As an automated workforce isn’t as far away as you may think, it’s a smart idea to start considering some of the top health and safety concerns that may arise, in the near future. Especially as robots are already being used in different parts of the world. For example, there are robot chefs in operation in both Japan and the United States who are capable of working as fast order chefs. Who are capable of creating simple dishes such as fried rice, more efficiently than their human counterparts. So if you want to learn some of the risks that will come with the implementation of AI robots around the world, simply continue reading.
Top health and safety concerns you may have should the human workforce slowly transition to robotics:
Robots may not be able to pick up safety hazards as well as human workers:
While robots may be programmed to complete specific tasks with ease, they won’t have the same ability to pick up on potential safety hazards, like human workers can. For instance, a robot bartender may accidentally break a glass. However, while even human bartenders break the odd glass as a part of their job, a human bartender will quickly sweep up any glass which is on the floor and could hurt bar staff or patrons. While a robot may not notice the glass and may continue with their tasks, without ensuring that the glass is swept up. Which could result in an unaware individual hurting themselves.
Businesses and human managers may be sued when problems arise:
For example, if a robot that works on a farm causes a fire due to being in close proximity to flammable products, the farm in question could be sued for any damages which may occur. As the farm may be legally sued for failing to inspect and maintain their robots. As another example, if a member of the public is damaged by a robot cleaner, the company which operates the robot cleaner may be liable for damages and may be subjected to a potential lawsuit.
Staff members will need to be trained to routinely check a business’ robots:
In order to decrease the chances of a robot malfunctioning and potentially causing harm to individuals, staff members at specific businesses will need to be trained to routinely check all of the robots which are being used. In order to decrease the risk of accidents occurring. However, some workers may be hesitant to run safety checks on the robots at their workplace as they may not want to be liable for any accidents which may occur, due to oversights in their routine safety checks.
Advantages of using robots instead of human staff:
There is one advantage to using robots instead of human staff, as many robots will be able to prevent potential accidents from occurring in the first place.
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