CSA Z434-2026

Industrial robots, robot applications, and robot cells (Adopted ISO 10218-1:2025, third edition, 2025-02, with Canadian deviations and ISO 10218-2:2025, second edition, 2025-02, with Canadian deviations)

CSA Z434:26, Industrial robots, robot applications, and robot cells CSA Preface This is the fourth edition of CSA Z434, Industrial robots, robot applications, and robot cells , which is an adoption, with Canadian deviations, of the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) Standards 10218-1 (third edition, 2025-02), Robotics — Safety requirements — Part 1: Industrial robots, and 10218-2 (second edition, 2025-02), Robotics — Safety requirements — Part 2: Industrial robot applications and robot cells. It supersedes the previous edition, published in 2014 as CAN/CSA-Z434 (adopted ISO 10218-1:2011 and ISO 10218-2:2011), Industrial robots and robot systems. For brevity, this Standard will be referred to as "CSA Z434" throughout. The title for the CSA adoption of the ISO Standards has been changed to reflect the modification of the scope of the ISO Standards. The ISO Standards were developed by the Technical Committee ISO/TC 299, Robotics. The adoption of the ISO Standards as a National Standard of Canada is an important step in the acceptance of design data for safety equipment traded on a worldwide basis. The CSA Technical Committee on Industrial Robots and Robot Systems determined that ISO 10218-1 and ISO 10218-2 could be used as the basis of the new edition of CSA Z434 because these Standards most closely reflected the committee’s perspective on industrial robots and robot systems, and because adopting them fosters international harmonization. This Standard was reviewed for Canadian adoption by the CSA Technical Committee on Industrial Robots and Robot Systems, under the jurisdiction of the CSA Strategic Steering Committee on Occupational Health and Safety, and has been formally approved by the Technical Committee. This Standard has been developed in compliance with Standards Council of Canada requirements for National Standards of Canada. It has been published as a National Standard of Canada by CSA Group. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ISO 10218-1, Robotics — Safety requirements — Part 1: Industrial robots Introduction The ISO 10218 series has been created in recognition of the hazards that are presented by robotics in an industrial environment. This document addresses robots as partly completed machinery, while ISO 10218-2 addresses robots integrated into machinery (robot applications and cells). This document is a type-C standard according to ISO 12100. This document is of relevance for the following stakeholder groups representing the market players regarding robot safety: — robot manufacturers (small, medium and large enterprises); — robot application integrators (small, medium and large enterprises); — health and safety bodies (regulators, accident prevention organisations, market surveillance, etc.). Others can be affected by the level of safety achieved with the means of the document by the above mentioned stakeholder groups: — robot application users/employers (small, medium and large enterprises); — robot application users/employees (e.g. trade unions); — service providers, e.g. for maintenance (small, medium and large enterprises); The above-mentioned stakeholder groups have been given the possibility to participate in the drafting process of this document. Robots and the extent to which hazards, hazardous situations or hazardous events are covered are indicated in the Scope of this document. When provisions of a type-C standard are different from those that are stated in type-A or type-B standards, the provisions of the type-C standard take precedence over the provisions of the other standards for machines that have been designed and built in accordance with the provisions of the type-C standard. In recognition of the variable nature of hazards with different uses of industrial robots, the ISO 10218 series is divided into two parts. This document provides requirements for safety of the robot. For safety of the integration and commissioning of industrial robot applications, ISO 10218-2:2025 provides requirements for the safeguarding of operators during integration, commissioning, functional testing, programming, operation, maintenance and repair. The ISO 10218 series deals with robotics in an industrial environment, which is comprised of workplaces where the public is excluded and the allowed people (operators) are working adults. Other standards cover topics such as general characteristics, coordinate systems and axis motions, mechanical interfaces performance criteria and related testing methods, and end-effectors. For ease of reading this document, the words "robot" and "robot application" refer to "industrial robot" and "industrial robot application" as defined in this document. This document has been updated based on experience gained since the release of the ISO 10218 series in 2011. This document remains aligned with the minimum requirements of a harmonized type-C standard for robots in an industrial environment. Where appropriate, ISO/TS 15066:2016 on the safety of collaborative robot applications was added to the