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What Changed in ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025 and ISO 10218:2025 for Robot Safety

ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025 is a revision of the 2012 US industrial robot safety standard: it adopts the 2025 editions of ISO 10218 Parts 1 and 2, and it is published with a US-developed Part 3, ANSI/A3 R15.06-3-2025, for the users of robot cells. UTEC Industrial designs, engineers, machines, fabricates, and installs custom material handling systems for aerospace and heavy industry from its Spokane Valley, WA facility, integrating Allen-Bradley PLC and motion control with in-house CNC machining, heat treating, and stress relief. This article sets out what A3, the standard's US publisher, says changed, what the iso.org pages state about each part's scope, and which points a buyer still has to read in the standard itself. A heavy robot cell is built along one chain, design → engineering → parts machining → fabrication → assembly → weld fatigue → stress relief → drives → controls → tuning → monitoring, and the 2025 parts reach into most of its links.

What is ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025, and how does it relate to ISO 10218:2025?​

A3's store page gives the publication facts. Parts 1 and 2 of ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025 were approved August 21, 2025, and "are a revision of ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012"; combined under one cover, they are also a national adoption of ISO 10218-1:2025 (Ed. 3) and ISO 10218-2:2025 (Ed. 2). Part 3, ANSI/A3 R15.06-3-2025, Use of Industrial Robot Cells, was approved October 7, 2025, and "was developed in the United States with input from corresponding standards development experts in Canada". The store page says all three parts were published together on October 29, 2025, in 403 pages.

The iso.org pages give the international side:

  • ISO 10218-1:2025, Industrial robots: Edition 3, publication date 2025-02, 95 pages; it replaces ISO 10218-1:2011, which iso.org lists as withdrawn.
  • ISO 10218-2:2025, Industrial robot applications and robot cells: Edition 2, publication date 2025-02, 223 pages; it replaces ISO 10218-2:2011, also listed as withdrawn.

A3's own articles date the ISO publication differently (January and March 2025); the iso.org date, 2025-02, is the one used here. A3's FAQ describes the split this way: "In essence, ISO 10218-1 provides requirements for manufacturers of industrial robots. ISO 10218-2 provides requirements for integrators of industrial robot applications and robot cells" (ANSI/A3 R15.06-3-2025, A3 store page; ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025; ISO 10218-1:2025; ISO 10218-2:2025; A3 Online Marketing Team 2025, FAQ 1).

Which part applies to the robot maker, the integrator and the plant that uses the cell?​

A3's summary of its 2026 standards-update webinar sets out the hierarchy the parts use: "an industrial robot consists of the robot arm and controller. A robot system adds the end effector, while the broader robot application includes the robot system, workpiece and ancillary equipment." It adds that Part 1 addresses the machinery itself and Part 2 addresses robot applications and cells.

Part 3 is new. A3's Industry Insights article describes it as "a wholly original product of the national group" aimed at the user, not an ISO adoption. The R15.06 subcommittee chair, Todd Dickey, is quoted there on the two technical reports it replaces, TR R15.506-2014 on changes to existing robot cells and TR R15.706-2019 on user responsibilities: "The vital information from those technical reports have [sic] been incorporated into the newly developed R15.06-3 standard which elevates the information from guidance to requirements." A3's 2026 summary says Part 3 addresses user requirements "such as interactions with integrators, management of change, training and risk-assessment considerations."

As engineering reasoning, a plant that buys a heavy robot cell from an integrator is the user in this scheme, and from 2025 the user has its own US standard rather than only guidance. Part 3 sets those user duties as requirements in its own clauses, and their wording is read from the standard itself (ANSI/A3 R15.06-3-2025; A3 Online Marketing Team 2026, "Safety Goes Beyond the Robot Arm"; Heater 2025, A3 Industry Insights, "New for 2025").

