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Volkswagen Factory Worker Killed By a Robot

Posted by timothy on from the workplace-dangers dept.

m.alessandrini writes: A worker at a Volkswagen factory in Germany has died, after a robot grabbed him and crushed him against a metal plate. This is perhaps the first severe accident of this kind in a western factory, and is sparking debate about who is responsible for the accident, the man who was servicing the robot beyond its protection cage, or the robot's hardware/software developers who didn't put enough safety checks. Will this distinction be more and more important in the future, when robots will be more widespread?

19 of 342 comments (clear)

  1. It's that time... by LaurenCates · · Score: 5, Funny

    Time to welcome our new robot overlords.

    --
    Some people don't believe in fairies. I don't believe in The Patriarchy.
    1. Re:It's that time... by halfEvilTech · · Score: 5, Interesting

      In related news - one of the first reporters to tweet about the story works for the Financial Times has a rather unfortunate name relating to deadly machines. The reporters name being Sarah O'Connor.

      https://twitter.com/sarahoconn...

    2. Re:It's that time... by Jhon · · Score: 5, Funny

      I suggest we program all robots with some type of rules that prevent this from happening. Some 'laws', if you will that prevent them from hurting people. Force them to follow their programming (unless it tells them to hurt people). Finally, prevent them from damaging themselves or their work (unless it would cause them to hurt people or not follow their programming).

      These are pretty basic 'laws'. I don't know why someone hasn't come up with this yet.

    3. Re: It's that time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      What we call industrial "robots" really are just fancy remote control/programmed toys. They got slightly more smarts than a woodchipper. They follow a programmed dance --rather stupidly. If something is between them and the next step they go THRU it with 500-1000lbs of force.

    4. Re: It's that time... by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Right. I've worked on stuff that can crush a full size car without much load increase on the hydraulic pumps. And when I worked on that stuff, I had all the low voltage fuses in my pockets and my own padlock on the lock out lever of the power panel. The machines move too fast and with enough force that they would not notice a bit of flesh getting crushed until it was too late. On top of that, every machine I ever saw (CNC, relay and limit switch, or sonar actuated) had well marked exclusion zones that you just do not enter when the unit is energized... Unless the guy got inside the cage and then closed it up to over ride basic security(cage open=power off) I just can't understand this happening.

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    5. Re: It's that time... by thegarbz · · Score: 5, Interesting

      This. I've worked with industrial palletizing robots before and I've seen some amazing failures. A simple sensor not detecting that the pallet had jammed on the rack and the robot then proceeded to pick up the next box and place it at the bottom of the next pallet cutting the entire previous stacked pallet in half.

      So imagine my surprise when I heard that someone at my work got fired when he defeated the safety locks to step inside the safety cage because every 6th movement the robot misaligned a box. We have security footage of him ducking under the robot's arm as it swung over it's head to fix the box every 6th movement.

      There's a simple place to lay blame in most of these cases, and it's typically Darwinism or suicide.

  2. Industrial accidents happen by Fencepost · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The regular safety measures weren't in place because they were installing the systems, so most likely they had people working on different things and someone started testing their piece without realizing it was already connected.

    The more significant thing from a Slashdot point of view is that Financial Times writer Sarah O'Connor tweeted about it yesterday which coincided with the release of the new Terminator movie and it blew up into a somewhat inappropriate (someone did die) Twitter storm of SkyNet jokes.

    --
    fencepost
    just a little off
    1. Re:Industrial accidents happen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Specifically, who violated the lockout tagout rules. If you're going into the cage, it has to be locked out. Sucks that testing is hard without being in there, but these rules are nothing new, and have little to do with the "robot" part.

  3. Misleading Title by MagickalMyst · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The title of this article is somewhat misleading. It says that a worker was killed by a robot - which would suggest a technological problem.

    However, the article states that:

    "...officials believe that human error was to blame for the incident, rather than a problem with the robot."

    Perhaps the title should read something like "Fatal accident caused by a human involving robot at car factory"

    Regardless of the title, it is still very sad that this happened.

    --
    Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
    1. Re:Misleading Title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      My wife was brutally murdered by a hammer.

    2. Re:Misleading Title by chispito · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A better title would be "Volkswagen Factory Worker Killed By Industrial Machinery."

      --
      The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
    3. Re: Misleading Title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I still like your file system, though...

  4. Re:5 Laws? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Back in my day, we only had 3-laws, and we liked it!

  5. perhaps the first severe accident of this kind??? by sribe · · Score: 5, Informative

    Are you kidding me? No, it is most certainly NOT the first severe accident with industrial robots. Seriously, thousands and thousands of factories using them, why in the hell would anybody think for a second that accidents had never before happened??? I guess the submitter is so sheltered that he has no clue at all about what it is like to do physical labor in a place that makes actual things!

  6. Re:This it perhaps the first severe accident. NO!` by NotDrWho · · Score: 5, Funny

    They used to make cars in Detroit?

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
  7. Exactly. by Dr.+Manhattan · · Score: 5, Informative
    If you're working on the equipment, and it shouldn't move, you put a padlock, with a nametag, on the switch and physically lock the power out. You take the key with you into the workcell, and only you are allowed to remove that lock.

    If the robot must be moving (typically, when you're teaching the robot the path it should follow), then every single person in the workcell must have an active deadman switch (anyone lets go, the robot emergency-stops). And you run the program at 10% speed so that you have time to trip the deadman or get out of the way. The workcell itself is fenced off, usually with either a tripwire or electric-eye switch that will e-stop the robot if triggered.

    I used to work for a robot company, and we enforced these rules religiously. When I went to visit plants and work on the robots, they issued me my own padlock and tags for lockout/tagout. Someone had to have skipped some safety procedures in this case.

    Indeed, in most places, a bug where the system crashes is the most severe possible bug. When dealing with robots, that's only the second most severe. The most severe were "unexpected motion" bugs, where the robot didn't follow the path in the correct way or otherwise didn't behave predictably. Those got everybody's attention.

    --
    PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
    1. Re:Exactly. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Where I work we have a large number of machines on assembly lines to pick-n-place electronic components and solder onto circuit boards, complete with PCB printers at the start of the line, and massive reflow ovens at the end.

      Not only on the machines themselves being serviced, but also on the 480 volt 3-phase breaker switch boxes, and occasionally up further on the massive siemens transformers and converters (we pretty much have a mini power distribution station in-house) - all require multi person tag-out-lock-out.

      At each point being worked on or powering what is being worked on, a scissor lock is placed on keeping power off and movable arms locked in place, which is then folded shut and provides room for up to six padlocks on it, any one of which prevents the removal of the scissor lock and each and every lock must be removed to take it back off.

      Each worker puts their own lock on the scissor lock and similarly keeps the key on their person until a physical meetup after work is completed to remove the locks.

      If even so much as one person isn't accounted for, their lock can't be removed, and power can not be reapplied.
      There is no real way for power to be reapplied on accident, or because "the left hand didn't talk to the right hand" type of situation.

      We once had a worker become light headed and dizzy on the job, and was taken to the hospital.
      I was told it was a 48 hour process to legally remove his lock without his on-site presence, even with a witness physically with him at the hospital...

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockout-tagout

  8. Re:5 Laws? by Sechr+Nibw · · Score: 5, Funny

    Back in my day, we only had in-laws, and we hated them!

  9. British bots by PeeAitchPee · · Score: 5, Funny

    In a UK factory, the bot would have yelled "EXTERMINATE!" when it grabbed the guy and crushed him.