DRIVERLESS ELECTRIC CARS

On Monday, October 9, 2017 at 1:40:44 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

Unfortunately, my safety story is quite real. I don't have time to
tell the story in detail, but basically, the safety guards and
interlocks were responsible for more accidents than the unsafe
original equipment. Much of this was in the 1970's and 1980's, when
OSHA was empowered to demand these safety features, and machinery
manufacturers were forced to retrofit existing machinery with
dangerous safety guards and awkward interlocks. It's much better
today, but the basic principle applies. If people feel that they're
safe, they tend to do risky things on the assumption that the safety
devices will protect them from injury.

I developed and taught the robotics class in my program. My best friend worked
as an OSHA inspector in another state. I brought him in to talk about a robot-
related fatality he investigated.

The robotic workcell was designed and installed by a German company, and a
young German engineer working in the plant was charged with maintaining it.

One day the robot stopped mid-process. One of the many interlock sensors was
preventing it from accessing the workpiece. Now, the workcell had all the
proper lockout/tagout controls. It even had a remote camera that could be
placed where needed to safely watch any problem steps. Of course, it had a
gate in the chain link barrier fence that would stop all operation if opened,
and require restart from outside the workcell.

But this young engineer was too smart for that. He felt he needed to see the
problem up close; so he lay down on the parts conveyor and let himself be
rolled into the workcell through a small opening. He then went over to the
fixture holding the workpiece, saw the sensor that wasn't making contact,
adjusted it, and was stabbed to death from behind by the now-satisfied robot
as it reached for the part in the fixture.

- Frank Krygowski