Warehouse Robot Safety Rules

Know which standard covers which machine

The international reference for driverless trucks is ISO 3691-4:2023, which sets safety requirements and verification for automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots and similar machines, and for preparing the zones where they operate. Its scope leaves out public roads, explosive atmospheres and some other conditions, and ISO lists a revision, ISO/DIS 3691-4, as under way. In the United States, the ANSI/A3 R15.08 series sets requirements for industrial mobile robots. When you buy, ask the maker which of these documents its robot was designed and verified to, and get the declaration or test summary in writing, because each one shapes the assessments that follow on your site.

Split duties between maker, integrator and user

The R15.08 series spreads responsibility across three parts. As the ANSI Blog summarises it, Part 1 covers safety requirements for manufacturers, Part 2 addresses the system integrator's responsibilities during deployment, and ANSI/A3 R15.08-3-2026 establishes user responsibilities for safe operation in a specific environment. Part 3 expects users to carry out risk assessments, apply risk reduction measures and keep records of them, including when the robot, the application or the environment is modified. That last point catches warehouses out. Moving a rack line, adding a mezzanine route or changing a pick face can all count, so link your change control process to the robot risk assessment.

Plan for mixed traffic with forklifts

Robots rarely get a building to themselves. Manually driven trucks remain under 29 CFR 1910.178, OSHA's rule on powered industrial trucks, which requires drivers to slow down and sound the horn at cross aisles and other places where vision is obstructed, and bars driving a truck up to anyone standing in front of a bench or other fixed object. Your robots have to fit into that pattern. Decide where robots and lift trucks may share an aisle, where one must give way, and how a driver knows that a robot is about to cross. Mark those rules on the floor and in induction training, then watch several shifts to see whether behaviour matches the plan.

Keep safety records alive after go-live

A risk assessment written for installation day goes out of date as soon as the operation changes. Appoint an owner for the robot safety file who signs off any change to routes, speeds, zones, loads or software that affects safety functions. Log near misses involving robots alongside those involving lift trucks, so that patterns across both become visible. Review scanner fields and speed zones after peak, when temporary storage and extra staff can block the paths the robots were set up for. When the maker issues a software update, ask whether it alters any safety function and whether verification needs repeating before you accept it.

Sources and further reading

• ISO 3691-4:2023 Industrial trucks: safety requirements and verification, Part 4: driverless industrial trucks and their systems — International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
  Safety requirements and verification for AGVs, AMRs and other driverless trucks and the systems they work in.
• ANSI/A3 R15.08-3-2026: Industrial Mobile Robot Applications — American National Standards Institute (ANSI Blog).
  Summary of the new user part of the R15.08 series and how duties split between makers, integrators and users.
• 29 CFR 1910.178 Powered industrial trucks — Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
  The US federal rule on forklift design, operator training and evaluation, and safe operation at work.

Common questions

Does ISO 3691-4 apply to autonomous mobile robots?

Yes. ISO 3691-4:2023 covers driverless industrial trucks and their systems, and its scope expressly includes automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots, together with the operating zones they use.

Which mobile robots does ANSI/A3 R15.08-3 cover?

According to the ANSI Blog, it applies to ground-based industrial mobile robot systems of Types A, B and C, and it excludes airborne, waterborne and rail-mounted robots, robots that are only manually controlled, and non-industrial mobile robots.