With June being the National Safety Month, we encourage companies to get involved and be active in seeking improvements made in their industry’s safety standards.  There are several resources to reach out to for information on meeting safety guidelines and requirements, as well as various safety equipment options available for improving your system.

Safety is especially important in the field of robotics.  When dealing with a robotic cell, it’s imperative to keep the system maintained properly and KC Robotics, Inc. can provide you with a variety of options for safety fencing, safety mats, light curtains, area scanners, etc.

The Robotic Industries Association (RIA) is responsible for creating the safety standards in the robotic industry and these can be retrieved by simply visiting their website listed below!

Robotic Industries Association (RIA)

On March 8, 2010, RIA will be holding a one-day robotic training seminar in a first-time location: Chattanooga, Tennesee!  It’s focus is on risk assessment and safety standards, hoping to cover the basics while adding in new provisions.  It’s always important to attend these safety seminars whenever possible to keep your company refreshed on the importance of safety in the robotic industry.  Details can be found at:

http://www.robotics.org/events/event.cfm?id=67

Robotic Safety First!

When assembling a robotic system, it is always important to safeguard the cell in which the robot will be operating.  There are several ways to accomplish this.  First, you should always surround the robot with safety fencing.  This form of safeguarding creates walls around the operating equipment to prevent operators from entering dangerous areas.

Other options include the use of light curtains, safety relays, floor mats, and “e-stop” push buttons.  Light curtains (optical perimeter guards) and floor mats are equipped with sensors that are triggered at the presence of an entry into the cell.  As technology has advanced, light curtains have become the more popular choice.  Safety relays are incorporated as a form of redundancy and help monitor the safety circuitry.

Please visit OSHA for their standards regarding Robotic Safety Guidelines.