Who needs to enter—and why?
We map routine and non-routine entry, whole-body access, visibility, escape and maintenance tasks before positioning gates or devices.
Integrated robot safety systems
Robot cell guarding. Engineered as one safety function.
Robot-cell fencing, monitored access, interlocks, safety scanners and controlled restart systems designed around the hazard, the task and the real production environment.
FenceAccessPresenceRestart
Site surveyMechanical designSafety integrationInstallationFunctional validation
One safeguarding architecture
Every boundary, opening and control response has to work together.
Robot cell guarding separates people from hazardous robot and process movement while providing controlled routes for loading, setting, recovery and maintenance.
A robot-cell project is more than a fence. We develop the physical guarding, operator access, protective devices and safety-control behaviour as one joined-up solution.
Read the robot cell safety guide
Robot-cell fencing
Mesh, solid and screened perimeter systems with task-led openings, heights and safe distances.
Monitored and guard-locked access
Hinged or sliding gates, coded interlocks, guard locking, escape release and request-to-enter logic.
Scanners and light curtains
Presence sensing, loading apertures and configured fields engineered around stopping performance and reach routes.
Restart and safety controls
Safety relays or PLCs, emergency stops, reset positioning, status indication and controlled restart behaviour.
The design questions that matter
Safe separation without losing sight of production.
The correct solution protects people while supporting loading, setting, cleaning, fault recovery and maintenance.
What must stop, and how quickly?
Robot motion, tooling, conveyors and process equipment can have different stopping behaviour. The safety function has to address the full cell.
How is unexpected restart prevented?
Reset location, sight lines, presence sensing, trapped-key arrangements and deliberate start logic are considered as part of access control.
Representative image; garment branding digitally retouched.
Survey to handoverA controlled engineering process.
01
Survey the cell and tasks
Capture layout, robot envelope, hazards, access routes, operating modes, stopping behaviour and site constraints.
02
Develop the safeguarding concept
Define boundaries, safe distances, gate logic, presence sensing, control interfaces and responsibility at every opening.
03
Design, manufacture and integrate
Produce the physical guarding and agreed safety-system scope with maintainability and installation planned in.
04
Install, test and hand over
Commission the solution, record functional checks and provide the agreed project documentation.
Plan the right project
Robot safety answers for real buying decisions.
Focused guidance for new cells, existing installations and application-specific guarding.
Robot cell risk assessment
Define hazards, operating modes, access tasks, stopping behaviour and responsibility before design.
Plan a risk reviewExisting-cell retrofits
Improve damaged, outdated or operationally unsuitable fencing, access and safety controls.
Review retrofit optionsPalletiser guarding
Protect pallet transfer, conveyor interfaces, personnel access and vehicle routes.
Explore palletiser safetyWelding cell enclosures
Combine movement safeguarding with arc, spatter and process containment.
Explore welding cellsCollaborative robot safety
Assess tooling, payload, contact, separation, safe zones and any need for physical guarding.
Review cobot guardingSafety distance & stop time
Position fencing, scanners and light curtains from reach, approach and stopping evidence.
Plan safeguard positioningMachine-tending cells
Coordinate CNC or press interfaces, machine doors, recovery access and restart logic.
Explore machine tendingPackaging robot cells
Protect conveyor openings, product transfers, changeovers and case-handling access.
Explore packaging robotsApplication-led guarding
View all applicationsRobot cells across modern manufacturing.
Palletising & depalletising
Cell entry, pallet transfer and product-flow openings.
Machine tending
Robot, machine tool and operator access as one system.
Welding & fabrication
Movement, process containment and controlled access.
Pick, place & assembly
Protected loading points and frequent operator interaction.
Packaging & case handling
Conveyor interfaces, muting and access for changeovers.
Cobot applications
Application-specific collaborative safety and zone control.
Compliance-informed engineering
Built around the machinery, the task and the evidence.
Robot safeguarding normally draws on machinery risk assessment, robot integration, guard construction, interlocking, safety distance and control-system principles. The applicable requirements and responsible parties are confirmed for each project.
PUWER 1998Work equipment safeguards and use
BS EN ISO 12100Risk assessment and risk reduction
BS EN ISO 10218Industrial robot safety
BS EN ISO 14120General requirements for guards
BS EN ISO 14119Interlocking devices
BS EN ISO 13849-1Safety-related control systems
UK-wideProject coverage
One scopeMechanical + controls
Task-ledAccess and maintenance
RecordedFunctional checks
Direct answers
Technical questions.
General guidance only. The machine-specific assessment controls the final design.
How is an industrial robot cell normally safeguarded?
A robot cell can combine perimeter fencing, monitored or guard-locked access, presence sensing, emergency stops, safety-rated control functions and a deliberate reset arrangement. The final architecture depends on the risk assessment, stopping performance and access tasks.
Does a collaborative robot always operate without fencing?
No. The tool, payload, speed, force, workpiece and surrounding equipment may create hazards that require fencing or other protective measures even when a collaborative robot is used.
When is guard locking needed on a robot-cell gate?
Guard locking can be appropriate where hazardous movement does not stop before a person could reach it, where process risk must be contained, or where controlled release is part of the access sequence.
Can a safety scanner replace perimeter fencing?
Sometimes, but occlusion, floor condition, approach direction, contamination and whole-body presence must all be considered. Many cells use physical guarding and presence sensing together.
What information helps with an initial review?
Overall photographs, a layout, robot and tooling details, the operating sequence, access tasks, stopping information, control details, site constraints and the required timescale are useful.
Start with the cell and the task
Discuss your robot-cell guarding project.
Send photographs, a layout or a short description. We will help define the right survey and engineering scope.
What should a robot cell safeguarding specification include?
Map the robot, tooling, workpiece and all movements that can create a hazard. Include loading stations, maintenance access and recovery tasks, not just the programmed cycle. Define the required protective functions and their interfaces, then agree installation checks, validation and the controlled restart procedure for the complete cell.