OSHA says there are currently no specific OSHA standards for the robotics industry. Robot work falls under general industry rules in 29 CFR 1910, such as machine guarding and lockout and tagout, while standards like ISO 10218 and ANSI R15.06 are consensus guidance rather than OSHA regulations.
The enforceable rules OSHA points to
OSHA's robotics page lists general industry parts that may apply to robotic work environments:
- Subpart D, walking and working surfaces
- Subpart G, occupational health and environmental control, including noise exposure
- Subpart I, personal protective equipment
- Subpart J, general environmental controls, including control of hazardous energy (lockout and tagout) at 1910.147
- Subpart O, machinery and machine guarding, 1910.211 through 1910.217
- Subpart S, electrical
State plan states may have different or stricter requirements, and OSHA states those programs must be at least as effective as the federal one.
The consensus standards OSHA lists
OSHA names these as guidance and states that they are not OSHA regulations:
- ANSI/ISO 12100, and ANSI/RIA R15.06 for industrial robot safety, which adopts ISO 10218 parts 1 and 2
- RIA technical reports TR 306, 406, 506, 606, 706 and 806
- ISO 10218-1 and 10218-2, ISO/TS 15066 for collaborative robots, and ISO/TR 20218-1 and 20218-2
- CSA Z434
- AWS D16.1 for robotic arc welding safety
- Others such as B11.0 and B11.20
OSHA's page still lists the earlier edition of the robot standards. A 2025 revision of ISO 10218 has been reported, as covered in our post on the revision, so check which edition your customers and insurers expect.
What this means in practice
Compliance for a robot cell is usually a stack:
- The enforceable general rules, such as guarding and lockout and tagout.
- A risk assessment of the cell, often built on the consensus standards.
- The robot and system standards as the design reference.
- Your own cybersecurity controls, which the consensus standards touch only where they affect safety.
An inspector will look for the first item. A customer or auditor may ask for the second and third. Nobody should assume the fourth is covered by the others.
Where security enters
Lockout and tagout assumes that an energy source stays isolated. A remote access path that can start a machine is relevant to that assumption, so involve safety staff when you design remote access, as in our vendor remote access guide.
Records worth keeping
Keep the risk assessment for each cell, the lockout and tagout procedures, training records and the version of any standard you designed to. When a configuration changes, such as a new tool or a changed fence layout, update the assessment. These documents are what an inspector or a customer auditor will ask to see first, and they also help your security team understand what a cell is supposed to do.
Quick check
Is ANSI R15.06 a law?
No. OSHA lists it among national consensus standards that are not OSHA regulations, though it informs good practice and may appear in contracts.
Sources
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
