Safeguarding Human-Robot Collaboration in Gas Metal Arc Welding: A Risk Assessment Approach for Welding Automation

Weldingis a common technique in industrial applications and involves several processes, including fusion welding and solid-state welding. Among the fusion welding processes, the most applied process is gas metal arc welding (GMAW), which means a fast and economical process that can be automated; the GMAW process is not ergonomically perfect, and the manual physical process is hard physical labour. Due to technological developments, the urge toward robotization and automation, and the fact that the number of qualified welders is decreasing, automation of this process is of great importance. Robotic welding is a good, more economical and efficient alternative to human welders, but a risk assessment is necessary to establish a safe and secure workplace. The key elements of a risk assessment are the welding process, the robot's movements, and the informatics background. In addition to physical risk assessment and a safe work environment, the vulnerability of the welding robot's online connectivity and data transmission must also be considered from a cybersecurity perspective. This paper collects the risks of the GMAW process and robotic applications to define and answer the safety and security issues of collaborative robotic welding.