Section 12 of 55
11. Risk and Consequence Classification
Stable section ID: S05-CON-011-SECTION-12 · 27 content blocks
Every robotic task shall be classified according to its hazards, potential consequences, reversibility, observability, environmental conditions, and required authority.
Risk assessment shall consider:
- Human presence.
- Occupancy.
- Payload.
- Stored energy.
- Robot speed and force.
- Structural significance.
- Utility hazards.
- Tool hazards.
- Fire and life-safety implications.
- Environmental conditions.
- Failure detectability.
- Ability to stop safely.
- Ability to reverse the action.
- Dependence on perception or localization.
- Uncertainty in the physical state.
- Possibility of cascading failure.
A reference consequence classification may include:
- R0 — Simulation or Informational Activity: No direct physical action.
- R1 — Low-Consequence Reversible Activity: Easily stopped, observed, and reversed.
- R2 — Controlled Handling or Service Activity: Physical interaction with limited local consequences.
R3 — Significant Assembly or Utility Activity: Potential structural, equipment, or service consequences requiring formal controls.
R4 — High-Consequence or Life-Safety-Relevant Activity: Failure could cause serious injury, major structural damage, fire, flooding, or loss of essential service.
R5 — Catastrophic or System-Level Activity: Failure could produce multiple fatalities, progressive collapse, uncontrolled hazardous release, or widespread infrastructure consequences.
Higher-consequence tasks shall require stronger evidence, more independent protection, stricter authority, greater supervision, more extensive testing, and more conservative failure behavior.
A task shall be reclassified when conditions change. A normally low-risk task may become high-risk in an occupied building, near energized utilities, during unstable construction, or under uncertain localization.