Robot Safety
With the right approach, everyone can work safely alongside robots.
Whenever a company considers robotics—whether fixed machines or mobile—safety comes to the forefront. Organizations worry about the safety of their employees when working near or with the robots. Employees worry they might lose their jobs to the machines. Morale can dip, and rolling out the new equipment can suffer from lack of buy in. It doesn’t have to be that way, however.
First and foremost, robotics hold to carefully constructed standards designed with end user safety in mind. From the Industrial Robot Standard (ISO 10218:2011) to the AMR/mobile robot standard (ANSI/RIA R15.08.2020) to the AGV/driverless truck standards (ANSI/ITSDF B56.5 2019 and ISO 3691-4 2023), every possible safety issue has been addressed and formulated into specific requirements.
But knowing the standards exist and ensuring a safe implementation with employee buy in are two different things. To ensure your robotics additions have a safe landing in your organization, you need to work closely with your OEM and/or integrator.
The first step you should take with your robotics partner is to perform a risk assessment. Together, you’ll go over every inch of your facility and operations and determine exactly where your robots will fit in. What tasks will they perform and what hazardous scenarios might exist? What is the probably of harm that might arise? Then determine a safety rating and work to address any gaps in your plans.
There are plenty of accessories and parts that will help you with this leveling up. Sensors are a big one—they can determine any objects in a robot’s path and automatically stop to prevent a collision. The sensors are developed to ensure a high integrity level and will perform as needed. Light curtains are another safety tool. These sensing devices also work to protect your personnel and prevent the robots from starting. For instance, if a forklift is detected, the curtain will detect it and stop the robot cell from moving.
A second big safety component is education and training. This is the communications aspect that will teach your team what they need to know to work in the presence of robots safely. You can lean on your OEM to assist in this, as they will sometimes put together training sessions. Leverage their knowledge to provide all the technical information and safety training that your staff will need for safe operations. Sometimes they will even demo a robot—when your staff can see it in action and understand the many safety mechanisms built in, everyone feels more comfortable.
You can also sell your staff on the fact that robots will not only operate safely, but improve the quality of their daily work lives. The robots can literally do the heavy lifting and repetitive tasks that often lead to injuries or aches and pains. When your staff can see and understand that, they’ll feel much more comfortable letting in their new, mechanical co-workers.
Source: Vinay Balan, Third Wave
Learn more about The Robotics Group (TRG): mhi.org/trg
For further articles from the The Robotics Group (TRG):
Podcast: Robotics and Humans: A Synergistic Workforce
Order Orchestration Optimization Through Robots
Robotics in Logistics, Part 2 – You’ve Decided to Add Robots—Now What?
Will Robots Change Your Warehouse Culture?
Robots Make Work Easier For Humans
