An innovative approach to welding robot operator reliability analysis using extended TESEO and HEART methods

Area of Science:

• Industrial Engineering
• Occupational Safety and Health
• Robotics

Background:

• Robotic welding systems offer improved weld quality and precision.
• Traditional occupational hazard assessments may not fully capture risks associated with advanced robotic systems.
• Human factors significantly influence the safety and effectiveness of human-robot collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively identify and assess occupational hazards in robotic welding operations.
• To evaluate employee reliability and the probability of errors in human-robot interactions.
• To enhance existing Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) methods by incorporating crucial human-centric factors.

Main Methods:

• Risk assessment using the RISK SCORE method.
• Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) including TESEO and HEART approaches.
• Expansion of HRA to include human-machine interface (HMI), cognitive load, documentation quality, and task ambiguity.

Main Results:

• Identification of typical and robotic-specific occupational hazards.
• Quantification of employee reliability and error probability.
• Demonstration of the impact of HMI, cognitive load, and task clarity on safety.

Conclusions:

• Robotic welding introduces unique occupational hazards requiring specific assessment.
• Integrating human factors into HRA provides a more accurate safety evaluation.
• Improved HRA methodologies are essential for safe and effective human-robot collaboration in welding.