What does A3 say changed in Part 1 for robot manufacturers?​

A3's sources describe four changes to ISO 10218-1:2025, adopted as Part 1 of R15.06-2025:

  • Robot classes. A3's 2026 summary says the revised Part 1 "introduces a classification system for industrial robots based on factors including total mass per manipulator, maximum force, and maximum speed." The webinar presentation identifies Class 1 robots as having lower force and speed characteristics, while Class 2 "encompasses the majority of industrial robots and is subject to additional requirements." The class thresholds and the added Class 2 requirements are set in Part 1's classification clause.
  • Safety functions. A3's Industry Insights article says "The number of safety functions covered has dramatically increased, from low single digits to three-dozen." Part 1 lists those functions with a performance requirement for each.
  • Cybersecurity. The same article says "Part 1 introduces cybersecurity requirements pertaining to robot safety."
  • Modes and functional safety. A3's FAQ says the changes "include updated requirements for the design of the robot. There are revised mode requirements and the requirements for functional safety are clarified."

The page count rose, per A3, from 50 to 95; iso.org lists the 2025 edition at 95 pages. The iso.org scope adds a condition that matters to any buyer replacing equipment: the document "is not applicable to robots that are manufactured before the date of its publication." As engineering reasoning, a heavy-payload robot bought new for a steel, aluminum or aerospace cell is now specified by its class and by the safety functions its maker lists, and both belong on the purchase specification (A3 Online Marketing Team 2026, "The 2025 ISO 10218 Revisions Are Significant"; Heater 2025, A3 Industry Insights, "Further Changes"; A3 Online Marketing Team 2025, FAQ 4; ISO 10218-1:2025).

What does A3 say changed in Part 2 for integrators?​

A3's FAQ lists the main changes to ISO 10218-2:2025 as emphasizing "robot application" and not "robot system", "as the robot application includes the workpieces, task program, and the machinery and equipment to support the application and intended tasks." It adds that safety requirements for collaborative applications "(formerly, the content of ISO/TS 15066) have also been incorporated", that requirements for functional safety have been clarified, and that "cybersecurity requirements pertaining to industrial robot safety have been added."

A3's other summaries add detail:

  • Length and topics. A3's 2026 summary says Part 2 "has grown to approximately three times the length of its previous version." New or updated topics include risk assessment for contacts between moving parts and operators, cybersecurity, local and remote control, single-point-of-control considerations, normal stops, safety-function performance requirements, and safety-function information. A3's Industry Insights gives the page counts as 72 to 223.
  • Safety functions. Listed safety functions "have increased here from single digits to more than three-dozen", per the same article.
  • End-effectors. A3's release lists, among the enhancements in ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025 as a whole, "New content on end-effectors and manual load/unload procedures, derived from ISO/TR 20218-1 and ISO/TR 20218-2"; the release does not say which part carries it.
  • Risk assessment. A3's 2026 summary says "The standards require an assessment when a robot system is integrated into a particular application."

The A3 counts ("three-dozen", "approximately three times") are A3's descriptions, not clause counts; the end-effector and manual load/unload requirements and the risk-assessment clause are read from Part 2 itself (A3 Online Marketing Team 2025, FAQ 5; A3 Online Marketing Team 2026, "The 2025 ISO 10218 Revisions Are Significant"; Heater 2025, A3 Industry Insights; ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025; ISO 10218-2:2025).

Which terms changed, and why does the wording matter in a specification?​

A3 names three term changes:

  • "Collaborative application" replaces "collaborative robot". A3's FAQ says the terms "collaborative robot" and "collaborative operation" "will not be found in the revised ISO 10218. 'Collaborative application' is used instead, as only the actual use of the robot can be designed, tested, and confirmed as a collaborative application." Dickey is quoted in A3's Industry Insights: "In actuality there is no such thing as a 'cobot,' rather there are robots that utilize collaborative technologies."
  • "Safeguarded space" can change. In ISO 10218-2:2025, A3's FAQ says, the term "still means an area where workers are protected, but now these spaces can change as needed." A3's Industry Insights says the term now includes sensors such as speed and separation monitoring and area scanners.
  • "Monitored standstill" replaces "safety-rated monitored stop". A3's release lists the replacement "for broader technical accuracy", and the FAQ says "Monitored standstill" "is used for more than collaborative applications."

