Audit trail in a programmable safety instrumented system via biometric signature(s)

A method of tracking configuration changes made to a manufacturing system, comprising:

• employing a first sensor to detect a modification of a configuration of a device within the manufacturing system;
• employing a second sensor to determine an identity of a user of the manufacturing system making the modification, wherein the second sensor is a biometric sensor;
• matching the identity of the user to a list of authorized users in a safety audit database and determining that the user is authorized to make the modification based upon the identity;
• permitting the modification to the device;
• automatically recording the identity of the user and the modification to the device to a public portion of the safety audit database based at least in part upon a safety audit requirement of the manufacturing system, wherein the public portion of the security audit database is accessible to the user as a history of the configuration change;
• and
• automatically recording the identity of the user and the modification to the device to a private portion of the safety audit database, wherein the private portion is implemented at a time of manufacture of the manufacturing system and is accessible only to a third party associated with supplying the manufacturing system in the event of an accident.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a computing system to perform operations, comprising:

• employing a first sensor to detect a modification of a configuration of a device within the manufacturing system;
• employing a second sensor to determine an identity of a user of the manufacturing system making the modification, wherein the second sensor is a biometric sensor;
• matching the identity of the user to a list of authorized users in a safety audit database and determining that the user is authorized to make the modification based upon the identity;
• permitting the modification to the device;
• automatically recording the identity of the user and the modification to the device to a public portion of the safety audit database based at least in part upon a safety audit requirement of the manufacturing system, wherein the public portion of the security audit database is accessible to the user as a history of the configuration change;
• and
• automatically recording the identity of the user and the modification to the device to a private portion of the safety audit database, wherein the private portion is implemented at a time of manufacture of the manufacturing system and is accessible only to a third party associated with supplying the manufacturing system in the event of an accident.