The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) has released ANSI/A3 R15.08-3-2026, American National Standard for Industrial Mobile Robots, Safety Requirements, Part 3: Use of IMR Applications. The document is available for purchase and completes the three-part R15.08 series covering industrial mobile robot (IMR) safety.
Key takeaways
- Part 3 targets the user, not the builder: it defines responsibilities for those operating IMR applications in the workplace.
- It sets requirements and guidance for holding risk at an acceptable level across day-to-day operations and the machinery lifecycle.
- Covered activities include risk assessment, management of change, employee training, and periodic reviews and inspections.
- Part 3 was developed alongside Part 3 of the ANSI/A3 R15.06 industrial robot safety standard, giving users consistent guidance whether they run fixed industrial robots or mobile ones.
- The full series spans Part 1 (safety requirements for industrial mobile robots), Part 2 (IMR systems and applications) and Part 3 (continued use in daily operations).
For manufacturing and warehouse automation teams, the practical effect is a lifecycle framework that extends beyond commissioning. Deployments that add routes, payloads, traffic zones or mixed robot fleets now have a documented basis for change control, retraining and recurring inspection. The standard is sold as a PDF download through A3's online store, and a bundle of Parts 1, 2 and 3 is also offered.
Source: Robotics & Automation News · Published 2026-10-02T17:59:01 · “Industry body A3 releases final part of safety standard for industrial mobile robots”