Electrical Noise

Electrical noise, also called electromagnetic interference,

or EMI, is unwanted electrical signals that produce
undesirable effects and otherwise disrupt the control
system’s circuits.
EMI may be either radiated or
conducted. To reduce electrical
noise the controller should be
located away from noise-
generating devices such as
large AC motors.

Normal Corrupted
Signal Signal
 Noise - Suppression
Potential noise generators include relays, solenoids,
motors, and motor starters - especially when operated
by hard contacts such as pushbuttons or selector
switches.

In certain instances, suppression for noise generation may

be necessary.

Typical noise-suppression
components
Noise Suppression Methods

Noise suppressor connected

across a motor starter coil

Noise suppressor connected

across a control relay coil
 Noise Suppression Methods

Careful wire routing can also cut down on electrical noise.

Within the PLC enclosure, input power to the processor
module should be routed separately from the wiring to
I/O modules.
Never run signal wiring and
power wiring in the same
conduit.
Segregate I/O wiring by signal
type, and bundle wiring with
similar electrical
characteristics together.

Wiring with different signal characteristics should be routed into

the enclosure by separate paths whenever possible.
 Leaky Input Devices
Many field input devices, such as proximity switches,
used with PLC-based systems are of a solid state
design.

Any electronically based input sensor that uses a

solid-switch silicon controlled rectifier (SCR), triac,
or transistor will have a small leakage current even in
the off state.
 Leaky Input Devices

Often the leaky

input will only
cause the module's
input indicator to
flicker. The leakage
may, however,
result in a falsely
activated PLC
input.

To correct the problem, a bleeder

resistor is connected across or in
parallel with the input.
 Leaky Output Devices
Leakage may
also occur with
solid-state
switches used in
many output
modules. A
similar problem
can be created
when a high-
impedance
output load
device is used
with these
modules. To correct the problem, a bleeder resistor is
connected across the output.
 Voltage Variations And Surges
The power supply section of the PLC system is built to
sustain line fluctuations and still allow the system to
function within its operating range.

Where line voltage variation is excessive,

a constant voltage transformer can be
used to solve the problem.

The constant voltage transformer

stabilizes the input voltage by
compensating for voltage changes at the
primary to maintain a steady voltage at
the secondary.
 Suppressing Inductive Loads
When current in an inductive load is interrupted or
turned off, a very high voltage spike is generated. If not
suppressed, these voltage spikes can reach several
thousand volts and produce surges of damaging high
currents.

To avoid this situation, a suppression network may

have to be installed to limit the voltage spike as well as
the rate of change of current through the inductor.

Generally, output modules designed to drive inductive

loads include suppression networks built in as part of
the module.
 Suppressing DC Inductive Loads

An additional external
suppression device
may be recommended Solenoid
if an output module is
used to control devices
such as relays,
solenoids, motor The clamping diode
starters, or motors. conducts only when
the current to the
solenoid is switched off.

The suppression device is wired across

and as close as possible to the load device.
 Suppressing AC Inductive Loads

An RC circuit can
be used for
suppression of AC
load devices.

The suppression
components used
must be rated
appropriately to The RC circuit slows
the rate of rise of the
suppress the
transient voltage
switching transient
characteristic of the
particular inductive
device.
 Snubbing Circuits
Surge suppression is also known as snubbing. The metal
oxide varistor surge suppressor functions in the same
manner as back-to-back zener diodes.

Each zener diode acts as an open circuit until the reverse voltage
across it exceeds its rated value. Any greater voltage peak instantly
makes the diode act like a short circuit that bypasses this voltage
away from the rest of the circuit.
 Snubbing Circuits
Additional suppression is especially important if your
inductive device is in series or parallel to a hard
contact, such as a pushbutton or selector switch.

Adding a snubber
circuit across the
inductive load can
significantly increase
the lifetime of the
pushbutton contacts.
What is Industrial Safety?
Industrial safety is primarily a management activity which
is concerned with
 Reducing
 Controlling
 Eliminating hazards from the industries or industrial
units.
Significance of Industrial Safety
 Industrial hazards causes a great loss to both the Employer & Employee,
that’s it is having importance

 Cost of compensation
 Cost of medical-aid
 Cost of training a new worker
 Cost of the lost time
 Cost of investigation
 Cost of supervision & inspections
 Cost to the Govt. in terms of factory inspectors, & public health services
 Cost of spoilage of materials
 Cost of the damage of machinery
 Cost of cost of wages payable during injury
 Cost of loss of morale
 Cost of loss to the worker and his family
 Objectives of Industrial Safety
 To prevent accidents in the plant by reducing the hazard to
minimum.
 To eliminate accident caused work stoppage and lost production.
 To achieve lower workmen’s compensation, insurance rates and
reduce all other direct and indirect costs of accidents.
 To prevent loss of life, permanent disability and the loss of income
of worker by eliminating causes of accidents.
 To evaluate employee’s morale by promoting safe work place and
good working condition
 To educate all members of the organization in continuous state of
safety mindless and to make supervision competent and intensely
safety minded.
 Measurement & Records of Accidents

 Two main ratios used to measure accidents are

 Accident Frequency Rate (AFC)
 Accident Severity Rate (ASC)

 AFC = No. of injuries * 10,00,000/ Total no. of man hours worked

 ASR = no. of day lost * 10,00,000/Total no. of man hours worked

Causes of Industrial Accidents
• Unsafe conditions
– The job itself
– Work schedules
– Psychological conditions
– Machinery & Equipment

• Unsafe Acts

• Miscellaneous Causes
Measures to ensure Industrial Safety
• Safety Policy
• Safety Committee
• Safety Engineering
– Guarding of machinery
– Material handling equipment
– Safety devices
– Ergonomics
– Plan maintenance
– General house keeping
• Safety Education & Training
• Role of Government
Four E's of Safety

• Engineering: i.e. safety at the design, equipment

installation stage.

