Estudo do HIOSH - EUA aborda mortes no trabalho envolvendo interações com robots. Veja abaixo breve entrevista com o autor.e o Abstract do artigo
Robot‐related Fatalities at Work in the United States, 1992–2017
NIOSH study author: Larry A. Layne (Publicado no American Journal of Industrial Medicine 2023 Jun;66(6):454-461. Não é de livre acesso.
doi: 10.1002/ajim.23470. Epub 2023 Feb 27. )
What did this study find?
Robots have been in the news lately, as artificial intelligence continues its rapid advance, but robots in the workplace are not new. More than 50 years ago, manufacturers began using them in factories. Technological advances, however, mean that today’s robots are more prevalent and vastly different than their predecessors. These days, we often see them working, either completely or partially independently, alongside workers. In this environment, worker safety is a pressing concern, yet little is known about robot-related deaths in the workplace.
How did you do the study?
To understand where robot-related deaths occur in the workplace, this study used records from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. After identifying all robot-related deaths from 1992–2017, I categorized them by worker characteristics, geographic location, type of employer, and type of robot involved.
What did you find?
During the 26 years reviewed, 41 robot-related deaths occurred. Most of the deaths were among male workers, who accounted for 85% of robot-related deaths, and most (29%) were between 35-44 years old. Nearly half (46%) of these robot-related deaths occurred in the Midwest due to the use of robots in motor vehicle manufacturing in Michigan and Ohio. Stationary robots accounted for 83% of the deaths and mobile robots for 17%. More than three fourths of the deaths occurred while the robot was powered to operate on its own, often during maintenance activities performed by the worker.
What are the next steps?
This study highlights the growing challenges of protecting workers who perform tasks with the aid of robots. As robotic technology develops, identifying patterns of death, such as those found in this study, will be a critical part of developing safeguards, including safety standards, to protect workers.
Abstract
Background: Industrial robots became more commonplace in the US workplace during the mid- to latter part of the twentieth century. Recent scientific advances have led to the development of new types of robots, resulting in rapidly changing work environments. Information on occupational robot-related fatalities is currently limited for this developing field.
Methods: Robot fatalities were identified by a keyword search in restricted-access research files from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) surveillance system of the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the years 1992-2017.
Results: There were 41 robot-related fatalities identified by the keyword search during the 26-year period of this study, 85% of which were males, with the most cases (29%) occurring within the age group 35-44 years. Fatalities occurred primarily with large employers that were geographically clustered, with the Midwest accounting for 46% of the total. Most of the cases involved stationary robots (83%) and robots striking the decedents while operating under their own power (78%). Many of these striking incidents occurred while maintenance was being performed on a robot.
Conclusions: The changing nature of robotics in the workplace suggests that emerging technologies may introduce new hazards in the workplace. Emerging technologies have led to an increase in the number of robots in the workplace and to increased human exposure to robotic machinery. These patterns demonstrate that public health professionals will likely face significant challenges to keep pace with developments in robotics to ensure the safety and health of workers across the country.
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