Apparatus and method for digital padlocking of physical resources in an industrial environment

Abstract

One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of managing access to a physical resource (20, 21, 22, 23) using a lockable and unlockable block device (10, 11, 12, 13), the method comprising the steps of locking and unlocking the block device, the step including comparing an access code associated with a first agent with an access code transmitted by a first individual device, and padlocking the block device with a set of second individual devices, where unlocking (202) can only be performed if each of the set of second individual devices has padlocked (201) the block device.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to blocking or padlocking physical resources, particularly in the field of safety, and has particular application to compliance with safety standards such as OSHA standard 1910.147. [Background technology]

[0002] Industrial equipment can pose physical risks to workers who have to handle it. Particularly in the case of maintenance of machinery or other equipment, the risk can be high if the equipment is accidentally restarted while maintenance personnel are working on the job. These physical risks can include injury or death.

[0003] As a result, rules are put in place to prevent risks in a company or organization. These rules can be the subject of standards. An example is the standard 1910.147 established by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

[0004] OSHA introduced standard 29 CFR 1910.147 (Control of Hazardous Energy) to establish padlock and signage requirements applicable across the industry in 1989. The purpose of the padlock / signage requirements is to control the risk of energy release during the use or maintenance of machinery and equipment.

[0005] The control of hazardous energy generally involves blocking the physical resource of concern (machine, equipment, energy source, etc.). This blocking can be accomplished by a "padlock" type blocking device, in accordance with LOTO (LockOut / TagOut) as described in OSHA standard 1910.147. This principle is not mandatory in some countries, such as France, but is nevertheless strongly recommended.

[0006] Although mechanisms and processes based on LOTO principles achieve a high level of security, they suffer from a number of shortcomings.

[0007] As a result, it is common for industrial sites to have to employ hundreds of mechanical locks. These locks are subject to wear and tear, are at risk of being lost, and form a significant cost center for the business. Managing these large numbers of locks also requires precise administrative management, which is also a cost to the business.

[0008] Additionally, if a lock key is lost or a staff member leaves the key behind while away, there is a high chance that access to the physical resource will be permanently blocked until a solution is found, which of course will result in a penalty to the company's profitability and can be costly.

[0009] The present invention aims to improve the situation compared to current state-of-the-art solutions for implementing the LOTO principles and the OSHA 1910.47 standard, and more generally to provide a mechanism for managing secure access to physical resources, particularly in industrial environments, that is simple both for agents who need to work with the physical resources, and for operators who need to manage the industrial facilities and their staff. Summary of the Invention

[0010] To this end, the invention proposes a method for managing access to physical resources using a lockable and unlockable block device, the locking and unlocking steps of said block device comprising comparing an access code associated with a first agent with an access code transmitted by a first individual device and padlocking said block device using a set of second individual devices, said unlocking being performed only if each of said set of second individual devices has padlocked said block device.

[0011] According to preferred embodiments, the invention comprises one or several of the following features, used individually or in whole or in part in combination with one another: The individual devices are of a type including mobile communication terminals, computers used securely by the agents, digital keys and / or badges. - said padlocking and unlocking includes transmitting an access code via said second individual device and comparing said access code with an access code associated with each agent. - the method further comprises the step of determining a geographic location of said individual device, and said locking, unlocking, padlocking and padlocking are performed only if said geographic location and a geographic location of said block device are close to each other. The method performs the locking, unlocking, padlocking and padlocking only if a time zone associated with the agent, a time zone associated with the physical resource and the current time match.

[0012] Another aspect of the invention relates to a computer program comprising instructions for carrying out, on an information processing platform, the method described above.

[0013] Another aspect of the invention relates to an individual device for access to a physical resource, the access being managed by a lockable and unlockable block device, comprising: means for determining an identifier of the block device; means for determining an access code associated with the identifier in an internal memory for the individual device; and means for transmitting the access code to the block device.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the invention, said individual device is such that said means for determining an identifier of said block device comprise photographing means adapted to recognise an optical code.

[0015] Another aspect of the invention relates to a lockable and unlockable device for blocking access to a physical resource configured to receive an access code from a first individual device, where locking and unlocking the block device includes comparing the access code with an access code associated with a first agent, and where the block device is further configured to be padlocked with a set of second individual devices, where the unlocking is performed only if each of the set of second individual devices padlocks the block device.

