Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act, often referred to as the General Duty Clause, requires employers to "furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees". Section 5(a)(2) requires employers to "comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act".

Note: Twenty-four states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have OSHA-approved State Plans and have adopted their own standards and enforcement policies. For the most part, these States adopt standards that are identical to Federal OSHA. However, some States have adopted different standards applicable to this topic or may have different enforcement policies.

General Industry (29 CFR 1910)

• 1910 Subpart J, General environmental controls
  • 1910.147, The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) [related topic page]
    • Appendix A, Typical minimal lockout procedures
• 1910 Subpart O, Machinery and machine guarding
  • 1910.211, Definitions
  • 1910.212, General requirements for all machines. States that any machines that creates a hazard must be safeguarded in order to protect the operator and other employees. [related topic page]

Depending on the material being processed, these standards are also applicable:

• 1910.213, Wookworking machinery requirements [related topic page]
• 1910.214, Cooperage machinery. [Reserved]
• 1910.215, Abrasive wheel machinery
• 1910.216, Mills and calenders in the rubber and plastics industries
• 1910.217, Mechanical power presses
  • Appendix A, Mandatory requirements for certification/validation of safety systems for presence sensing device initiation of mechanical power presses
  • Appendix B, Nonmandatory guidelines for certification/validation of safety systems for presence sensing device initiation of mechanical power presses
  • Appendix C, Mandatory requirements for OSHA recognition of third-party validation organizations for the PSDI standard
  • Appendix D, Nonmandatory supplementary information

• 1910 Subpart S, Electrical [related topic page]
  • 1910.333, Selection and use of work practices

• Guidelines For Robotics Safety. STD 01-12-002 [PUB 8-1.3], (1987, September 21). Provides guidelines to OSHA compliance officers, employers, and employees for the safe operation and use of robots and robotic systems.
• Guidelines for Laser Safety and Hazard Assessment. STD 01-05-001 [PUB 8-1.7], (1991, August 5). Provides guidelines to Federal OSHA and Plan States compliance officers, consultants, and employees for the assessment of laser safety, including laser robotics used in industrial processing.
• Search all available directives.

• OSHA Cites Fitzgerald, GA., Company and Proposes $116,000 in Penalties for Safety and Health Violations. OSHA Regional News Release, (2001, July 11). OSHA issued several serious citations for unguarded floor openings, unguarded robotic machines, improperly maintained respirators, and for not having "lockout/tagout" procedures in place that would make machines inoperable during maintenance and repair work.

Note: These are NOT OSHA regulations. However, they do provide guidance from their originating organizations related to worker protection.

• R15.06-1999, Industrial Robots and Robot Systems - Safety Requirements. Provides requirements for industrial robot manufacture, remanufacture and rebuild; robot system integration/installation; and methods of safeguarding to enhance the safety of personnel associated with the use of robots and robot systems. This second review further limits the potential requirements for any retrofit of existing systems, revises the description of control reliable circuitry, and reorganizes several clauses to enhance understanding.
  • TR R15.106-2006, Technical Report on Teaching Multiple Robots. Robotics Industries Association (RIA). Provides additional safety information relative to teaching (programming) multiple industrial robots in a common safeguarded space in an industrial setting. It supplements the ANSI/RIA R15.06-1999 robot safety standard.
• B11.TR3-2000, Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction - A Guide to Estimate, Evaluate and Reduce Risks Associated with Machine Tools. Provides a means to identify hazards associated with a particular machine or system when used as intended, and provides a procedure to estimate, evaluate, and reduce the risks of harm to individuals associated with these hazards under the various conditions of use of that machine or system.

• TC 184, Industrial automation systems and integration
• ISO 10218-1:2006, Robots for industrial environments - Safety requirements - Part 1: Robot. Robotics Industries Association (RIA). Specifies requirements and guidelines for the inherent safe design, protective measures, and information for use of industrial robots. It describes basic hazards associated with robots, and provides requirements to eliminate or adequately reduce the risks associated with these hazards.
  • Note: ISO 10218-1:2006 does not apply to non-industrial robots although the safety principles established in ISO 10218 may be utilized for these other robots. Examples of non-industrial robot applications include, but are not limited to: undersea, military and space robots; tele-operated manipulators; prosthetics and other aids for the physically impaired; micro-robots (displacement <1 mm); surgery or healthcare; and service or consumer products.

• Z434-03, Industrial Robots and Robot Systems. Applies to the manufacture, remanufacture, rebuild, installation, safeguarding, maintenance and repair, testing and start-up, and personnel training requirements for industrial robots and robot systems.

• D16.1M/D16.1, Specification For Robotic Arc Welding Safety. Identifies hazards involved in maintaining, operating, integrating, and setting up arc welding robot systems.