OSHA's Technical Manual chapter on industrial robots still describes the older term from ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012, where the safety-rated monitored stop is referred to as a fourth type of collaborative technology, and says the stop "is also called a monitored standstill." As engineering reasoning, a request for quotation that asks for "a cobot" describes the robot and leaves the application undefined, while the 2025 wording puts the safety case on the application, including the gripper and the part. The exact 2025 definitions are read from the terms clauses of Parts 1 and 2 (A3 Online Marketing Team 2025, FAQ 6; Heater 2025, A3 Industry Insights, "Word Matters"; ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025; OSHA Technical Manual, Sec. IV Ch. 4, 2026).

Was ISO/TS 15066 withdrawn when the 2025 parts were published?​

No. The iso.org page for ISO/TS 15066:2016 says the publication "was last reviewed and confirmed in 2022. Therefore this version remains current." It also shows the document at stage 90.92, "To be revised", and says it "Will be replaced by" ISO/AWI 15066-1, Robotics — Physical contact with robots — Part 1: Biomechanical thresholds and data. That project page shows an approved work item under development, at stage 20.00, with the note "A working group has prepared a draft."

The wording on A3's side varies:

  • A3's release says the 2025 standard has "Integrated guidance for collaborative robot applications, consolidating ISO/TS 15066."
  • A3's FAQ says that "Where appropriate, ISO/TS 15066:2016 on the safety of collaborative robot applications was added to the ISO 10218 series."
  • The iso.org FAQ for ISO 10218-2:2025 says the standard "complements standards such as ISO/TS 15066."

In the United States, A3's store page describes RIA TR R15.606-2016 as "a U.S. National Adoption of ISO/TS 15066." A3's documents page still lists TR 606 among the "currently active Technical Reports" in a bundle built around ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012; no page read for this article says how TR R15.606 stands against R15.06-2025. How much of the 2016 specification Part 2 carries is a question for the standard's own collaborative-application clauses (ISO/TS 15066:2016; ISO/AWI 15066-1; ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025; A3 Online Marketing Team 2025, FAQ 4; ISO 10218-2:2025; RIA TR R15.606-2016; A3 Robot Safety Standard Documents, 2026).

What do the 2025 scopes leave out that matters for heavy and hot handling?​

The iso.org scope text for ISO 10218-2:2025 says the document is not applicable to "lifting or transporting people" or to "multi-purpose lifting devices or machinery, e.g. cranes, forklift trucks", among other uses. It also lists hazards the document does not cover, including:

  • Processing: "processing of any material (e.g. food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, metal)"
  • Dangerous loads: "handling loads the nature of which could lead to dangerous situations (e.g. molten metals, acids/bases, radiating materials)"
  • Environment: "severe conditions (e.g. extreme climates, freezer use, strong magnetic fields) outside of manufacturer's specifications" and "use in potentially explosive environments"
  • Mobility: mobility when robots or manipulators are integrated with driverless industrial trucks or with mobile platforms

ISO 10218-1:2025 lists the matching exclusions for the robot, including handling loads "the nature of which can lead to dangerous situations (e.g. molten metals, acids/bases, radiating materials)", and says noise is excluded from its scope.

The next two sentences are engineering reasoning. For a robot that pours molten aluminum or tends a forge, the molten-metal hazard is among the hazards both parts say they do not cover, and the cell's risk assessment has to address it from other sources. A crane or forklift serving the cell is outside ISO 10218-2:2025, and the mobility hazards of a robot mounted on a driverless industrial truck are not covered by it either, so those hazards need their own sources as well (ISO 10218-2:2025; ISO 10218-1:2025).

Does OSHA require compliance with ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025?​

OSHA states that "There are currently no specific OSHA standards for the robotics industry." Its robotics standards page lists general industry standards related to robotics, including 1910.147 (lockout/tagout) and 1910.212 (general requirements for all machines), and says national consensus standards "are NOT OSHA regulations" although "they do provide guidance from their originating organizations related to worker protection." That page still names the 2012 edition of R15.06.

A3 frames it this way in its 2026 summary: "Although standards are generally voluntary in the U.S. unless referenced by regulation or another requirement, staying current with them helps organizations work from accepted industry practices." A3's FAQ adds A3's view that standards like ISO 10218 offer guidance "helping employers adhere to OSHA's laws."

