From Safety Standards to Safe Operation with Mobile Robotic Systems Deployment

TL;DR

The paper addresses safety challenges in deploying mobile robots on construction sites, where conventional risk assessments are not tailored to mobile platforms. It introduces a framework that extends existing safety standards and employs a four-step process—preplanning/data collection, risk assessment, risk mitigation, and validation—using a quantified risk index $RISK=\{<G,F,O,P>\}$ to prioritize actions. A field case with a Clearpath Jackal demonstrates how local regulations are integrated and how mitigation reduces risk, highlighting residual risks and opportunities for probabilistic modeling of uncertainty. The work provides practical, standards-informed guidance for safer on-site deployment of autonomous mobile robots and lays groundwork for future risk-prediction enhancements in real-world construction environments.

Abstract

Mobile robotic systems are increasingly used in various work environments to support productivity. However, deploying robots in workplaces crowded by human workers and interacting with them results in safety challenges and concerns, namely robot-worker collisions and worker distractions in hazardous environments. Moreover, the literature on risk assessment as well as the standard specific to mobile platforms is rather limited. In this context, this paper first conducts a review of the relevant standards and methodologies and then proposes a risk assessment for the safe deployment of mobile robots on construction sites. The approach extends relevant existing safety standards to encompass uncovered scenarios. Safety recommendations are made based on the framework, after its validation by field experts.

Figures (2)

• Figure 1: Flow chart of the risk assessment (adapted from bourbonniere_guide_2005)
• Figure 2: Clearpath Jackal in action on a construction site