Safer, Clearer, and More Explicit: The ISO 10218 Standards Get a Major Upgrade

Ms. Roberta Nelson Shea, Global Technical Compliance Officer at Teradyne Robotics, along with a team of international experts, has established new safety requirements for robotic equipment, robot applications, and robot cells. They discussed the updated ISO 10218 standards with Ms. Nelson Shea, exploring what these crucial ISO 10218 standards mean for robot manufacturers, integrators, and end-users.

Ms. Nelson Shea’s Role in This Important ISO 10218 Update

Ms. Nelson Shea’s official role is “Convener” (Chair). Simply put, she leads the group, helping everyone build consensus to move forward and achieve their goals for the ISO 10218 standards.

Her group comprises around 160 leading experts. Most come from the industry, including robot manufacturers, integrators, accessory suppliers, and end-users. They also have representatives from testing laboratories and academia. The group includes professionals from across Europe, North America, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Korea, China, India, Australia, and, via correspondence, Russia. This truly global team is something they are very proud of. Ms. Nelson Shea notes that she isn’t aware of any other machinery or equipment safety standard that has achieved such global acceptance and adoption as the ISO 10218 standards.

The team understands that perfection is an ongoing journey. Their mantra is to continuously strive for improvement. This mindset allowed them to stay on track and make significant progress on the ISO 10218 standards.

What are the ISO 10218 Standards and Who Do They Apply To?

It’s important to remember that the ISO 10218 standards may be adopted in different jurisdictions under various names and timelines. For instance, in the European Union, harmonizing the EN ISO 10218:2011 standards took over a year. The 2025 ISO 10218 standards have been submitted for inclusion in the EU Official Journal for the EU Machinery Directive. Meanwhile, work is underway to adopt and release the new ISO 10218 revision in the United States and Canada (as ANSI R15.06 and CSA Z434, respectively) later in 2025.

Part 1 and Part 2 of the ISO 10218 standards are the foundational safety documents in the world of industrial robotics.

• Part 1 of the ISO 10218 standards covers the safety requirements associated with the robot itself, which is vital for robot manufacturers.
• Part 2 of the ISO 10218 standards covers the requirements associated with a robot application and a robot cell. These might sound similar, but as always with safety standards, the devil is in the details of the definitions. A “robot application” includes the robot’s end effector, its defined intended use, programming software, and the workpiece(s). A “robot cell” is when a robot application is safeguarded to ensure human safety.

Once a manufacturer or integrator has applied Part 2 of the ISO 10218 standards, they will have a safe “robot cell.” This doesn’t necessarily mean it has fences, guards, or cages. It means it’s safeguarded to protect people from risks. They can use a fence or guard, but many other methods exist, such as light curtains and safety scanners. Alternatively, they can use the robot’s safety functions to create a collaborative robot cell.

What are the Most Important Improvements in the 2025 ISO 10218 Update?

The biggest takeaway for everyone is that requirements previously “implied” (for careful readers) in the 2011 version of the ISO 10218 standards are now explicitly stated.

For example, there’s now a requirement addressing “lifting capability.” When an industrial robot lifts and moves apart through space, various forces, accelerations, and torques are applied to the robot arm. Until now, there was no explicit requirement for a “safety factor for lifting” or a “safety factor for dynamic movement.” Was this an issue for robot manufacturers? Ms. Nelson Shea is unaware of it ever being a problem, as otherwise, the robot wouldn’t function. However, this is now clearly outlined in the 2025 version of the ISO 10218 standards.

The advantage of this increased clarity in the ISO 10218 standards is that it levels the playing field. If everyone claims to meet the standard, there’s at least a very basic comparison from a safety standpoint.

Most major improvements are in Part 2 of the ISO 10218 standards. For instance, they emphasized the robot application and the robot cell, whereas the 2011 version vaguely covered robot systems with end effectors, implying coverage of parts, intended use, and safeguarding. These elements are now covered more explicitly in the updated ISO 10218 standards.

The ISO/TS 15066 standard for collaborative robot applications has been incorporated into the upgraded ISO 10218 standards, and ISO/TS 15066 will eventually become its standalone standard.

Additionally, there are added requirements for cybersecurity within ISO 10218.

Part 1 of the ISO 10218 standards also saw significant changes. For example, there are many more requirements and greater clarity surrounding safety functions. While the 2011 document required only a few safety functions, the 2025 version of the ISO 10218 demands over twenty.

What Do These ISO 10218 Standards Mean for Manufacturers and Integrators?

All robot manufacturers have some work ahead. For some, it’s less than others, but every robot manufacturer will be making improvements to comply with the ISO 10218 standards. Leading robot brands, including Universal Robots, have strived for excellence in functional safety and overall safety. All of them have already provided some of the newly required safety functions. Did they all think they were doing a good job? Yes. Are there now gaps for every robot manufacturer to meet the new ISO 10218? Yes. The “old” ISO 10218 will be withdrawn in the spring of 2027. Before then, manufacturers will need to be in full compliance with the new 2025 document.

There are also some head-scratchers. For example, one of the new requirements relates to external axes. Every manufacturer offers external axes, and all reputable manufacturers provide a safety function for speed limiting.

However, in the new Part 1 of the ISO 10218 standards, manufacturers are required to externalize some of the safety functions for an external or auxiliary axis. For instance, they might need to explain how to use the robot’s safety functions to limit an external axis and how the robot’s speed limit applies to motion with the external axis when the entire base is moving. They’ll need to instruct integrators on how to achieve this, which isn’t easy. Can it be done? Yes. Manufacturers will have to update their user manuals to reflect these changes in the ISO 10218. Ms. Nelson Shea is still pondering that one, but they will do it, and so will all manufacturers.

Part 2 of the ISO 10218 standards establishes new requirements for integration. Similar to Part 1, Part 2 is more concise and mandates many more safety functions than the previous edition. But Part 2 also includes a number of informative annexes with plenty of illustrations. Functional safety is also significantly expanded in the new edition of the ISO 10218 standards.

What Do These ISO 10218 Standards Mean for End-Users?

For end-users, it means an even safer working environment in and around robot applications and cells, thanks to the updated ISO 10218.

End-users should review the section titled “Information for Use” in Part 2 of the ISO 10218 standards. That section describes everything end-users are supposed to receive from their integrator or whoever provided the assembly.

This should include an instruction handbook explaining the entire robot cell, its intended use, and its range of motion limits. The handbook should describe what’s needed for installation, how to set up the robots and the robot cell for first use, and recommended training.

Remember, this handbook (i.e., User Manual) must come with the cell. Many end-users will buy equipment and assemble it themselves, and they might not think Part 2 of the ISO 10218 standards applies to them, but it does. Part 2’s requirements pertain to the integration – not a specific entity.

A Final Message on Robot Safety and the ISO 10218 Standards

Ms. Nelson Shea strongly advises people to check out Universal Robots’ free risk assessment training. It is excellent and guides them through the risk assessment process. They don’t even need to use Universal Robots’ products to benefit from this training on understanding safety, including aspects of ISO 10218.

Integrators should explore Part 2 of the ISO 10218  in depth. Don’t rush through it. Read it, absorb it, set it aside, then pick it up again. It contains around 100 additional pages, mostly pictures and informative annexes. Read them and start asking questions.

Ms. Nelson Shea also advises safety professionals and control engineers to consider attending the International Robot Safety Conference in early November 2025 in Houston. There will be expert speakers, case studies will be presented, and they will introduce the new ISO 10218 standards to the world.