[0016] Another aspect of the invention is a system for managing access to a set of physical resources, including a set of block devices associated with the physical resources of an industrial site as described above.

[0017] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of various embodiments of the invention, given by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] Other features and advantages of the present invention are presented in the detailed description and illustrated by the following drawings, which may be read with the aid of the following description and by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a method according to the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a method according to the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a list of individual devices of an embodiment of the method according to the invention.

[0020] 1 shows an example of an industrial environment 1 including several physical resources 20, 21, 22, 23. The physical resources are typically machines 21, energy sources 20, but can be generalized to other resources such as secure facilities 22, 23. The industrial environment 1 can be a closed site or an open environment (oil pipelines, oil platforms, industrial construction sites, etc.).

[0021] The physical resources to which access is controlled and secured are associated with each of the block devices 10, 11, 12, 13. The block devices have a locked and an unlocked position. In the locked position, the block device physically prevents access to the physical resources, and it is not possible to open the doors of the premises 22, 23, start the machines or equipment 21, or connect to the power source 20.

[0022] Typically, access to the device is controlled by locking access to its energy source 20. However, it is also possible to lock the control panel (for example as an item of the device 21).

[0023] The agent 30 which needs to intervene on each physical resource has an individual item of equipment 31. The individual item of equipment has a key function, which allows to lock and unlock the block devices collectively.

[0024] In particular, the individual items of equipment are designed to transmit an access code to the block device and the block device itself is designed to receive it, the access code being pre-configured in the individual device and in the block device, and locking and unlocking can be based on comparing the access code transmitted by the individual device with an access code associated with the agent.

[0025] From the block device's perspective, this comparison allows assurance that the agent has the right to lock or unlock in the manner of a user with the correct key. In one embodiment, the method ensures that an individual device has the correct access code (the correct key) and that the agent has the right to use that access code.

[0026] The individual device may be a mobile communication terminal (of the "smartphone" or digital tablet type), or a digital key, a digital badge (RFID...), a computer or other device capable of storing data (for storing at least one or several access codes) and having communication means for communicating with the block device. The digital key may include a physical item adapted to be inserted into a security slot, but it may also be a badge type device configured to enter into communication with the block device by magnetic or electromagnetic means.

[0027] Communication may be performed using various mechanisms such as NFC (near field communication), RFID, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.

[0028] The access code may be implemented in a variety of ways.

[0029] According to one embodiment, the access code includes an agent identifier and a code corresponding to the block device. The agent identifier makes it possible to establish which agent holds the key, and the code of the block device makes it possible to ensure that the agent actually has the right to lock or unlock the block device. This code corresponding to the block device can be a digital key or a simple identifier, depending on the desired degree of access security.

[0030] According to another embodiment, the access code includes an identifier of the agent, a specific identifier known only to the individual device / block device pair.

[0031] According to one aspect of the invention, the code corresponding to the block device is securely accessible by the individual device. In particular, an agent may need to access the device in a secure manner. This secure access is typically the storage of an identifier and a password.

[0032] For example, a particular software application may be downloaded to an individual device (a smart phone or other device on which software applications can be installed). The agent identifies itself to the application, and the individual device then creates an instance of the agent's rights, which can transmit an access code. In this way, the application can manage access rights to logic resources, which are codes that correspond to block devices.

[0033] In this manner, depending on the desired arrangement, functional rights can be granted by assigning individual rights to specific agents or otherwise establishing "accounts" that correspond to functions and associating functions with agents.

[0034] This embodiment also allows the de-association of agents with individual devices, so that each agent receives a simplified individual device when entering the field and can access their rights by identifying themselves on the application. It is also possible to let agents use their own devices (personal phones) by installing certain apps.

[0035] Alternatively, each block device may be associated with a list of agents configured to store agent identifiers that padlock the block device.

[0036] According to the invention, access to a physical resource by a block device can be locked in two steps. First, a first individual device locks the block device, which physically blocks access to the physical resource. In a second step, one or several other individual devices padlock this lock, which requires all other individual devices to padlock this lock, so that the first individual device can unlock the block device.

[0037] In other words, a first agent manages the access rights to a physical resource by locking a block device with a separate device, which is then padlocked by a set of other agents. This padlock / unpadlock mechanism corresponds to the mechanisms known to those skilled in the art of securely managing industrial processes.

