CIP Safety™: Functional Safety Communication for Industrial Automation
CIP Safety™ is a functional safety communication protocol that enables standard and safety devices to operate together on the same industrial network. Built on the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP™), CIP Safety provides certified, fail-safe communications for discrete, hybrid, and process applications while eliminating the need for separate safety networks. CIP Safety is certified by TÜV Rheinland, has been adopted by Sercos International, and supports applications requiring up to Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3 according to IEC 61508.
Why CIP Safety?
Communication networks have changed how today’s automation systems operate by distributing processing, sensors, and actuators to where they are needed. CIP Safety provides these same benefits to functional safety systems by providing high integrity safety services over standard cabling and network switches.
CIP Safety is designed for interoperability, flexibility, and scalability, and it supports EtherNet/IP and DeviceNet communication between safety controllers, safety I/O blocks, interlock switches, light curtains, drives, and other safety devices across industrial automation systems. With CIP Safety, industrial users can:
- Reduce network infrastructure and installation costs
- Integrate standard and safety communications on one network
- Simplify machine design and commissioning
- Support globally recognized functional safety standards
How CIP Safety Works
CIP Safety is made up of high integrity safety services and diagnostics in the application layer and can run over standard cabling and network switches. Instead of relying on a separate network, CIP Safety incorporates safety mechanisms within the communication protocol to detect errors and place devices into a safe state when necessary. Examples of the mechanisms that are used:
- CIP Safety data is time-stamped to mark the age of the produced data.
- A production identifier is encoded in each data production to ensure that each received message arrives at the correct consumer.
- All safety transfers use Safety CRCs (or checksums) to ensure the integrity of the information transfer.
- Data and CRC redundancy provide additional protection against corruption of transmitted data.
CIP Safety packets are made up of the following four sections (note that no packet has all four): data, timestamp, time correction and time coordination. When configuring a CIP Safety device over the network, there are measures to ensure integrity of the configuration, such as:
- Safety Network Number which identifies each network path in the system individually, allowing each device to be uniquely identified.
- Configuration Ownership can be enforced to ensure that safety configurations cannot be changed by other devices in the network.
The CIP Safety protocol is present only in safety controllers and field devices; this prevents standard devices from posing as safety devices. CIP Safety can also coexist with other application layer standards like CIP Motion and CIP Security.
Safety Certifications and Capabilities
テクノロジー解説シリーズ CIP Safety: ワイヤレス機能安全
PUB00343R1 English | Japanese
CIP Safety is certified by TÜV Rheinland as a “black channel” protocol. This means that safety integrity is not dependent on the physical media and various types can be used, including:
- Ethernet platforms (10, 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps)
- Fiber optic networks
- Wireless systems such as existing WiFi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
CIP Safety is also expected to be forward compatible with emerging wireless technologies, such as WiFi 7 (802.11be) and 5G.
CIP Safety allows for SIL2 safety for moderate risk applications to provide flexibility. In addition, it allows for SIL3 critical safety applications with substantial risk. This enables CIP Safety to support products based on the ISO 13849 specification and PLd-Cat3 (~SIL2).
Together, these features ensure safety communications while allowing standard Ethernet infrastructure to be used throughout the enterprise.
Download CIP Safety Resources
ODVA offers free online training for engineers and product managers interested in learning more about CIP Safety. This course is available in both live (2x/year) and on-demand formats.
FAQs
What is CIP Safety?
CIP Safety™ is a functional safety protocol that extends the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP™) to enable certified safety communications over standard industrial networks. It allows standard control and safety devices to communicate on the same network while meeting international functional safety requirements, including applications up to SIL 3 according to IEC 61508.
How does CIP Safety use CIP?
The Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) is designed to allow different networks to be used with a common protocol. Since it is designed to be media and datalink independent, it allows for expansion to other networks and to grow as Ethernet grows. CIP Safety is an extension to the standard capabilities of CIP, and it has been certified by TÜV Rheinland for use in functional safety applications. It extends the model by adding CIP Safety application layer functionality.
Because the safety application layer extensions do not rely on the integrity of the underlying standard CIP services and datalink layers, single channel (non-redundant) hardware can be used for the datalink communication interface. The routing of safety messages is possible because the end device is responsible for confirming the integrity of the data. If an error occurs in the transmission of data or in the intermediate router, the end device will detect the failure and take an appropriate action.
What are the benefits of CIP Safety?
CIP Safety simplifies industrial network design by allowing standard and safety communications to share the same network infrastructure. It enables interoperability between certified devices from multiple vendors and brings many other benefits, including:
- Reduced wiring and hardware costs
- Simplified maintenance, wiring, and diagnostics
- Increased productivity and flexibility
- Improved lifecycle costs
CIP Safety helps boost your bottom line while keeping your facility efficient and safe. Organizations can maintain or improve safety integrity, while increasing effectiveness.