PI Ships a PROFIsafe Test Bundle and Eyes Process Plants
A clarification version of the specification has passed TÜV evaluation, a layer tester and lab documents are out, and PA Profile 4.10 enters review in 2026 for functionally safe process field devices.
PROFIBUS & PROFINET International has completed a PROFIsafe package covering specification, implementation, testing and certification — the four things a device vendor needs in place before a safety product can reach market.
The clarification version of the specification, published in June 2026, pins down PROFINET mechanisms for BaseID and parameterisation, permissible values and data types, CRC calculations and response times, and has already passed TÜV evaluation. BaseID is the piece that enables larger networks and modular systems with uniquely identifiable PROFIsafe components. A new version of the PROFIdrive on PROFIsafe Amendment also landed in June, and IO-Link Safety integration is now available with first products on the market.
Alongside the specification, PI released the PROFIsafe TestBundle, a layer tester and associated laboratory documents, so manufacturers and PI test labs can verify implementations reproducibly. Functional safety certification is a gating cost for anyone selling into machinery or process plants, and a reproducible test path with independent labs is what shortens the route from implementation to certificate.
The next step is process automation. Requirements for functionally safe process field device communication are being folded into the Profile for Process Control Devices, with the current draft closely coordinated with the NAMUR working group on digital process communication. PA Profile 4.10 enters the PI review process in 2026, with first implementations in test devices scheduled for the second quarter of 2027. It follows PROFINET over APL and PA Profile 4.
One design decision in that profile deserves attention: PROFIsafe field devices should operate in either safety or standard mode. For a field device maker that means one part number covering both safety and non-safety loops instead of two, which is a real reduction in SKU count, inventory and certification effort. Xaver Schmidt, PI's chairman, framed the work as refining fundamental mechanisms while opening new applications.