Safety aspects of autonomous guided vehicles in automated warehouses

Addresses the practical aspects of safety in the use of autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) and automated storage and retrieval machines (AS/RS) within automated warehouses. The present basic philosophy in relation to the hazards and risks which exist at such installations is predominantly based on the doctrine of hazard analysis, risk assessment, and the reduction of those hazards and risks by, among other means, selection of the appropriate safety measures. A review is undertaken of the methods of safeguard employed in automated warehouse installations, with particular reference to those safeguards employed at AGVs, and at AS/RS, and at the interface between the two. References are made to BS 5304: 1988, Safety of Machinery, and to other relevant Standards, and case studies of AGVs and AS/RS in automated warehouses are used to illustrate the various applications