Operational safety using a distributed ledger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12238228-B2
Application number	US-202017625938-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 20, 2020
Priority date	Jul 22, 2019
Publication date	Feb 25, 2025
Grant date	Feb 25, 2025

Abstract

Provided is a device for ensuring safe operation of a technical system configured to generate a smart contract including a condition to be fulfilled for safe operation of a technical system, to store smart contract data of the smart contract in a distributed ledger, and to determine if the technical system fulfills the condition using the smart contract.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for ensuring safe operation of a technical system, the device being configured to:
generate a smart contract including a condition, which is required to be fulfilled by the technical system for safe operation of the technical system;
store smart contract data of the smart contract which uniquely identifies the smart contract in a distributed ledger; and
determine if the technical system fulfills the condition using the smart contract, wherein the condition is a requirement according to an industry standard of the technical system and the smart contract is an operating permission of the technical system, further wherein the smart contract comprises at least one hazard element identifying a safety hazard of the technical system.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the technical system comprises multiple technical subsystems, and wherein the device is further configured to:
obtain a subcondition for a technical subsystem to be fulfilled for safe operation of the technical subsystem;
generate a smart subcontract of the smart contract, which is to be fulfilled for the smart contract to be fulfilled, including the subcondition;
store smart subcontract data of the smart subcontract in the distributed ledger;
determine if the technical subsystem fulfills the subcondition using the smart subcontract.

3. The device according to claim 1 , further configured to:
store technical data of the technical system in the distributed ledger; and
determine if the technical system fulfills the condition using the smart contract based on the technical data.

4. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one hazard element includes multiple hazard elements and the technical system is certified as safe when the multiple hazard elements are mitigated to an acceptable level.

5. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one hazard element is associated with a measure, which is to be completed before safe operation of the technical system is ensured, and wherein the device is further configured to:
generate a smart measure contract including the measure to be fulfilled for the smart contract to be fulfilled;
store smart measure contract data in the distributed ledger; and
determine if the measure is completed using the smart measure contract.

6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein for the device is further configured to store a new hazard element in the smart contract in the distributed ledger.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the smart contract comprises a risk quantification threshold, wherein fulfillment of the smart contract is determined based on a comparison of a risk quantification value associated with a hazard element included in the smart contract with the risk quantification threshold.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the device is further configured to sign the smart measure contract by an entity responsible for performing the measure.

9. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the device is further configured to sign the technical data by an entity responsible the technical system.

10. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the device is further configured to sign the at least one smart contract, or smart subcontract, or smart measure contract additionally by a certification entity, after the respective smart contract has been fulfilled.

11. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the device is further configured to invalidate the signature of the smart contract or smart subcontract, when new technical data or a new hazard element has been stored in the distributed ledger.

12. The device according to claim 1 , wherein industry standard is an Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) industry standard of the technical.

13. The device according to claim 2 , wherein the technical system is a production line, and the technical subsystems are machines of the production line.

14. A method for ensuring safe operation of a technical system, comprising:
generating a smart contract including a condition, which is required to be fulfilled by the technical system for safe operation of the technical system;
storing smart contract data of the smart contract which uniquely identifies the smart contract, in a distributed ledger; and
determining if the technical system fulfills the condition using the smart contract, wherein the condition is a requirement according to an industry standard of the technical system and the smart contract is an operating permission of the technical system, further wherein the smart contract comprises at least one hazard element identifying a safety hazard of the technical system.

15. A computer program product having a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having instructions, which when executed by a processor, perform actions said computer program product comprising program code, which is to be executed by at least one processor, wherein executing the program code causes the at least one processor to carry out the method according to claim 14 .

Assignees

• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Hung Koo Chee
• Höfig Kai
• Rothbauer Stefan
• Schröck Sebastian
• Vorderer Marian Marcel
• Zeller Marc

Classifications

• H04L9/3247

  involving digital signatures · CPC title

• H04L9/3239 Primary

  involving non-keyed hash functions, e.g. modification detection codes [MDCs], MD5, SHA or RIPEMD · CPC title

• H04L9/50 Primary

  using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees · CPC title