Remote access to industrial control systems is no longer a nice-to-have, it is a must.
The benefits of remote access are well-documented – reduced downtime and reduced support costs, both of which are directly proportional to profitable operations.
However, keeping workers and equipment safe during critical tasks is essential. With Virtual Lockout-Tagout™, you’ll control remote access to your machines.
ProSoft Connect® Adds Virtual Lockout-Tagout™
Lockout-tagout (LOTO) or lock and tag is a safety procedure that 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 repair work.
ProSoft Technology has added Virtual Lockout-Tagout™ or vLOTO™ to ProSoft Connect®, its cloud-native remote connectivity solution.
But what does vLOTO mean for the end user, system integrator, and OEM?
Access Control
Often when a system integrator or OEM are commissioning or installing a machine, remote access is used for remote support, etc. But do you know who has access? In many instances, user names and passwords are shared between colleagues and third-party contractors in order to get the job done, but the IT department or Engineering Team has no idea who has access to the system, when, and why.
ProSoft Connect has a centralised role-based management portal, which means that each team member or user has their own individual logins, privileges (access levels), and an audit activity log for traceability and tracking access.
vLOTO takes this a step further by enabling the Connect account owner (IT) or project administrator (Engineering Team leader) to lock out unauthorised access until requested. A user (Engineer or third-party contractor) has to request access, and note the duration required and the reason for access. The owner or administrator has to grant them access to the remote connectivity tunnel. At the end of the requested duration or by owner/administrator intervention, the tunnel is closed and cannot be reopened until requested again. This activity is logged for traceability and accountability.