[0038] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first and other individual devices may be of various types. The first individual device may be a mobile communication terminal or a digital key, and the other individual device that operates the padlock and padlock unlock of the access rights of the first agent who locked the blocking device may be a mobile communication terminal or a computer. The padlock and padlock unlock are all software and digital, while the locking by the first individual device may have a hardware aspect.

[0039] The padlocking and unlocking involves transmitting an access code via another individual device and comparing the access code with an access code associated with an agent.

[0040] When padlocking, the comparison may be to ensure that the access code corresponds to an authorized agent. When padlocking, the comparison may be to verify that the agent previously padlocked the block device, i.e. that the agent belongs to the list associated with the block device. The agent is then removed from the list, or associated with a label indicating that it has padlocked the block device.

[0041] This list can be stored on a server 40 or on a computer platform (of server farm or "cloud" type). According to one embodiment, when a block device receives an access code from an individual device, it can transmit a request to this server 40.

[0042] The request may include an identifier for the individual device, and the server can simply send back the associated access code, after which the block device performs the comparison.

[0043] The request may include the received access code, after which the server 40 may perform a comparison and send the result of the comparison, ie, match or no match, back to the block device.

[0044] The list may also be provided on a block device. This implementation also allows for safeguarding against accidental outage of the communication link between the device and the server 40.

[0045] According to one feature of the invention, if a match condition in the comparison between the access codes is met for each agent included in the list associated with the block device, an unlock is performed (individual padlock unlocking).

[0046] 4 illustrates a list 300 for a given block device that includes identifiers for agents 3001, 3002, 3003, ..., 300n. The list identifies the agents that have padlocked the block device, thus collectively blocking access to the physical resources associated with the block device.

[0047] 2 and 3 illustrate possible embodiments for unlocking 200 a block device.

[0048] In a step 201, the conditions for unlocking the padlock for an agent are checked.

[0049] In one step 2011, this condition involves comparing and matching the access code transmitted by the individual device with the access code associated with the agent, as described above. According to one embodiment, this comparison is made on the one hand against the agent's identifier and on the other hand against the code corresponding to the block device.

[0050] In one step 2012, the conditions include a proximity test according to which the geographic location of the individual devices is determined, and the geographic location is compared to the geographic location of the block device. If the comparison suggests that the two devices are close to each other, then an agent is presumed to be in the field. If not, this may be a fraud attempt. Two devices may be considered to be close to each other if their geographic locations are less than a predefined threshold, e.g., one meter apart.

[0051] According to one embodiment, this mechanism may be configured for the first individual device and may be configured for the locking, unlocking and padlocking steps, such that the locking, unlocking, padlocking and padlocking steps are performed only if the geographic location of the individual device of interest is in close proximity to the geographic location of the block device.

[0052] In one step 2013, the conditions include matching a time zone associated with the agent with a time zone associated with the physical resource.

[0053] This allows to give each agent a time slot corresponding to the times when they are expected to work in the field, as well as to determine the slots corresponding to the times when they are approved to operate on physical resources. By comparing these time slots with the current time, it is possible to determine if the conditions are right for the agent and if they are allowed to unlock the padlock on the block device.

[0054] According to one embodiment, this mechanism may be configured for the first individual device and may be configured for the locking, unlocking and padlocking steps such that the locking, unlocking, padlocking and padlocking steps are performed only if the time zone associated with the interested agent, the time zone associated with the physical resource and the current time match.

[0055] The various sub-conditions may also be checked in a different order than that shown in FIG. 2B.

[0056] In one step 202 it is checked whether the padlock release condition has been verified for all agents in the list 300. If not, the process repeats back to step 201. Then it waits for the next individual device to appear.

[0057] If all agents have correctly padlocked the block device, then in a step 203, the padlock is unlocked by the agent associated with the first individual device, i.e. the one who locked the block device, thus obtaining access to the physical resource of interest. In this way, according to the invention, it is possible to control access to physical resources by requiring the participation of several agents in the unlocking. This practice allows for increased security of access and complies with several security standards, in particular the above-mentioned OSHA standard 1910.147.

[0058] For locking, the same conditions as for unlocking may apply (matching the access code and, in some embodiments, matching the proximity and current time of the time zone).

