As Industry 4.0 continues to evolve, human-robot collaboration, HRC, has become more common in industries. This study aimed to explore perceived safety in HRC within manufacturing, with a focus on the assembly processes at Volvo. The goal was to promote perceived safety among operators by applying the Human-Technology-Organization, HTO, perspective, including Safety-I, -II, and -III. A framework was developed to illustrate the aim in relation to the theory and the approach taken in the study. The Volvo case RITA, a collaborative robot designed to assist with kitting, was used as a use case in the study. Numerous interviews were conducted with organizational representatives and assembly line operators with a complementary questionnaire. Since RITA was not operational, a video of the case was utilized extensively throughout the study. Operator interviews were centered on gathering their insights on perceived safety, drawing from the above safety perspectives. The formulated recommendations emphasized the importance of comprehensive operator training and early involvement in new development processes. Various traffic rules were devised for different collaboration scenarios, and the significance of clear workspaces was underscored to maintain system efficiency. These recommendations were later validated by an organizational representative from Volvo. Lastly, the study emphasizes that while technical solutions for safety are necessary, they are not sufficient without a strong safety culture that encourages openness and collaboration. By considering technical, organizational, and human aspects of safety, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics in HRC and lays the foundation for safe and efficient manufacturing processes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-529805 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Eklund, Jonas, Hallengren, Ida |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Avdelningen Vi3 |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | UPTEC STS, 1650-8319 ; 24011 |
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