From the Robotic Industries Association (RIA):

Key highlights for RIA standards development activities:

• RIA Technical Reports Expected to be Published Summer 2014
• Collaborative Robot Application Guidance
• International Collaborative Robots Workshop, September 30, San Jose, California USA
• National Robot Safety Conference, October 14-16, 2014, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
• Automate 2015, March 23-26, 2015, Chicago, Illinois USA

RIA Technical Reports to be Published this Summer

Since the publishing of ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012 standard, the R15.06 Subcommittee has been working diligently on three accompanying technical reports that provide valuable information:

• Task-Based Risk Assessment Methodology [RIA TR R15.306], is based on Clause 9 of ANSI/RIA R15.06-1999, and provides a robot-specific methodology for identifying tasks and potential hazards associated with installing an industrial robot system, so that appropriate safeguards can be established;
• Safeguarding [RIA TR R15.406], is an update of Clauses 10 and 11 of ANSI/RIA R15.06-1999, and provides information on the different types of guards and methods for safeguarding that can be deployed to mitigate hazards;
• Applicability of ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012 for Existing Industrial Robot Applications [RIA TR R15.506], provides guidance on what steps, if any, would need to be undertaken for robot systems installed before the new standard was published.

Following ANSI procedures, these reports should be released later this summer. If you have already purchased a copy of ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012 standard from RIA, you will be notified on how you can receive a copy of the reports at no additional charge once they are published.

ISO Collaborative Robot Application Guidance

RIA continues its work on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) committee for Industrial Robot Safety’s Technical Specification TS 15066 for guidance on collaborative robot operations. This specification will provide additional guidance on the safe deployment of collaborative robot operations, which are described briefly in ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012 Parts 1 and 2. A key provision of TS 15066 will be threshold power and force values and guidance for situations where contact between humans and collaborative robots can occur. There is much work to do, look for this to publish late 2014 or early 2015.

In the interim, the German organization VDMA has prepared a position paper entitled “Safety in Human-Robot Collaboration” that summarizes the relevant ISO standards and other useful guidance on collaborative robot operations. View the PDF file here.

How You Can Get Involved with Industrial Robotic Standards Development

The development of industry standards is a transparent process open to anybody with a material interest in participating.

The ANSI/RIA R15.06 subcommittee for safety traditionally meets three or four times per year at various locations across the United States. The next meeting will likely take place in early 2015.

The ISO working group traditionally meets three times annually at various locations in North America, Europe, and Asia. The next working group meeting will take place in London, England, November 10-12, 2014.

If you have interest in participating in either the ANSI/RIA or ISO standards committee, please contact Pat Davison at +1 734-994-6088 for more information.

Robotic Safety Related Events

RIA International Collaborative Robots Workshop
September 30, 2014 in San Jose, California, USA. This one day workshop will cover the practical deployment of collaborative robots and worker safety will be discussed. Details/registration

RIA National Robot Safety Conference

October 14-16, 2014 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. This three-day conference will cover all aspects of industrial robotics and process automation. Topics include proper functional safety circuit design, risk assessments and a workshop covering practical robot safety requirements for integrators and robot users. Details/registration

Automate 2015

Mark your calendars for RIA’s premier event: Automate 2015 - March 23-26, 2015 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Automate showcases the full spectrum of robotics and automation technologies. Details

If your company would like to get involved and contribute to standards development work, please contact Pat Davison or call +1 734-994-6088.

For details on becoming an RIA member, visit our Become a Member page.

More information on Robotic Industry Standards can be found on Robotics Online.