ISO 10218 series. Because human-robot collaboration relates to the application and not to the robot alone, most of the requirements of ISO/TS 15066 have been incorporated into ISO 10218-2:2025. Safety functions that enable a collaborative task can be part of the robot or can be provided by a protective device, or a combination. It is important to emphasize that the terms "collaborative operation" and "collaborative robot" are not used in this document. Only the application can be developed, verified and validated as a collaborative application. Scope This document specifies requirements for the inherently safe design, risk reduction measures and information for use of robots for an industrial environment. This document addresses the robot as an incomplete machine. This document is not applicable to the following uses and products: — underwater; — law enforcement; — military (defence); — airborne and space robots, including outer space; — medical robots; — healthcare robots; — prosthetics and other aids for the physically impaired; — service robots, which provide a service to a person and as such where the public can have access; — consumer products, as this is household use to which the public can have access; — lifting or transporting people. NOTE 1 Requirements for robot integration and robot applications are covered in ISO 10218-2:2025. NOTE 2 Additional hazards can be created by robot applications (e.g. welding, laser cutting, machining). These hazards are addressed during robot application design. See ISO 10218-2:2025. This document deals with the significant hazards, hazardous situations or hazardous events when used as intended and under specified conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer. This document does not cover the hazards related to: — severe conditions (e.g. extreme climates, freezer use, strong magnetic fields) outside of manufacturer’s specifications; — underground use; — use that has hygienic requirements; — use in nuclear environments; — use in potentially explosive environments; — mobility when robots or manipulators are fixed to or part of driverless industrial trucks; — mobility when robots or manipulators are fixed to or part of mobile platforms; — use in environments with ionizing and non-ionizing radiation levels; — hazardous ionizing and non-ionizing radiation; — handling loads the nature of which can lead to dangerous situations (e.g. molten metals, acids/bases, radiating materials); — handling or lifting or transporting people; — when the public, all ages or non-working adults have access (e.g. service robots, consumer products). Noise emission is generally not considered a significant hazard of the robot alone, and consequently noise is excluded from the scope of this document. This document is not applicable to robots that are manufactured before the date of its publication. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ISO 10218-2, Robotics — Safety requirements — Part 2: Industrial robot applications and robot cells Introduction This document has been created in recognition of the hazards that are presented by robots when they are integrated and installed with end-effectors into robot applications and robot cells. ISO 10218-1 addresses robots as partly completed machinery, while this document addresses robots integrated into completed machinery for specific robot applications. This document is a type-C standard according to ISO 12100. This document is of relevance for the following stakeholder groups representing the market players regarding safety of robot applications and robot cells: — robot manufacturers (small, medium and large enterprises); — robot application integrators (small, medium and large enterprises); — health and safety bodies (regulators, accident prevention organisations, market surveillance, etc). Others can be affected by the level of safety achieved with the means of the document by the abovementioned stakeholder groups: — robot application users/employers (small, medium and large enterprises); — robot application users/employees (e.g. trade unions); — service providers, e.g. for maintenance (small, medium and large enterprises); The above-mentioned stakeholder groups have been given the possibility to participate at the drafting process of this document. Robot applications, and the extent to which hazards, hazardous situations and events, are covered and indicated in the Scope of this document. When provisions of a type-C standard are different from those which are stated in type-A or type-B standards, the provisions of the type-C standard take precedence over the provisions of the other standards for machines that have been designed and built in accordance with the provisions of the type-C standard. Hazards associated with robot applications are well recognized, but the sources of the hazards are frequently unique to each robot application. The number and type(s) of hazard(s) are directly related to the nature of the automation process and the complexity of the application. The risks associated with these hazards vary with the robot used, its safety functions, and the integration, installed, programs, use, and maintenance. This document provides requirements for safety in the integration of robots into