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Safety & Compliance Troubleshooting
Interlingo

The SmartGrid™ Control Suite is designed to meet international safety standards such as ISO 13849 and IEC 61508. These standards ensure that energy management systems operate with a predictable level of safety integrity, protecting both personnel and equipment.

Failures in the safety chain are always critical and must be investigated thoroughly before the system is restarted. This page describes how to identify, classify, and respond to safety-related events.

Importance of Safety & Compliance

Unlike other troubleshooting areas, safety and compliance issues carry legal, regulatory, and human risk.

  • Human Safety: Prevents electric shock, arc flash incidents, or fire.

  • Equipment Protection: Avoids catastrophic failures of controllers, transformers, and loads.

  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensures the system remains certified and insurable.

Always treat a safety-related alarm as genuine. Do not attempt to bypass or suppress alarms without root cause verification.

ISO-Compliant Safety Features

The following features are embedded into the SmartGrid™ Control Suite:

  • Emergency Stop (E-Stop) Circuits

    • A hardware-level interlock that instantly disconnects power from all Power Controller Units (PCUs).

    • Must be accessible at key operator locations.

  • Safety Relays

    • Verify electrical continuity and switch states.

    • Supervised to ensure they respond within defined time frames.

  • Overcurrent and Overvoltage Protection

    • Trips when conditions exceed rated safe values.

    • Can trigger local shutdown or system-wide isolation.

  • Audit Logging

    • All safety events are timestamped with precision.

    • Logs cannot be tampered with and must be archived for compliance audits.

Alarm Reference Table

Alarm Code

Category

Description

Required Action

SAF-101

Emergency Stop

Operator-activated E-Stop

Inspect circuit wiring, confirm intentional use, reset switch

SAF-210

Relay Fault

Relay supervision failure

Replace faulty relay, test before restart

SAF-260

Relay Response Delay

Relay exceeded safety timing window

Verify relay coil and contactor, replace if needed

SAF-320

Isolation Failure

Ground fault or failed isolation barrier

Perform insulation resistance test, repair wiring

SAF-350

Overcurrent

Load exceeded safe operating current

Inspect wiring and breakers, reduce demand

SAF-410

Overvoltage

Input exceeded safe voltage range

Check upstream supply, replace damaged surge protection

SAF-499

Unknown Safety Event

Undefined error captured

Escalate to vendor support with logs

Common Safety-Related Scenarios

Emergency Stop Activation

  • Symptom: All controllers shut down immediately, alarms SAF-101 raised.

  • Diagnosis: Inspect E-Stop switch and cabling. Confirm whether pressed intentionally.

  • Resolution: Reset switch, test function, log event in compliance records.

Relay Supervision Failure

  • Symptom: SAF-210 or SAF-260 alarms triggered.

  • Diagnosis: Check continuity across relay terminals. Compare relay response times.

  • Resolution: Replace relay, re-run safety function test.

Overcurrent or Overvoltage Events

  • Symptom: SAF-350 or SAF-410 alarms triggered, breaker trips.

  • Diagnosis: Inspect load wiring, verify transformer tap settings, check lightning arrestors.

  • Resolution: Reduce load demand, replace damaged cabling, confirm surge protection is functional.

Preventive Maintenance for Safety

To avoid unnecessary trips and ensure compliance, preventive checks should be part of the maintenance schedule.

Monthly:

  • Test all Emergency Stop switches.

  • Review last 30 days of safety event logs.

Quarterly:

  • Inspect wiring insulation with a megohmmeter.

  • Verify relay coil resistance and contact response.

Annually:

  • Perform a full Safety Integrity Level (SIL) validation test.

  • Calibrate trip thresholds for overcurrent and overvoltage protection.

  • Audit compliance records against ISO and IEC requirements.

Keep signed records of all preventive safety checks. Auditors may request proof of testing as part of compliance validation.

Compliance Logging & Reporting

All safety systems produce secure audit logs that must be:

  • Stored for a minimum of two years (local regulations may require longer).

  • Backed up to offsite or cloud storage.

  • Protected from unauthorized modification.

[2025-09-12 08:42:15] SAF-350 Overcurrent event, Bus 3, Current = 128%
[2025-09-12 08:42:15] Load shedding initiated, Priority Load = HVAC
[2025-09-12 08:42:17] Operator acknowledged alarm

Regulatory Considerations

  • ISO 13849 (Safety of Machinery): Requires documented proof of tested safety functions.

  • IEC 61508 (Functional Safety): Governs safety lifecycle, from design to decommissioning.

  • OSHA / Local Electrical Codes: National standards may mandate additional checks.

Failure to comply may result in:

  • Invalidation of warranty and insurance.

  • Regulatory fines or sanctions.

  • Increased liability in case of incident.

Never suppress safety alarms in software. Compliance standards require hardware-level verification and response.

Escalation for Safety Issues

If a safety-related event cannot be explained by routine causes:

  1. Collect logs for the previous 48 hours.

  2. Document operator actions at the time of the event.

  3. Photograph relay wiring, breakers, and E-Stop switches.

  4. Escalate to SmartGrid™ technical support immediately.

Vendor support may request a Safety Incident Report including:

  • Event timeline.

  • Error codes.

  • Photos or diagrams.

  • Copies of compliance logs.