System and method for supporting wired and wireless communications in industrial safety systems

A system, comprising:

• one or more wired safety devices;
• one or more wireless safety devices;
• and
• a safety management controller comprising one or more processors, one or more wired interfaces, and one or more wireless interfaces,
• wherein the safety management controller supports an application stack associated with an open industrial protocol that operates over multiple communication protocols, at least one of the communication protocols comprising a wired communication protocol, at least one other of the communication protocols comprising a wireless communication protocol,
• wherein an application profile associated with the open industrial protocol is common across all of the communication protocols, and
• wherein the wired communication protocol and the wireless communication protocol are used at the same time by the safety management controller.

A method, comprising:

• operating a safety management controller in an industrial safety system, the safety management controller comprising one or more processors, one or more wired interfaces, and one or more wireless interfaces;
• and
• executing, by the safety management controller, an application stack associated with an open industrial protocol that operates over multiple communication protocols, at least one of the communication protocols comprising a wired communication protocol, at least one other of the communication protocols comprising a wireless communication protocol,
• wherein the wired communication protocol and the wireless communication protocol are used at the same time by the safety management controller.