Functional safety standard for the entertainment industry
Functional safety standard for the entertainment industry
EN 17206 is the functional safety standard for the entertainment industry. Released in 2019, is the first standard defining a framework for functional safety specifically for the entertainment industry. The standard covers machinery for stages and other production areas such as theatres, exhibition halls, and studios.
Examples of the machinery covered include:
As is typical in functional safety standards, EN 17206 is a risk-based standard. However, one of the core elements in EN 17206 is the “Use Case” approach describing parameters about how the equipment is used. Based on these Use-Cases, several design requirements, especially for the control system, can be derived. The table below is an example of the recommended Safety Functions for various Use Cases.
UC: Use Case
Upper Machinery Recommended Safety Functions and Measures | ||||||
Safety Function | UC1 | UC2 | UC3 | UC4 | UC5 | UC6 |
Emergency Stop: Category 0 or 1 | HR | HR |
HR (Cat 1) |
HR (Cat 1) |
HR (Cat 1) |
HR (Cat 1) |
Stop on “Deadman” Release: Category 0, 1, 2 |
HR | HR | HR | HR | HR | HR |
Protection against position deviation | HR | HR | HR | HR |
HR: Highly recommended
The Use Cases:
Use Case | Description | System Use |
UC1 | No-one in hazard zone during moving, SD Load, Speed <0.2m/s | Set up a venue |
UC2 | No-one in hazard zone during moving, SD Load, Speed <0.2m/s | Set up a venue |
UC3 | Person(s) in hazard zone during motion, single axis | Scenic motion |
UC4 | Person(s) in hazard zone during motion, multiple axis | Scenic motion |
UC5 | Moving person(s) suspended, single axis | Performer flying |
UC6 | Moving person(s) suspended, multiple axis | Performer flying |
Safety Integrity Levels (SILs)
Safety Integrity Levels are defined in most other functional safety standards. However, the determination of SILs can different between different standards, and care should be taken to not confuse them. This becomes even more interesting in EN 17206 as safety standard risk assessments are typically written with manufacturing equipment in mind, and these don’t translate well for entertainment settings. EN 17206, Annex D does however provide an, “entertainment industry calibration”, to help provide direction.
Listen to our webinar and learn more about the new standard EN 17206
Learn More
Site Selector
Global
Americas
Asia
Europe
Middle East and Africa