• Project number: F 2497
• Institution: Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) / Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Automatisierungstechnik und Softwaresysteme
• Status: Completed Project

Description:

Modern production systems exhibit distinctive characteristics such as high complexity, heterogeneity of individual components, autonomy, and reconfigurability. This project addressed key challenges that safety engineers will increasingly face in the near future when performing risk assessments under these conditions.

The main focus of the project was to analyse the extent to which existing risk assessment methods are applicable to Cyber-Physical (Production) Systems (CPPS). The methods were classified, and their strengths and limitations were analysed, along with their potential for integration in the context of CPPS. To validate the findings, a hardware/software demonstrator was developed that simulates a smart factory environment and illustrates advanced risk assessment techniques for industrial CPPS. The demonstrator highlights the limitations of traditional methods in capturing dynamic risks and emphasises the benefits of advanced techniques such as probabilistic model checking and intelligent fault injection. By simulating various configurations, it provides insights into trade-offs between efficiency, safety, and flexibility, serving as both an educational and research tool for the further development of risk assessment methodologies in smart manufacturing environments.

The results underscore the necessity of complementing traditional approaches with more dynamic techniques, including probabilistic model checking, AI-assisted strategies, digital twins, and intelligent fault injection. Based on these findings, the project developed an initial roadmap to support further research and the advancement of risk assessment methods for CPPS.