SaferAg - Engineering Safety in Emerging Agricultural Machinery: Risk Assessment, Data Needs, and Standards

Autonomous and highly automated agricultural machines require data-informed risk assessment integrated into design. Long-term incident data gaps for risk assessment necessitate alternative, creative solutions and data sharing. Consensus, voluntary engineering standards should guide safe design for all types of machines, but often lag behind rapid technological change. Broader awareness, access, and alignment of engineering design standards with emerging risks are essential for safe adoption.

The introduction of highly automated and autonomous agricultural machinery has led to concerns about the availability of appropriate historical data for engineering design risk assessment to ensure protection from injury and other unexpected events. During the transition period from traditional farm tractors and machines to those more highly automated, industry-based, consensus standards remain a vital tool in the design process. This paper examines the role of risk assessment methods and consensus-based standards in improving safety for these technologies. It includes cited literature presented in the form of a primer or overview at the request of participants at the 2022 SaferAg workshop. It reviews key risk assessment concepts, common methodologies, and the specific data needs and limitations that arise when historical incident records are unavailable. The paper also outlines how standards are developed, their connection to regulation, and recent updates to ISO 18497 relevant to autonomous agricultural equipment. Key challenges include lag times in standard development, uneven access to standards, and gaps in awareness among both designers and policymakers engaged in new regulatory efforts. Addressing these challenges will require coordinated efforts in data collection, standard refinement, and stakeholder education to ensure safe and effective deployment of emerging agricultural machine forms.