SAFER AG - Risk Assessment, Data, Design Standards, and Regulation: Needs and Recommendations

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Engineering
• Automation and Robotics
• Occupational Safety and Health

Background:

• Emerging challenges in agricultural safety due to autonomous and highly automated machines.
• Limited historical safety data for novel machine forms hinders risk assessment.
• Need for proactive safety measures in agricultural equipment design and deployment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize findings and recommendations from the 2022 SAFER AG workshop on risk assessment for automated agricultural machinery.
• To identify gaps in knowledge and practice regarding safety data for new agricultural machine designs.
• To propose solutions for informing risk assessment, engineering design, and regulatory efforts.

Main Methods:

• Consensus-building process among diverse stakeholder groups.
• Review of discussions and recommendations from a dedicated working group.
• Identification of knowledge and practice gaps in machine safety.

Main Results:

• Recommended the establishment of an exposure-based database and standardized exposure definitions for risk assessment.
• Emphasized the critical role of consensus engineering standards in the early design phases of automated machinery.
• Highlighted the need for outreach and education on design standards for engineers, regulators, and students.

Conclusions:

• Risk assessment is essential for new autonomous and automated agricultural equipment.
• An exposure database can provide necessary data for risk assessment of novel machine forms.
• Engineering standards and targeted outreach are foundational for safe design and regulatory alignment.