Simulator assisted design approach for adaptive safety concepts in automated mobile work machine systems

Needs for better productivity, better mobile work machine utility and higher work quality in work sites is driving the work process management towards automated production instead of improving the management of separate manual work machine operations. Risks related to automated mobile work machine applications are dependent on several operation condition factors such as mode of operation, level of automation, performed work task and working environment. Today's safety concepts are based on traditional inflexible isolating arrangements around the automated mobile work machines and simple system shutdown principles if someone tries to enter into the operating area during automatic or remotely controlled operation. Safety strategies should also change depending on the current situation and local conditions. The idea of "adaptive safety concepts" has been launched to solve this problem. Adaptive safety system could continuously monitor and control the behaviour of the work site machinery systems and maintain real time interaction between human operators and machinery so that the system safety will be ensured in all operating situations. The research question in this study has been how the simulator assisted design and evaluation approach can support the design and evaluation of adaptive safety systems in automated mobile work machine applications? The results of the research have brought out the benefits of the simulator assisted safety engineering approach in automated mobile work machinery system risk analyses. The use a simulator environment and visualization improved the conceptualization of the new work site environment, machine system operation and selected use cases. It also helped sharing of system information and improved the common understanding of the overall system and interactions between subsystems among the analysis team that consists of expert from different technological background. It seems to have potential to create new verifiable and traceable evidence for the possible future certification of adaptive safety functionalities and safety systems in automated mobile work machine applications.