robot applications and robot cells. The requirements include safeguarding of operators during integration, commissioning, functional testing, programming, operation, maintenance and repair. Requirements for the robot can be found in ISO 10218-1. The ISO 10218 series deals with robotics in an industrial environment, which is comprised of workplaces where the public is excluded or restricted from access and the allowed people (operators) are working adults. Other standards cover such topics as general characteristics, coordinate systems and axis motions, mechanical interfaces, performance criteria and related testing methods, and end-effectors. There are a broad range of robot applications and robot cell(s). Therefore, it is not possible to provide a list of all significant hazards, hazardous situations or events into which a robot application can be integrated. Moreover, the same kind of applications can have different levels of risk, resulting from different designs which correspond to the intended application (e.g. paint spraying on large or small parts, handling of a small harmful payload like a hot metal bolt or a large harmless payload like a box of paper tissues). Other standards can be applicable to associated machinery and equipment in robot applications and robot cells. For ease of reading this document, the words "robot", "robot system" and "robot application" refer to "industrial robot", "industrial robot system" and "industrial robot application" as defined in ISO 10218-1 and this document. This document has been updated based on experience gained since the release of the first edition of ISO 10218-2 in 2011. This document remains aligned with minimum requirements of a harmonized type-C standard for robot applications and robot cells in an industrial environment. Providing for a safe robot application and a safe robot cell depends on the cooperation of a variety of "stakeholders". Stakeholders can include designers, manufacturers, suppliers and integrators. Users are the entity responsible for using robot applications and robot cells. Users can also be any of the other stakeholder roles. Where appropriate, ISO/TS 15066:2016 on the safety of collaborative robot applications was added to the ISO 10218 series. Because human-robot collaboration relates to the application and not to the robot alone, most of the requirements of ISO/TS 15066 have been incorporated into this document. Safety functions that enable a collaborative application can be part of the robot (e.g. PFL), or can be provided by a protective device, or a combination. It is important to emphasize that the term "collaborative robot" is not used in this document. Only the application can be developed, verified, and validated as a collaborative application. In addition, the term "collaborative operation" is not used in this document. Scope This document specifies requirements for the integration of industrial robot applications and industrial robot cells. The following are addressed: — the design, integration, commissioning, operation, maintenance, decommissioning and disposal; — integration of machines and components; — information for use for the design, integration, commissioning, operation, maintenance, decommissioning and disposal. This document is not applicable to the following uses and applications of industrial robots: — underwater; — law enforcement; — military (defence); — airborne and space, including outer space; — medical; — healthcare of a person; — prosthetics and other aids for the physically impaired; — service robots, which provide a service to a person and as such the public can have access; — consumer products, as this is household use to which the public can have access; — lifting or transporting people; — multi-purpose lifting devices or machinery, e.g. cranes, forklift trucks. NOTE Applications for the automation of laboratories are not considered as medical or healthcare of a person. This document deals with the significant hazards, hazardous situations or hazardous events when used as intended and under specified conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the integrator. This document provides basic requirements for industrial robot applications, but does not cover the hazards related to the following: — emission of airborne noise; — severe conditions (e.g. extreme climates, freezer use, strong magnetic fields) outside of manufacturer’s specifications; — underground use; — use that has hygienic requirements; — processing of any material (e.g. food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, metal); — use in nuclear environments; — use in potentially explosive environments; — mobility when robots or manipulators are integrated with driverless industrial trucks; — mobility when robots or manipulators are integrated with mobile platforms; — use in environments with hazardous ionizing and non-ionizing radiation levels; — hazardous ionizing and non-ionizing radiation; — handling loads the nature of which could lead to dangerous situations (e.g. molten metals, acids/bases, radiating materials); — when the public or non-working adults have access. Emission of acoustic noise could be identified to be a significant hazard, but emission of noise is not covered in this document.