Tesla worker injured [in 2021] by robot that 'pinned' him to wall with its claws at car company's Texas factory

Technology@beehaw.org – 136 points – 11 months ago

Tesla worker injured by robot that 'pinned' him to wall with its claws at car company's Texas factory

news.sky.com

given the scrutiny around Tesla, it's interesting this story doesn't seem to have come out sooner since this is a fairly novel workplace accident

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I'm an engineer who works in an industrial environment, and I regularly have to repair or reprogram hazardous equipment. Here are a few takeaways I got from the descriptions of the Tesla incident:

Lockout/tagout was not being respected. If you don't have a lock, yank the fuse and stick it in your pocket. But whatever you do, when working on a machine, you must maintain exclusive control so nobody activates it while you're inside the approach boundary.
Why was the engineer in the approach boundary for a "software update?" I feel like I'm missing some important context there.
Where were the hazard indicators? A hazardous device needs sound or light indicators, so nobody forgets they left it plugged in.
Where was the machine guarding? If it can kill you, entering the hazardous area should shut the machine off with or without LOTO. I'm partial to interlocked gates, but cordons and light curtains are popular for a reason.
If the machine guarding was disabled, where were the observers? The last time I activated a machine with the light curtains overriden, I had three other engineers on standby, one at the E-Stop, one with a rescue hook, and one just to watch.

In addition, while some companies try to blame workwrs for recordable incidents, safety is always ultimately management's responsibility. Safety controls or procedures missing? That's management's fault. Workers disabling safety controls out of malice or hubris? Managment is at fault for hiring them. Workers so overworked and tired they don't notice mistakes while operating lethal equipment? Management. Workers having to choose between having a job and doing it safely? Management. Lack of safety culture? Management.

With power comes responsibility, and in modern corporations, management has all the power.

I worked IT for a machine shop a while back and one of the giant machines had a sign posted next to it :

"This machine has no brains, so use yours"