Warehouse robots usually work alongside people by moving goods through defined routes while safeguards manage where and when people and machines can share space. Some systems keep workers and robots separated; others allow controlled, task-specific interaction. A robot’s obstacle detection is only one part of safety: the complete application—including the load, attachments, work area, operating procedures, and maintenance—has to be assessed and managed.
What warehouse robots do—and what “alongside” means
Industrial mobile robots (IMRs) are machines that navigate through a workplace to specified locations and automate transport tasks. In a warehouse, that can mean moving goods or materials between work areas. A robot may operate on its own or as part of a fleet. A manipulator can also be mounted on a mobile base, combining movement around the site with a task performed by an arm or other equipment. These configurations are not interchangeable: a transport-only base presents different hazards from a system that also handles objects.
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ISO’s driverless-industrial-truck category includes automated guided vehicles (AGVs), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), bots, and automated guided carts. The labels alone do not tell a worker how a particular machine will behave. The relevant questions are what task the integrated system performs, where it travels, what it carries or handles, and how the people working nearby are meant to interact with it. OSHA’s Technical Manual on robotics describes mobile robots as using technologies to identify obstacles that may hinder their path, and notes that they may use obstacle or collision avoidance.
“Working alongside” covers more than one arrangement. People may work in nearby areas while a robot moves through a designated route, with safeguards intended to keep them apart or to slow or stop the robot as a person approaches. In other applications, a worker may interact more directly with the robot. OSHA defines collaborative industrial robot applications as those “designed for direct interaction with workers.” That definition does not mean every mobile robot is collaborative: OSHA says mobile robot applications may be collaborative or non-collaborative, and applications that do not require direct interaction are typically separated using traditional machine safeguarding.
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How people and robots share—or avoid—space
Nearby work with separation
A common safety strategy is to organize the work so that people do not need to enter the robot’s operating area during movement. The layout, access routes, task locations, and operating rules help establish which spaces are shared and which are restricted. If workers and robots use adjoining areas, safeguards may be designed to slow or stop robot motion when a person approaches. The specific protective functions needed depend on the application and its risk assessment; no single arrangement applies to every warehouse.
Where people and robots do share space, OSHA identifies clear delineation as an administrative aid. A site might use a diagram, painted floor lines, or another clear way of communicating boundaries. Signs and entry or exit procedures can help workers understand how to move through the area. Such communication supports suitable safeguards; marking a floor or putting up a sign does not, by itself, make an unsafe system safe.
Direct, controlled interaction
Some tasks call for a worker to guide or interact with a robot more directly. OSHA describes hand-guided control, in which a worker physically directs a robot using a hold-to-run control. It also describes power-and-force-limited operation, where contact is expected and safety functions limit forces and pressures. Those are application techniques, not a general assurance that a person can safely touch any robot, load, tool, or attachment. Whether contact is expected, and what safeguards are needed, must be evaluated for the specific task.
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How a warehouse robot detects and responds to people
At a basic level, an industrial mobile robot follows its configured operation toward specified destinations and uses technologies to identify obstacles that could interfere with its path. Depending on the application, obstacle avoidance or collision avoidance may be used. OSHA also identifies protective functions such as protective stops, force or speed limits, position or space limits, and presence-sensing devices. These functions can be selected and configured to address the hazards identified in the particular application.
Detection is not the same as a complete safety case. Knowing that a robot can identify an obstacle does not establish how reliably the whole system responds under the conditions in a particular operating zone, or whether the response is sufficient for the task. Load, end-effector, control functions, floor and zone conditions, foreseeable misuse, and the work people perform around the machine all matter. ISO’s page for the draft of the third edition of ISO 3691-4 notes that operating-zone condition significantly affects safe operation and includes zone preparation within the standard’s scope.
For workers, the practical point is to follow the site’s instructions rather than assume that a robot will always see, avoid, or stop for a person in every situation. A system’s intended behavior should be explained through training and clear operating procedures. If the task or work area changes, the safeguards and procedures may need to be reassessed by qualified people responsible for the application.
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Safety is designed around the task and the whole work system—not just the mobile base. OSHA’s robotics guidance identifies hazards including struck-by or caught-between incidents, crushing or trapping, projectiles from failed equipment or workpieces, electrical hazards, and other risks. A moving robot colliding with a worker is one possible struck-by hazard. The application’s payload, tools, fixtures, surrounding equipment, and available space can contribute to the risk as well.
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A risk assessment should examine how the work actually happens, including unusual conditions and the routes people use to reach the task. OSHA recommends considering questions such as:
- Do people need to be present for the task, and do they share a workstation or workpiece with the robot?
