Modern industrial systems are highly-connected and must be highly-available

Industry 4.0 means that in modern production flows, all actuators, devices and systems within the value chain are connected to one another across the entire organization. In particular, trends such as batch size 1 and just-in-time production contribute to this environment. A high degree of connectivity requires production systems that feature a high degree of flexible adaptivity. These systems must nevertheless be safe and dependable. The European Machinery Directive forms the basis for the safety norms of the individual systems and their connectivity.