January 22, 2024
Can Robots Improve Workplace Safety?
NSC found that remote-controlled robots offer high value for confined entry inspections, working from height and hazardous material handling.
While the answer to this question is generally yes, there are drawbacks.
First, let’s look at some recent research from the National Safety Council. In a white paper, Improving Workplace Safety with Robots, the association looked at how robots can reduce the risk of serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs). To do this they looked at "automated facility inspections, confined space entry, moving parts and equipment, machine tending, pick and-place, hazardous materials handling, and precision welding and cutting.”
The report reached five key findings:
1. Robots are available in various control configurations – remote-controlled, pre-programmed or autonomous – as well as in various forms – autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), articulated