
Pilz India has complete safe automation solutions and services for the packaging and F&B industry including safe controllers, HMI, motion controllers, RFID switches, and stainless-steel switches for washdown applications. Our customers place their trust in us thanks to our comprehensive product and services portfolio, expertise and competent and certified employees.
Mahan Hazarika: How according to you automation and artificial intelligence could impact these industries?
Amol Bari: Packaging and F&B industries are leading the market in technology adoptions. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital twin, together with automation, are impacting how these industries work. These solutions are actively helping in traceability, access management, security, and predictive maintenance solutions. However, these advancements and the IT and OT converging make manufacturing sites a playground for hackers, increasing the possibility of cyber threats. Thus, security has gained prominence.
Mahan Hazarika: Could you highlight your journey with safe automation solutions?
Amol Bari: Customers have partnered with Pilz over the past 75 years thanks to our innovative products and solutions, starting with glass laboratory equipment, then electronic timers, and later relays and programmable control systems. At each point in time, Pilz has been a trendsetter, with its technological milestones changing the market’s outlook toward safe automation solutions.
Pilz became a technology leader with the world’s first and most widely used emergency stop relay, ‘PNOZ’. It is the epitome of a safety relay and has shaped the history of safe automation technology. Today, Pilz is a reliable partner for the safe automation issues of tomorrow, making the world more digital, connected, flexible, efficient, safe, and secure with its solutions. Innovation is in our DNA, and we are proud to shape the future of industrial automation.
We are actively involved in over 50 standards committees worldwide. Pilz India has supported OEMs and factories with ‘The Spirit of Safety’ for over 12 years, helping machines, lines, factories, and plants to be safe, secure, and compliant. We have competent and certified experts to take care of all your safe, secure, connected automation as well as digitalization needs.
Mahan Hazarika: What are the most common issues you come across while working with machine manufacturers?
Amol Bari: Lack of awareness is the primary issue we face while working with machine manufacturers. Safety is usually considered additional overhead, expensive, and a productivity killer. Safety was always looked at for export machines where the laws for safety are stringent. However, safety is an option for locally supplied machines but not a must-have owing to the highly cost-conscious market. Inculcating safe practices is the biggest challenge from the top down, from factories and plants to machine manufacturers. It is the duty of all factories and machine manufacturers that their staff are able to work safely and free from injury.
