What does IEC 62745 require for wireless remote controls?
IEC/EN 62745 defines behaviour requirements for wireless control systems of machinery: unintended operation, data integrity, signal loss and supply loss.
IEC/EN 62745:2017 (+A11:2020) defines what has to happen in which event in the wireless control systems of machinery: the prevention of unintended operation, the blocking of unauthorised use, data integrity, and the behaviour on loss of communication and on loss of supply. It does not determine how the radio link works, on which frequency it transmits or what its range is. It is a Type B2 standard, applied in addition to IEC 60204-1, and it covers portable control stations carried by the operator in particular.
The five headings of the standard
- Prevention of unintended operation — the device being dropped, a button being pressed by accident or a corrupted packet being taken for a command must not start a movement.
- Prevention of unauthorised use — each transmitter-receiver pair has to be uniquely identified and a foreign transmitter must not drive the machine.
- Serial data integrity and error detection — corrupted data must not be processed as a valid command.
- Establishment, indication and loss of communication — the state of the link has to be apparent to the operator, and on loss the system has to go to a safe state.
- Behaviour on loss of supply — when the transmitter or the receiver supply is cut, a defined and safe outcome has to occur.
It is not enough on its own: which standard covers what
The standard is Type B2; it relates to a particular kind of safety component and is applied together with the machine's own Type C standard. That is, on a crane 62745 does not take the place of the machine's own standard, it is added alongside it.
| Standard | Its scope | What it answers on the remote control |
|---|---|---|
| IEC/EN 62745 | Wireless control behaviour | Pairing, data integrity, signal loss |
| IEC 60204-1 | Electrical equipment of machines | Stop categories, control circuit |
| EN IEC 60204-32 | Lifting machines | Interlocks, emergency stop |
| EN 13557 | Crane control devices | Control station and stopping |
What the standard does not determine
Seeing this number on a declaration of conformity does not answer these questions: in which band does the device transmit, what is its range, what is the ingress protection rating of the housing, what level is its electromagnetic immunity. These are the subject of separate standards and separate declarations; EMC compliance and wireless control behaviour do not take each other's place. Nor does the standard impose a performance level; the level required is determined by the risk assessment of the machine. A common mistaken assumption follows from this: reading the number 62745 on a declaration does not show that the remote control has reached a particular safety level and does not stand in for the risk assessment of the machine. Neither does conformity make the wireless link take the place of the wired emergency stop circuit on the machine.
How to verify it when buying
Look not at the marketing text on the product page but at the standard number and version listed in the declaration of conformity; the version is the detail most often skipped. The most practical indication that the standard has really been applied is that the manual describes the signal loss timeout, the restart behaviour and the behaviour of a button held down at power-up. If there is no such description, observe these yourself during the acceptance test and write the result into the machine file.
The division of responsibility is clear: the manufacturer gives the declaration, the user does the acceptance test. The manufacturer is obliged to design the behaviour and to describe it in the manual; the person who will see that the installation really shows this behaviour on site, however, is you. Without a commissioning record a claim of conformity stays half made, because the same receiver goes on being a device that conforms to its declaration even when it has been wired wrongly.
This information is a general explanation of the scope of the standard. The conformity of a particular product to IEC 62745 can only be verified from the declaration of conformity and the technical file of the manufacturer.
The full topic: Wireless remote control installation: pairing, relays, safety