Industrial Robots and Safety in the Workplace
Industrial robots are a very important part of most types of manufacturing today. As robots are becoming more common in the workplace, it is essential to have safety standards to protect workers from injuries and accidents.
These potentially dangerous pieces of equipment have many hazards which need to be safeguarded against. One hazard is pinch points. A pinch point occurs whenever one or more parts are moving and come in contact with another part. Pinch points on industrial robots can trap and harm workers.
One category of industrial robots is collaborative robots, also called Cobots. Cobots share the same workspace as humans since they work collaboratively. When workers share the same space as robots there are additional safety concerns which need to be followed.
Industrial Robots Safety Standards
Safety Standards Regulatory Organizations
- Robotic Industry Association (RIA) - The association that sets safety standards for industrial robots.
- American National Standards Institute (ANSI) - An institute that maintains standards for workplace safety in the United States.
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO) - An organization that maintains the international standards for workplace safety.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - The federal administration that sets and enforces workplace safety regulations.
Industrial safety standards are set by certain organizations. The Robotics Industry Association (RIA) sets many of the standards for industrial robots. These standards include things like risk assessments (which can identify safety issues of robots), safeguards which can be put in place to reduce the chance of injuries and accidents, and special safety considerations for collaborative robots.
In the United States, some workplace safety standards are kept by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and they are regulated and enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Workplace safety standards are an international concern. To keep safety standards consistent and repeated from country to country, many workplace safety standards are kept by the International Organization of Standardization (ISO).