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El Reg reports
The family of a repair technician killed in an auto parts factory accident is suing five robotics companies they say are responsible.
In a suit [PDF] filed to the Western Michigan US District Court this week, the family of Wanda Holbrook claims that the companies that built, installed, and maintained the robotics at a trailer hitch assembly plant should be held liable for her fatal accident at the plant in 2015.
According to the lawsuit, Holbrook, a journeyman technician, was performing routine maintenance on one of the robots on the trailer hitch assembly line when the unit unexpectedly activated and attempted to load a part into the unit being repaired, crushing Holbrook's head.
Now Holbrook's estate is suing the three companies that built the robots (Fanuc America, Nachi Robotic, and Lincoln Electric) for failing to design adequate safeguards and protections into the robots. They're also suing two other companies that installed and maintained the unit (Flex-N-Gate, Prodomax) for failing to prevent an accident they say would have been avoided had safety been a higher priority.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday March 14 2017, @06:11PM (1 child)
Sometimes, you HAVE to power something up, to make adjustments
In my experience, they don't like to follow the Arc-Flash policy for those situations, either.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday March 14 2017, @06:39PM
For interested readers - http://msamc.org/arcflash/Arc_Flash_Overview_print.html [msamc.org]
We don't even have an arc-flash policy. As a rule, we throw the doors open, and everyone in maintenance crowds around, looking over each other's shoulders. In the event of a flash, the entire maintenance department will be put out of commission.
For me, the hardest part of electrical safety, is to remember "keep one hand in your pocket". That is, don't provide the electricty with an easy path across your chest, and through your heart.
Ehhh - I'm not an electrician. If I fry my dumb ass, maybe the wife can file a huge suit against the company. "You had my husband doing electrical work? HE'S NOT AN ELECTRICIAN!!" Alas, it will never work here. Arkansas is not a very liberal state.