Roofing Safety
What are the Emerging Safety Risks of Robots in Construction?
Researchers emphasize need to address human interactions as robots take on more tasks in construction.
Andy Stulc, founder and CEO of Renovate Robotics, works on the prototype of the Rufus roofing robot.
Robotics in roofing and construction is no longer just a hypothetical. While there's much discussion about the potential to reduce fatal falls and other hazards, there's little research available on just how these automated tools will interact with people on jobsites.
A new bulletin titled Safety in Construction Robotics from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) examines how robots on roofing and construction jobsites can decrease exposure to physical danger, while introducing new hazards at the same time. And NIOSH researchers caution that working alongside automated equipment can create additional hazards.
Key Takeaways:
- Hazard Reduction: Robots can handle high-risk or physically-demanding jobs that require repetition. Relying on them for material transport or heavy lifting keeps humans out of immediate danger zones.
- Emerging Risks: The integration of autonomous machinery, robotic arms, and mobile platforms creates fresh safety concerns and human-robot interaction issues
- Safety Protocols: NIOSH emphasizes the importance of monitoring leading indicators (such as emergency stop activations and near-miss reporting) and aligning with evolving technical standards to protect crews.
Manufacturers -- including in roofing and building materials production -- implemented robotics decades ago, but those machines operate in controlled environments. On a roofing jobsite, crews, conditions, and even priorities can change frequently.
NIOSH identified several potential hazards associated with construction robotics, including struck-by incidents, caught-in or caught-between injuries, unexpected equipment movement, crushing hazards and dropped loads. Advanced robotic systems also introduce technology-related concerns, such as communication failures, sensor malfunctions, software changes and limitations in obstacle detection.
In the bulletin, researchers emphasized the importance of monitoring leading indicators that could identify emerging problems before injuries occur. These include near misses involving robots, emergency stop activations, unexpected equipment disengagements, sensor faults and unauthorized entry into robotic operating areas.
The agency is also studying how robotics could improve hazard recognition. One research effort uses drones and computer-vision technology to identify workers, construction equipment and physical openings that could create fall or struck-by hazards.
In a recent episode of the Best of Success Podcast, RC Legal Insights Expert Trent Cotney said the connection between construction's persistent labor shortage and the rise of automation will be hard for employers to ignore.
He said that he expects AI-powered robots to begin handling repetitive jobsite tasks sooner than many contractors anticipate. In the short term, roofing contractors will need policies addressing safety, liability, cybersecurity, privacy and the verification of AI-generated information as robotic systems advance.
“Yes, these are cutting-edge technologies, yes, they make life a lot more efficient,” Cotney said. “But you can't get sloppy.”
The agency also encouraged further collaboration between roofing suppliers, manufacturers, and contractors to support further research for the safe integration of robotics into daily construction operations.
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