OSHA's own letter of interpretation on robotic laundry shuttles, dated July 7, 2005, shows how the general machine guarding rule reaches a robotic machine: "If an employee may be exposed to machine hazards during the machine's normal operation, the hazardous areas of the machine must be guarded." Where an employee may enter the working envelope and be exposed, the letter says the hazards "must be addressed by: fixed barriers that are not easily defeated, barrier guards with interlocks that immediately stop machine motion, or presence-sensing devices that immediately stop machine motion", and it applies 1910.147 to servicing and maintenance, where "all sources of hazardous energy must be isolated" (OSHA Robotics, 2026; OSHA Robotics: Standards, 2026; A3 Online Marketing Team 2026, "Why Robot Safety Standards Matter"; OSHA Standard Interpretation, July 7, 2005; OSHA 29 CFR 1910.212-1974, paragraph a.1).

What controls and sensing questions do the 2025 changes raise for a heavy robot cell?​

Three of A3's listed changes land in the controls cabinet.

  • Safety functions with stated performance. A3's 2026 summary lists "safety-function performance requirements, and safety-function information" among Part 2's new or updated topics. ISO 13849-1:2023 specifies a methodology and provides related requirements, recommendations and guidance for the design and integration of safety-related parts of control systems (SRP/CS) that perform safety functions; it applies to SRP/CS for high demand and continuous modes of operation, does not apply to low demand mode of operation, and "does not specify the safety functions or required performance levels (PLr) that are to be used in particular applications."
  • Cybersecurity. A3 says both parts add cybersecurity requirements pertaining to industrial robot safety. The ISO 13849-1:2023 abstract states that it "does not provide specific measures for security aspects (e.g. physical, IT-security, cyber security)."
  • Monitored standstill and dynamic safeguarded spaces. As engineering reasoning, a space that changes as needed is a safety function of the controls, which means the scanner fields, the zone switching and the stop that follows are each designed, rated and tested.

For safety-rated zone and speed limits on a FANUC controller, the article on what FANUC DCS can and can't replace covers the ratings and stopping distances. The sensing layer of a heavy cell, as engineering practice, is the safety-rated set of light curtains, area scanners, interlocked gates and mats wired as safety inputs, plus encoders and limit switches on conveyors, transfer cars and positioners the robot controller does not drive. UTEC Industrial, a Rockwell Automation Recognized System Integrator, builds the Allen-Bradley ControlLogix and CompactLogix controls and EtherNet/IP networks that tie those devices to the robot (A3 Online Marketing Team 2026; Heater 2025, A3 Industry Insights; ISO 13849-1:2023).

Where do the 2025 standards sit in the build chain of a heavy robot cell?​

The parts touch most links of the chain:

  • Design. A3 says the standards require an assessment when a robot system is integrated into an application, and that the robot application includes the workpiece and ancillary equipment. The task list and the restricted space are set here.
  • Engineering. A3's release lists new content on end-effectors and manual load/unload procedures. As engineering reasoning, a heavy gripper is designed with its failure behavior (loss of air, vacuum or power) in view from the first layout.
  • Parts machining, fabrication and stress relief. As engineering reasoning, a gripper or fixture weldment that distorts after machining changes the outline the safety zones and the contact assessment were drawn around. The article on stress relief for machine frames and bases covers why welded frames are stress-relieved before final machining.
  • Drives and controls. The safety functions and their performance requirements sit here, together with the stop behavior of every axis in the cell.
  • Tuning and monitoring. OSHA's chapter says risk assessments should periodically be reviewed and validated per ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012 once the required risk-reduction measures are implemented, and that "It is not enough to simply trust the integrator or to perform a simple visual inspection alone."

UTEC Industrial integrates FANUC robotic cells, including vision, with a FANUC design and engineering partner (A3 Online Marketing Team 2026; ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025; OSHA Technical Manual, Sec. IV Ch. 4, 2026).

