In order to reduce the power-loss in digital inputs of a safety control, a safety control for the secure operation of a technical plant is provided that comprises at least one input unit for the reception of a signal of at least one signal generator connected to the technical plant, a control unit for the reading in of the received signal and for generating a control command, and at least one output unit for the transmission of the generated control command to at least one connected actuator of the technical plant, wherein the input unit has a switching element at the input side that can be controlled by means of the control unit and is configured in such a way that the switching element can be actuated by means of the control unit directly prior to the reading in of the received signal, in particular can be closed, and can be actuated again by means of the control unit, in particular opened, following the reading in of the received signal.
