Page 19 - Occupational Health & Safety, February 2018

ability to move around. For instance, a disgruntled ex-employee could hack into a robot and re-program it to harm people and de- stroy property. The more functionality, intelligence, and power a robot has, the bigger its potential threat.
Types of Injuries
OSHA lists four types of accidents resulting from robot use in the Technical Manual “Industrial Robots and Robot System Safety” (Section IV: Chapter 4).
Impact or collision accidents. Unpredicted movements, compo- nent malfunctions, or unpredicted program changes related to the robot’s arm or peripheral equipment could result in contact accidents.
Crushing and trapping accidents. A worker’s limb or other body part can be trapped between a robot’s arm and other peripheral equipment, or the individual may be physically driven into and crushed by other peripheral equipment.
Mechanical part accidents. The breakdown of the robot’s drive components, tooling or end-effector, peripheral equipment, or its power source is a mechanical accident. The release of parts, failure of gripper mechanism, or the failure of end-effector power tools (e.g., grinding wheels, buffing wheels, deburring tools, power screwdriv- ers, and nut runners) are a few types of mechanical failures.
Other accidents. Other accidents can result from working with robots. Equipment that supplies robot power and control repre-
mcr-02-18_MC503-OHS_HPH_Ad 1/9/18 2:25 PM Page 1
streams or whipping hose hazards. Environmental accidents from arc flash, metal spatter, dust, electromagnetic, or radio-frequency interference also can occur. In addition, equipment and power cables on the floor present tripping hazards.
Robot Safety Regulations
Robots in the workplace are generally associated with machine tools or process equipment. Robots are machines, and as such, must be safeguarded in ways similar to those presented for any hazardous remotely controlled machine, falling under the OSHA General Duty Clause (5)(a)(1), which requires employers provide a safe and healthful workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. Also applicable are OSHA 1910.212 (a)(1) “Types of Guarding” and 1910.212 (a)(3)(ii) “The point of operation of machines whose operation exposes an em- ployee to injury shall be guarded.”
Various techniques are available to prevent employee exposure to the hazards that can be imposed by robots. The most common technique is through the installation of perimeter guarding with interlocked gates. A critical parameter relates to the manner in which the interlocks function. Of major concern is whether the computer program, control circuit, or the primary power circuit is interrupted when an interlock is activated. The various industry standards should be investigated for guidance; however, it is gener- ally accepted that the primary motor power to the robot should be interrupted by the interlock.
sents potential electrical and pressurized fluid hazards. Ruptured hydraulic lines could create dangerous high-pressure cutting
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