Safety and Health at Work Vol. 12 Issue 4 2021
Critical Hazard Factors in the Risk Assessments of Industrial Robots: Causal Analysis and Case Studies (Original article)
Dublin Core
Title
Safety and Health at Work Vol. 12 Issue 4 2021
Critical Hazard Factors in the Risk Assessments of Industrial Robots: Causal Analysis and Case Studies (Original article)
Critical Hazard Factors in the Risk Assessments of Industrial Robots: Causal Analysis and Case Studies (Original article)
Subject
Human factor, Human-robot collaboration, Psychology, Risk assessment, Root cause analysis
Description
Background: With the increasing demand for industrial robots and the “noncontact” trend, it is an appropriate point in time to examine whether risk assessments conducted for robot operations are
performed effectively to identify and eliminate the risks of injury or harm to operators. This study discusses why robot accidents resulting in harm to operators occur repetitively despite implementing control measures and proposes corrective actions for risk assessments.
Methods: This study collected 369 operator-injured robot accidents in Korea over the last decade and reconstructed them into the mechanism of injury, work being undertaken, and bodily location of the injury. Then, through the techniques of Systematic Cause Analysis Technique (SCAT) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA), this study analyzed the root and direct causes of robot accidents that had occurred. Causes identified included physical hazards and complex combinations of hazards, such as psychological,
organizational, and systematic errors. The requirements of risk assessments regarding robot operations were examined, and three case studies of robot-involved tasks were investigated. The three assessments presented were: camera module processing, electrical discharge machining, and a panel-flipping robot installation.
Results: After conducting RCA and comparing the three assessments, it was found that two-thirds of injury-occurring from robot accidents, causative factors included psychological and personal traits of robot operators. However, there were no evaluations of the identifications of personal aspects in the
three assessment cases.
Conclusion: Therefore, it was concluded that personal factors of operators, which had been overlooked in risk assessments so far, need to be included in future risk assessments on robot operations.
performed effectively to identify and eliminate the risks of injury or harm to operators. This study discusses why robot accidents resulting in harm to operators occur repetitively despite implementing control measures and proposes corrective actions for risk assessments.
Methods: This study collected 369 operator-injured robot accidents in Korea over the last decade and reconstructed them into the mechanism of injury, work being undertaken, and bodily location of the injury. Then, through the techniques of Systematic Cause Analysis Technique (SCAT) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA), this study analyzed the root and direct causes of robot accidents that had occurred. Causes identified included physical hazards and complex combinations of hazards, such as psychological,
organizational, and systematic errors. The requirements of risk assessments regarding robot operations were examined, and three case studies of robot-involved tasks were investigated. The three assessments presented were: camera module processing, electrical discharge machining, and a panel-flipping robot installation.
Results: After conducting RCA and comparing the three assessments, it was found that two-thirds of injury-occurring from robot accidents, causative factors included psychological and personal traits of robot operators. However, there were no evaluations of the identifications of personal aspects in the
three assessment cases.
Conclusion: Therefore, it was concluded that personal factors of operators, which had been overlooked in risk assessments so far, need to be included in future risk assessments on robot operations.
Creator
Kangdon Lee, Jaeho Shin, Jae-Yong Lim
Publisher
Elsevier Korea LLC
Date
December 2021
Contributor
Sri Wahyuni
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Text
Coverage
Safety and Health at Work Vol. 12 Issue 4 2021
Files
Citation
Kangdon Lee, Jaeho Shin, Jae-Yong Lim, “Safety and Health at Work Vol. 12 Issue 4 2021
Critical Hazard Factors in the Risk Assessments of Industrial Robots: Causal Analysis and Case Studies (Original article),” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed November 22, 2024, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/2217.
Critical Hazard Factors in the Risk Assessments of Industrial Robots: Causal Analysis and Case Studies (Original article),” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed November 22, 2024, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/2217.