OSHA Standards for the Robotics Industry

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

• ANSI/ISO 12100-2012, Safety of Machinery – General Principles for Design, RA and Risk Reduction.
• R15.06, Industrial Robots and Robot Systems – Safety Requirements. Provides safety requirements for industrial robot manufacture, remanufacture, and rebuild (Part 1); and robot system integration/installation (Part 2). R15.06 (ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012) is the U.S. National Adoption of the ISO 10218-1,2:2011.
  • RIA TR R15.306 (“TR 306”), Task-Based Risk Assessment Methodology. Describes one method of risk assessment that would comply with the R15.06 requirements.
  • RIA TR R15.406 (“TR 406”), Safeguarding. Explains how to design a system of safeguards to protect human workers in an industrial environment that also contains robot system(s). TR 406 contains greater detail than the 2012 R15.06 standard.
  • RIA TR R15.506 (“TR 506”), Applicability of R15.06-2012 for Existing Industrial Robot Applications. The R15.06 standard is forward-looking; that is, its primary topic is the installation of an all-new robot system. TR 506 explains how to take the 2012 R15.06 standard into account for existing robot systems.
  • RIA TR R15.606 (“TR 606”), Collaborative Robot Safety. Explains safety requirements specific to collaborative robots and robot systems, and is supplemental to the guidance in ANSI/RIA R15.06. TR 606 is the U.S. National Adoption of the ISO/TS 15066:2016.
  • RIA TR R15.706 (“TR 706”), User Responsibilities. 2019.
  • RIA TR R15.806 (“TR 806”), Testing Methods for Power & Force Limited Collaborative Applications. Describes methods to test and verify that the forces exerted by a collaborative robot system remain within the allowable limits described in TR 606 (ISO/TS 15066).
• ANSI/UL1740-2019, Standard for Safety: Robots and Robotic Equipment.
• B11.0, Safety of Machinery – General Requirements and Risk Assessment. Applies to new, existing, modified, or rebuilt power-driven machines, not portable by hand while working, used to shape and/or form metal or other materials by cutting, impact, pressure, electrical, or other processing techniques, or a combination of these processes. This can be a single machine, a machine tool, or a machine tool system(s), and may include industrial robot(s) and robot system(s). Also contains guidance on performing risk assessments.
• B11.20, Safety Requirements for Integrated Manufacturing Systems. Specifies the safety requirements for the design, construction, set-up, operation, and maintenance (including installation, dismantling and transport) of integrated manufacturing systems, which may include industrial robot(s) and robot system(s).

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

• TC 299, Robotics. Develops high quality standards for the safety of industrial robots and service robots to enable innovative robotic product to be brought onto the market. In addition, develops standards in fields like terminology, performance measurement and modularity.
• ISO 10218-1, Robots for industrial environments – Safety requirements – Part 1: Robots. Specifies requirements and guidelines for the inherent safe design, protective measures, and information for use of industrial robots. It describes basic hazards associated with robots, and provides requirements to eliminate or adequately reduce the risks associated with these hazards.
• ISO 10218-2, Robots for industrial environments – Safety requirements – Part 2: Robot systems and system integration. Specifies requirements and guidelines for the safe integration of an industrial robot into a complete robot system, which includes end-effectors and other related equipment. This document describes basic hazards associated with robot systems, and provides requirements to eliminate or adequately reduce the risks associated with these hazards.
• In the U.S., ISO 10218-1, has been Nationally Adopted as the single U.S. standard ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012 (see above for details).
  • Note: ISO 10218 does not apply to non-industrial robots although the safety principles established in ISO 10218 may be utilized for these other robots. Examples of non-industrial robot applications include, but are not limited to: undersea, military and space robots; tele-operated manipulators; prosthetics and other aids for the physically impaired; micro-robots (displacement <1 mm); surgery or healthcare; and service or consumer products.
• ISO/TS 15066, Collaborative Robot Safety. Provides important information about how to implement a collaborative robot system in a manner that maintains safety for the human operator. In the U.S., this ISO TS has been Nationally Adopted as TR 606 (see above).
• ISO/TR 20218-1, Safety Design for End-effectors. Describes how an industrial robot system should handle and manage end-effectors (end-of-arm tooling or EOAT) to maintain human safety, in either a collaborative or non-collaborative industrial environment.
• ISO/TR 20218-2, Safety Design for Manual Load/ Unload Stations. Describes how to design a Manual Load/ Unload Station (MLUS) that will be safe and effective for the human worker to use.

Canadian Standards Association (CSA)

• Z434, Industrial Robots and Robot Systems. Applies to the manufacture, remanufacture, rebuild, installation, safeguarding, maintenance and repair, testing and start-up, and personnel training requirements for industrial robots and robot systems. This is the Canadian National Adoption of ISO 10218-1,2.

American Welding Society (AWS)

• D16.1M/D16.1, Specification for Robotic Arc Welding Safety. Identifies hazards involved in maintaining, operating, integrating, and setting up arc welding robot systems.