Automation Adds Safety
When Bob Hoffman began working with integrated robotic welding systems in the early 1980s, there were limited safety precautions. “The robot cell safety equipment would be a waist-high railing with a sign on a gate warning of the dangers, no safety interlocks. I could stand right next to a welding robot and put my hand on it while it was running in automatic,” recalled Hoffman, senior director consulting–automotive at MHI member Swisslog. While he and his peers had a number of brushes with danger during that time, they fortunately all emerged unscathed.
Over the next four to six years, the automation industry began changing its perspective. “Safety systems started to improve to compensate for familiarity and complacency. This evolution in the design of the safety equipment surrounding these systems happened quite fast,” said Hoffman.
Today’s automated equipment has made warehouses and production floors safer than ever. Equipment manufacturers are building safety features into automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and into picking robots that work alongside humans. Just as important, they work with safety engineers and system designers to scrutinize every aspect of the environment in which their machinery will operate.