- Where do the tasks take place, and how do workers access those locations?
- Is contact with the robot expected while it is moving?
- What protective functions and safeguards are appropriate for the hazards identified?
Possible protective functions include protective stops, force or speed limits, position or space limits, and presence-sensing devices. These are examples, not a checklist that every installation must use in the same combination. The appropriate measures depend on the assessed application. In shared areas, delineated boundaries, signs, training, and entry or exit procedures help communicate the rules. They supplement suitable safeguarding and risk reduction rather than replace them. OSHA also identifies lockout/tagout procedures as part of the safety considerations.
Routine production is not the only operating condition
People may be exposed to hazards when the robot is not performing its ordinary production task. Programming, maintenance, testing, setup, and adjustment can bring workers into the robot’s working envelope. These activities need to be considered in the safety plan, with procedures and safeguards appropriate to the work being done. A layout or procedure that works for normal operation may not adequately address a worker entering the area to diagnose a problem or make an adjustment.
Warehouse conditions also matter. The operating zone and its preparation can affect safe operation, as the ISO draft page notes. A planned route and access arrangement should therefore be considered in the real work area, not in isolation from the floor plan and the tasks around it. Changes to work areas, access routes, equipment, or the robot’s attachments can affect the application and warrant a review by those responsible for its safety.
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What warehouse workers do when robots are in use
Robots automate transport or other configured tasks; they do not remove the need for people to understand and manage the surrounding work. Depending on the system, workers may perform tasks in nearby areas, interact with a robot through a controlled method, or enter the operating area for setup, programming, testing, maintenance, or adjustment. The exact role varies by deployment, so workers need training tied to the equipment and procedures at their site rather than assumptions based on another warehouse’s robots.
Before working in or near an operating area, a worker should know the site’s boundaries, access routes, and entry or exit procedures, as well as what the robot is intended to do and how to follow the applicable safety procedures. OSHA identifies training, signs, delineation, and lockout/tagout procedures among relevant controls. If a worker’s task involves contact, hand-guided control, or work inside the robot’s operating envelope, the method and protections must be established for that application—not improvised on the assumption that the machine is safe to touch.
The site should also account for non-routine work. A person troubleshooting, adjusting, or maintaining equipment may be in a different position from someone doing ordinary warehouse work. The safety plan has to cover how these tasks are performed, not just how the robot moves during routine operation. Workers should use the established procedures for those tasks and receive training on the conditions in which they apply.
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In the United States, OSHA’s Robotics overview states that there are currently no specific OSHA standards for the robotics industry. That statement is limited to robotics-industry-specific standards; it does not mean that workplace safety obligations do not apply. OSHA provides hazard-recognition and hazard-control resources, and its standards page explains that national consensus standards and ISO documents are guidance from their originating organizations, not OSHA regulations. See OSHA’s Robotics overview and OSHA’s robotics standards information.
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ISO 3691-4:2023 is the published second edition covering safety requirements and verification for driverless industrial trucks and their systems. ISO’s page for the third-edition draft identifies it as under development and in the enquiry phase, with the intention of replacing the 2023 edition. The draft’s examples include AGVs and AMRs. A draft is not the same as a published replacement: organizations should verify the live status and applicable edition for their jurisdiction and use case. The draft information is available from ISO’s page for ISO/DIS 3691-4.
Standards status and legal requirements can vary by jurisdiction and change over time. A warehouse should not treat an ISO document as an OSHA regulation, or assume that the absence of an industry-specific OSHA robotics standard removes other applicable duties. Safety decisions need to be made for the actual workplace and its governing requirements.
Questions to ask about a robot deployment
When evaluating whether a system fits a warehouse task, focus on the application and safeguards rather than treating robot labels as a ranking. These questions help make the important differences visible:
- Task: Does the system only transport goods, or does it also manipulate or handle them?
- People and space: Are workers physically separated from the operating area, sharing it nearby, or expected to interact directly with the robot?
- Response to people: What detects a person or obstacle, and which protective function responds?
- Load and attachments: What payload, end-effector, workpiece, or surrounding equipment changes the hazards?
- Operating zone: How do floor and zone conditions, layout, and access routes affect operation?
- Non-routine work: What procedures cover setup, programming, testing, maintenance, adjustment, and recovery?
- Integration: Who evaluates the complete system, including its controls, safeguards, work area, and worker procedures?
These questions do not replace a technical risk assessment. They help distinguish the performance of a robot in isolation from the safety of the integrated warehouse application. OSHA’s Technical Manual and Robotics overview provide hazard and control guidance; the relevant safeguards still depend on the particular task and worksite.
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