[0059] Moreover, according to one embodiment, the locking of a block device is considered complete only if a predefined set of agents has been processed to padlock the block device. This embodiment allows for a granular definition of access rights policies by defining which agents must intervene for access to a particular physical resource.

[0060] An alarm is triggered if some agent has not advanced the lock when an alarm condition is reached. The alarm condition may be a given time occurrence or a delay from the first padlock. The alarm may be a visual alarm, an audio alarm or an alert message to the management platform 50.

[0061] The management platform 50 is functionally connected to the server 40. There may be a man-machine interface enabling an operator to manage and supervise the block devices 10, 11, 12, 13, and possibly an agent 30 with associated individual devices 31.

[0062] In particular, it is possible to receive an alarm if the block device is not fully locked when an alarm condition is reached.

[0063] It becomes possible to manage a list of agents 300 for each block device. It also becomes possible to define an access code for each block device and provide said code to each individual device.

[0064] One embodiment also allows for the definition of time periods for block devices and agents.

[0065] In this way, it is possible to access all information from the devices contained in the industrial site and also to define the access policies to the physical resources of the industrial site, as well as to monitor anomalies, i.e. anomaly rates that indicate unlocking attempts using incorrect access codes, so that they can be responded to as soon as possible.

[0066] The individual device 31 may also include means for determining which block devices 10, 11, 12, 13 need to interact with each other. The agent 30 may have a single individual device that allows locking and unlocking of several block devices. The individual device includes memory associated with the various block devices with which the access code can operate.

[0067] To do this, each block device may be associated with an identification element that allows an individual device to identify it and then transmit the corresponding access code.

[0068] According to one embodiment, this identification element may be a graphic code, in particular a graphic code of the "QR code" type, which code can be recognised by photographic means included in the respective device.

[0069] Other embodiments are possible (such as an RFID type radio code).

[0070] According to one embodiment, an individual device thus identifies a block device and, if the agent has appropriate rights to use it, transmits a corresponding access code to the block device.

Claims

1. A method for managing access to a physical resource (20, 21, 22, 23) using a plurality of lockable and unlockable block devices (10, 11, 12, 13), the locking being performed to physically prevent access to the physical resource, the method comprising the steps of:

20. A method for locking and unlocking the plurality of block devices collectively, the method comprising: a step of the plurality of block devices or a server communicating with the plurality of block devices comparing an access code associated with a first agent with an access code transmitted by a first individual device to the plurality of block devices; and a step of at least one second individual device communicating with the plurality of block devices padlocking the plurality of block devices by software, the unlocking (203) being performed only if the plurality of block devices or the server confirms (202) that each of the at least one second individual device has padlocked (201) the plurality of block devices.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the individual devices are of a type including a mobile communication terminal, a computer used securely by the agent, a digital key and / or a badge.

3. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the padlocking and unlocking includes the second individual device transmitting an access code to the plurality of block devices, and the plurality of block devices or the server comparing the access code with access codes associated with each agent included in a list stored on the plurality of block devices or the server.

4. A computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 on an information processing platform.

5. Access to the physical resources is controlled by the plurality of block devices, which can be locked and unlocked; 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is managed by: means for determining identifiers for the plurality of block devices; means for determining access codes associated with the identifiers in an internal memory for the individual devices; and means for transmitting the access codes to the plurality of block devices.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the means for determining an identifier of the block device comprises a photographing means adapted to recognize an optical code.

7. A plurality of block devices (10, 11, 12, 13) configured to receive an access code from a first individual device (31) and capable of collectively locking and unlocking to block access to a physical resource (20, 21, 22, 23), wherein the locking is performed to physically prevent access to the physical resource, and the locking and unlocking of the plurality of block devices includes the plurality of block devices or a server communicating with the plurality of block devices comparing the access code with an access code associated with a first agent (30), and the plurality of block devices are further configured to be padlocked by software by communicating with at least one second individual device, and the unlocking is performed only if the plurality of block devices or the server confirms that each of the at least one second individual device has padlocked the plurality of block devices.

8. A system for managing access to a set of physical resources of an industrial site, the system comprising a plurality of block devices (10, 11, 12, 13) according to claim 7 associated with said physical resources (20, 21, 22, 23).

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