All, I have followed this discussion with interest, and I have a few comments.
1) ISO 14971 is scoped for risk assessment of medical devices and may not provide the guidance that is needed relative to this area of practice; 2) ISO 14121-1 and -2 are the industrial risk assessment standards and in my opinion provide a more easily generalizable approach to risk assessment, albeit one with a 'machinery' feel to it; 3) ISO 10218-1 is the new international standard for the industrial robot. It does not cover the application as yet, but it does provide for new features, such as programmable safety zones which are intended to replace hard stops and axis limit switches on these machines. The safety related parts of these robots, including the programmable limit controller, are typically qualified to ISO 13849-1 PLd or PLe, roughly equivalent to ISO 61508-1 SIL-2 or SIL-3. Pretty reliable for most applications. BTW, ISO 10218-1 has been adopted by ANSI as ANSI/RIA/ ISO 10218-1 and replaces Clause 4 of the venerable ANSI/RIA R15.06 standard. 4) ISO 10218-2, currently in work, is rumoured to provide for interactive robotic applications where humans and robots work safely in the same environment without te need for barriers and interlocks. This standard is expected to be published sometime in the next 12 months. I don't know if ANSI/RIA will adopt it once published. Regarding Brian O'Connell's comment: 1. Areas of danger 2. Rate of motion 3. Human-prediction of motion This is essentially a partial risk assessment model. Risk assessment normally is considered to include: A) Hazard Analysis: including hazard identification and evaluation (figuring out the extent of the hurt); B) Probability Analysis: including frequency of access to the hazard, exposure duration, avoidability of the hazard, exposure circumstances, probability of the hazardous event, training and expertise. These together permit you to estimate the risk involved. The avoidability factor encompasses the rate of motion and the capability of a human to detect and predict the motion. The exposure circumstances might include how frequently a particular task needs to be done, as well as the environment in which the work is done. The three main standards currently available for robotics are: ISO 10218-X, ANSI/RIA R15.06, and CSA Z434 Unfortunately, the last two include 'risk assessment' tools that have holes that you could fly the space shuttle through. Apart from that they have some great information and should be considered in the work you are undertaking. Watch for the publication of ISO 10218-2! -- Doug Nix, A.Sc.T. IEEE PSES Toronto Chapter Toronto Section, Ontario, Canadad [email protected] mobile (519) 729-5704 fax (519) 653-1318 Find me LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/dougnix Fostering Technological Innovation and Excellence for the Benefit of Humanity. On 6-May-10, at 14:42 , Robert Macy wrote: > Ladies, Gentlemen, > > Safety from mobile robots operating within a non-technical group of > users > are/will be of concern to agencies, companies, and individuals > involved in > this industry. I've been tasked with seeking information about such > Safety > Standards - find standards, contact organizations/individuals, etc. > > I know there exists a plethora of related industrial robotic > standards, > but those standards seem like Class A versus Class B. Does anyone > know of, > or is anyone pursuing, any "Class B" standards? > > Who at IEEE is responsible for these standards and would actively take > part in creating/extending operational safety standards? > > Who within any country? > > Feel free to reply 'off line' > > Regards, > Robert Macy, PE > > AJM Electronics > 101 E San Fernando St., Ste 402 > San Jose, CA 95112 > tel: 408 982 7574 > cel: 408 286 3985 > fax: 408 297 9121 > [email protected] > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc- > pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e- > mail to <[email protected]> > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc > Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to > that URL. > > Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Scott Douglas <[email protected]> > Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> > David Heald: <[email protected]> - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to that URL. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