• Education: i.e. education of employees in safe practices.

• Enlistment: i.e. it concerns the attitude of the employees

and management towards the programmed and its purpose.
This necessity arose the interest of employees in accident
prevention and safety consciousness.

• Encouragement: i.e. to enforce adherence to safe rules and

practices.
Safety Inspection Procedures
 Safety audit –
A safety audit subjects each area of a company’s activity to a systematic
critical examination with the object of minimizing loss.

 Safety survey-
A safety survey is a detailed examination in depth of a narrower field of
activity.

 Safety inspection-
 A routine scheduled inspection of a unit or department, which may be
carried out by someone ( may be a safety representative ) from within the
unit, possibly accompanied by the safety advisor. The inspection would
check maintenance standards,
Safety important considerations
 Fencing of machinery
 Work on or near machinery in motion
 Employment of young persons on dangerous
machines.
 Striking gear and devices for cutting off power
 Self-acting machines
 Casing of new machinery
 Hoists and lifts
 Lifting machines, chains, ropes and lifting tackles
 Revolving machinery
 Pressure plant
 • Shut off electricity flow in the event of an
overload or ground-fault in the circuit.

• Include fuses, circuit breakers, and ground-

fault circuit interrupters (GFCI).

• Fuses and circuit breakers are “over current”

devices (too much current = fuses melt and
circuit breakers “trip” open).

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• Incidents of electrical shock are avoidable for
sure. For making electrical devices “shock
free” and eliminating chances of fires,
electrocutions and injuries to users, all one
needs to do is eliminate electrical hazards with
affordable devices.
– Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs): Shield
against electrical hazards. Properly installed and
used GFCIs form an important part of safety.

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• A GFCI is an automatic device that offers protection against lethal
electrical shock or electrocution.
• It is a special electrical receptacle or outlet that can stop electrical
power within milliseconds as a safety precaution.
• Protects you from dangerous electrical shock.
• Ground fault detected = GFCI can shut off electricity flow in as little
as 1/40 of a second protecting you from a dangerous shock.

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• It trips electrical circuits whenever it detects ground faults or
leakage currents. So when a person’s body starts to receive a
shock, the GFCI senses this and cuts off the power before he or
she can get injured.

• In general, GFCIs are installed wherever there is the potential for

contact between a person and an electrical appliance in or near
moisture, water, or water pipes.

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• Simply put, usually a normal electrical outlet has two vertical slots and a round
hole just below them. The larger “left slot” corresponds to “neutral and “right
slot” is called “hot”. The third, round hole is the “ground”.

• Normally, electricity flows from hot to neutral in the outlet. The GFCI works by
measuring the current leaving the hot side of the power source and comparing it
to the current returning to the neutral side.

• If they are not equal, this means that some of the current is flowing along an
unintended path possibly through water or through a person.

• The GFCI detects imbalance in the current flowing from hot to neutral,
imbalance in the current flowing from hot to neutral and quickly cuts off
electricity, thus reducing the risk of electrical shock.

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• Do you know if there are overhead powerlines on your site?
• Do you know where they are located?
• Do you know what the safe work clearance is?
• Strict regulations are laid down to cover any work that may
have to be performed close to overhead powerlines

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powerline corridor as the area under any overhead powerline
that has not been properly isolated, and 10 metres either side
of the powerline.
•It is essential that these areas are respected. They are there
for the safety of everyone
•Do not store equipment, machinery, buildings
or structures in powerline corridors
•Do not construct, fabricate or maintain
structures, buildings, machinery or
equipment in powerline corridors
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• Lockout-tagout (LOTO) or lock and tag is a safety procedure which is
used in industry and research settings to ensure that dangerous machines
are properly shut off and not able to be started up again prior to the
completion of maintenance or servicing work.
• It requires that hazardous energy sources be "isolated and rendered
inoperative" before work is started on the equipment in question. The
isolated power sources are then locked and a tag is placed on the lock
identifying the worker who has placed it. The worker then holds the key
for the lock ensuring that only he or she can start the machine. This
prevents accidental startup of a machine while it is in a hazardous state
or while a worker is in direct contact with it.
• Lockout-tagout (LOTO)out is used across industries as a safe method of
working on hazardous equipment and is mandated by law in some
countries.

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• Document all lockout procedures
• Manual should be given to all employees
• Management should have policies and procedures for safe lockout
• Identify the location of all switches, power sources, controls, and
other devices in order to isolate the system
• Stop all running equipment
• Lock the disconnect switch in the off position
• Use temper-proof lock with one key
• Locks with duplicate key are not recommended
• Tag the lock with signature of the person performing repair
• Verify the isolation
• Remove tags and lock when the work is completed

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