Automation is transforming warehouses and distribution centres at a fast pace, promising greater efficiency, reduced labour demands and improved safety outcomes.
However, new insights from Brenig Moore BSc Hons, MPH, Med, SMIOSH, CMCIEH, AIEMA, Technical Director and Health and Safety Expert at Astutis, leading global providers, says that the reality of this is a lot more complex.
While automation may reduce everyday risks, it’s also introducing a new category of higher-consequence risk.
“Automation doesn’t remove the risk that a warehouse brings, but it does reshape it. Many incidents stem from manual handling, slips, trips and falls or collisions with vehicles such as forklifts.
When automation is introduced into the business, the risks can often be reduced, but there are new risks to become aware of. High speed conveyors, robotic arms and automated storage systems introduce higher energy machinery and more complex environments.
The focus on safety shifts from managing manual tasks to managing powerful systems, safe access and controlling stored energy.”
However, Moore also states that safety is treated as an after-thought when it comes to automation, rather than something that should be thought of beforehand.
“A big mistake that we see a lot in automation is treating safety as something to tidy up after the equipment has been installed.
When projects are under pressure to deliver outputs at a fast pace, safety considerations often arrive far too late into the conversation, and into the business.”
While many employers will introduce automation as a way to reduce human involvement, this is in fact wrong, as humans should be taught how to manage the new way of working rather than ignore it completely.
Brenig states: “In reality, people are still essential, they just have new roles. They are required for maintenance, fault finding, clearing jams and handling exceptions.
These are often the highest-risk moments, particularly if safeguards are bypassed or systems still contain stored energy.
When people know what to expect from the tech that they’re working with, they’re far less likely to be caught out by it. Human and robot collaboration requires clear separation of tasks, predictable system behaviour and well-designed access controls.
The best thing to do would be to put together a risk assessment before the introduction of automation for each possible outcome, no matter how unlikely it may be.”
However, operators also need to assess and control risk in high energy zones, as well as collaborative zones.
Brenig says: “Areas that have fast moving sortation systems or automated storage cranes should be generally designed to keep people out while the system is running.
Physical guarding and interlocked gates will help in these situations, and are really common within businesses who’ve already started bringing automation in.
However, collaborative zones work differently. In those areas, systems are designed to detect people nearby and react by slowing down or even completely stopping.
The safety strategy needs to reflect the type of interaction, and how much or how little involvement a human may need to have, in each space.”
He also expresses that functional safety when it comes to automation also depends on software integrity and cybersecurity: “Modern automated systems rely hugely on software driven controls, which means that functional safety increasingly depends on software reliability and protection from unauthorised interference. If the software fails, or gets compromised, then the safety function may not work as intended for it to.
Cybersecurity is therefore no longer just an IT issue, it is now something all companies should ensure they have protectors for so that it can protect your control systems from interference. This is a huge part of a business’ job to protect it’s people and employees.”
To summarise, Brenig looks at best practice, and what this should look like in a fully or partially automated facility today: “Best practice needs to evolve everyday, as technology grows in the logistics and manufacturing sectors. Safety is considered from the earliest design stage and carried through into daily operations is absolutely crucial as a best practice, but risk assessments are more important than ever.
All employees and workers need to be trained in how the new automation tools and machines work, and exactly what could go wrong and what to do if something does go wrong. Employers need to encourage open communication between engineers, operators, and safety managers.
