Robot-related injuries in the workplace: An analysis of OSHA Severe Injury Reports

Abstract

Industrial robots are increasingly commonplace, but research on prototypical accidents and injuries has been sparse, hindering evidence-based safety strategies. Using Severe Injury Reports (SIRs) from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), we identified 77 robot-related accidents from 2015-2022. Of these, 54 involved stationary robots, resulting in 66 injuries, mainly finger amputations and fractures to the head and torso. Mobile robots caused 23 accidents, leading to 27 injuries, mainly fractures to the legs and feet. A two-stage deductive–inductive thematic analysis was performed using text data from the final narratives in the reports to discover patterns in tasks, precipitating mechanisms, and contributing factors. Findings highlight the need for guards and collision avoidance systems that detect individual extremities. Post-contact strategies should focus on mitigating finger amputations. More structured and detailed narratives in the SIRs are needed.