What should a buyer's specification say about R15.06-2025?​

The list below is engineering practice drawn from the sources above, not a requirement of any one of them:

  1. Editions. Name ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025 Parts 1 and 2 and ANSI/A3 R15.06-3-2025, or ISO 10218-1:2025 and ISO 10218-2:2025, rather than "the current robot standard". OSHA's chapter, written against the 2012 edition, says the employer's requirement "is typically accomplished by including the ANSI/RIA R15.06-2012 and RIA TR R15.606-2016, Collaborative Robot Safety, compliance requirements in the Statement of Work (SOW) for a robotic integration contract."
  2. Robot class and safety functions. Ask the robot maker for the class under Part 1 and the list of safety functions with their stated performance.
  3. Collaborative scope. State whether any task is a collaborative application and which technology it uses; the R15.06 subcommittee chair, quoted by A3, names hand-guiding controls, speed and separation monitoring, and power and force limiting as the recognized collaborative technologies.
  4. Risk assessment. OSHA's chapter says it is the integrator's responsibility to ensure a risk assessment is completed and documented prior to commissioning, and to provide its results to the employer.
  5. User duties. Plan the Part 3 duties A3 lists, including management of change and training, before handover.
  6. Out-of-scope hazards. Identify molten metal, explosive atmospheres or other excluded hazards and say how they will be addressed.

UTEC Industrial performs factory acceptance testing (FAT) and on-site commissioning on the systems it builds (OSHA Technical Manual, Sec. IV Ch. 4, 2026; Heater 2025, A3 Industry Insights; A3 Online Marketing Team 2026; ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025; ANSI/A3 R15.06-3-2025; ISO 10218-2:2025).

Related Articles

References​

  • ANSI/A3 R15.06-2025: American National Standard for Industrial Robots and Robot Systems – Safety Requirements. A3/ANSI, 2025.
  • ANSI/A3 R15.06-3-2025: American National Standard for Industrial Robots and Robot Systems – Safety Requirements – Part 3: Use of Industrial Robot Cells. A3/ANSI, 2025.
  • ISO 10218-1:2025: Robotics — Safety requirements — Part 1: Industrial robots. ISO, 2025.
  • ISO 10218-2:2025: Robotics — Safety requirements — Part 2: Industrial robot applications and robot cells. ISO, 2025.
  • Heater, B. ANSI, A3 Publish Revised R15.06 Industrial Robot Safety Standard (Industry Insights). Association for Advancing Automation, September 10, 2025.
  • A3 Online Marketing Team. 2026 Robot Safety Standards Update: What Manufacturers and Integrators Need to Know (Robotics Blog). Association for Advancing Automation, September 4, 2026.
  • A3 Online Marketing Team. Updated ISO 10218: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (Robotics Blog). Association for Advancing Automation, March 20, 2025.
  • ISO/TS 15066:2016: Robots and robotic devices — Collaborative robots. International Organization for Standardization, 2016.
  • ISO/AWI 15066-1: Robotics — Physical contact with robots — Part 1: Biomechanical thresholds and data (approved work item, under development). International Organization for Standardization, 2025.
  • RIA TR R15.606-2016: Collaborative Robots. Robotic Industries Association/A3, 2016.
  • ISO 13849-1:2023: Safety of machinery — Safety-related parts of control systems — Part 1: General principles for design. International Organization for Standardization, 2023.
  • OSHA. Robotics (Safety and Health Topics). U.S. Department of Labor (undated web documentation, accessed September 2026).
  • OSHA. Robotics: Standards (Safety and Health Topics). U.S. Department of Labor (undated web documentation, accessed September 2026).
  • OSHA. OSHA Technical Manual (OTM), Section IV: Chapter 4 - Industrial Robot Systems and Industrial Robot System Safety. U.S. Department of Labor (undated web documentation, accessed September 2026).
  • Association for Advancing Automation (A3). Robot Safety Standard Documents (undated web documentation, accessed October 2026).
  • OSHA. Machine guarding and exposure to hazards from robotic laundry shuttles (Standard Interpretation, July 7, 2005). U.S. Department of Labor, 2005.
  • OSHA 29 CFR 1910.212-1974: General Requirements for All Machines. U.S. Department of Labor, 1974.

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