Safety standards for industrial robots – how CMMS supports compliance

Implementing industrial robots is a significant step towards efficiency and competitiveness. However, it is also a commitment. Such a decision carries with it the obligation to comply with safety standards, document activities, and ensure the continuous operation of equipment. A CMMS becomes a key tool in this context. In particular, it is worth noting the ability to organize, automate, and document processes required by standards such as ISO 10218 and ISO/TS 15066. How does a CMMS support compliance with robot standards?

Standards and legal framework. What do you need to know?

Current standards for industrial robots focus primarily on eliminating or reducing risks associated with their use. Which ones are worth knowing? The primary reference point is ISO 10218. Particular attention should be paid to the sections concerning robot design and integration. Importantly, the standard has been updated in recent years – this should be taken into account when planning implementations and technical audits. Additionally, in the area of collaborative robots (cobots), ISO/TS 15066 is a supplement. This document provides practical guidance on risk assessment and permissible contact or force levels for accidental contact. These standards are widely recognized in the industry, including by regulatory bodies and safety auditors – therefore, they should also serve as a basis for CMMS compliance analysis.

Maintenance and standards

Good robot safety practices encompass more than just the proper design of work areas and physical barriers. They also involve constant monitoring of the technical condition of safety components—guards, switches, emergency stop systems, and speed limiters. This is where the role of the maintenance team comes in. Periodic inspections, functional tests, and repairs must not only be performed but also recorded and easily accessible. A CMMS can centralize this information, creating a coherent record of safety-related activities and enabling rapid retrieval of the history of each piece of equipment. It is also a crucial source of data for audits.

Inspection Recording and Proof of Performance: The Key to a Successful Audit

During certification processes and occupational health and safety inspections, auditors often require evidence that planned activities actually took place. Execution alone isn’t enough. Details are crucial – who conducted the inspection, what was checked, what results were recorded, what actions were taken, and when. A CMMS can help here, too. The system allows you to create inspection forms with mandatory fields, attach photos, save measurement reports, and track repair status. This ensures immediate and documented responses in the event of an audit.

Reminders and automation, i.e. minimizing the risk of human errors

Standards require, among other things, periodic testing and inspections. However, it’s worth being vigilant about various shortcomings in this area. The biggest obstacle often proves to be a non-standard approach to scheduling and missed deadlines, especially in changing production conditions. A CMMS system solves this problem by automatically scheduling and sending reminders to the appropriate individuals. Notifications can be set to take into account not only the calendar but also equipment usage. For example, an inspection can be generated after a specified number of robot cycles or operating hours, rather than just after a specified number of days. This practical approach increases the accuracy of inspections and minimizes the likelihood of failures resulting from overload or component wear.

Documenting activities, tracking results, integrating with tests

Compliance with standards is not just about reacting to faults. Implementing preventative measures is equally important. When audits indicate risks, they should be assigned to specific maintenance tasks, along with deadlines and responsibilities. A CMMS allows for both task assignment and monitoring of their implementation, as well as measuring the effectiveness of actions taken. For example, a CMMS can be used to monitor the reduction in the number of unplanned stops or the decrease in the number of alarms in a given robot module. This allows for easy demonstration of proactive actions and continuous improvement of safety processes.

Integration with robot operation verification procedures is also worth considering. In practice, three related areas are crucial: Lockout-Tagout (LOTO) procedures, regular testing of safety functions, and documentation of operator training. A CMMS can act as a central registry that links these elements. Inspection tasks can reference LOTO procedures, and task completion may require confirmation of an individual’s qualifications (e.g., by linking to a training log). This reduces the risk of an employee performing critical tasks on the device without the appropriate authorization.

Change control and post-modification verification

Every modification to the robot cell should undergo a risk assessment and revalidation process. This applies to changes such as installing a new gripper, updating the controller software, or adjusting the work area. In this case, the CMMS serves as a change log. Before a given modification is approved for operation, an entry with a risk assessment, an action plan, and a list of verification tests can be required. After implementation, these entries are concluded with a protocol containing measurement results. This allows for a readily auditable action trail, which is often required by standards and regulations.

Parts tracking and reporting

What else can a CMMS be useful for in this context? Another valuable area is tracking safety parts—e.g., guards, limit switches, relay modules—by origin, serial number, and replacement date. A CMMS provides a record of parts as components assigned to a specific robot, with a history of assembly and replacement. This significantly facilitates demonstrating that approved parts were used and replacements were performed according to manufacturer procedures.

It’s also worth noting that an effective safety system should be based on metrics that provide valuable information. A CMMS allows for the creation of reports on the timeliness of inspections, the number of detected irregularities, the average response time to a safety failure, and the number of functional tests performed in a given period, among other things. Such metrics allow for effective assessment of the effectiveness of actions and the establishment of investment priorities in robot safety.

Practical challenges of implementing CMMS to support robotics

Implementing a CMMS to support compliance with standards is not without its challenges. First, it’s necessary to define entry standards. Otherwise, data will be inconsistent and difficult to analyze. Second, integration with robot control systems may require intermediaries or dedicated adapters. Furthermore, permission management is crucial – information about safety procedures and their results should not be arbitrarily modified. Team training is also crucial: the tool itself will be useless if technicians don’t understand how to enter results and the level of detail required.

A few steps to get you started – a practical plan

To begin, it’s worth prioritizing the issues that will be most critical for compliance. What does this mean? This includes establishing a list of essential safety elements for each robot, as well as preparing inspection templates in the CMMS. Tasks should be linked to lock-and-tell procedures and training records. It’s also always a good idea to implement automatic reminders. These, in turn, can be triggered by exceeding defined thresholds based on time and usage. Before full implementation, it’s worth considering a pilot project, for example, on a single machine or production line. This approach will allow you to refine entry formats and processes before rolling them out to the entire plant.

A few steps to get you started – a practical plan

Safety standards for industrial robots establish clear requirements for design, integration, and operation. There’s no doubt that these are valuable and useful devices, but it’s important to remember that implementing robotics in a facility also requires compliance with various standards. A CMMS is a tool that allows these requirements to be met in practice by scheduling inspections, recording audits, documenting preventative actions, and providing compliance reports. It’s an important supplement to risk assessment, which can significantly reduce the risk of procedural errors and shorten response times to nonconformities.

In this context, CMMS implementation should be planned in stages, with a focus on data quality and process efficiency. A well-designed maintenance system ensures that robots operate safely, and that documentation is complete and available when needed. We encourage you to contact QRmaint representatives. Our CMMS system provides comprehensive support for various types of plants, including those that extensively utilize industrial robots.