CSA update: What you need to know

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is updating its Z434 Standard for Industrial Robots and Robot Systems. Essentially, CSA is in the process of nationally adopting the recently published international robot safety standard—ISO 10218:2025 Parts 1 and 2—as Canada’s new industrial robot safety standard.

Since most distribution centres use robots in their operations for various tasks, such as wrapping pallets and order fulfillment, companies need to be aware of the upcoming changes.

Part 1 of the standard will outline the requirements robot manufacturers must meet when designing and building robots. Part 2 will focus on the safety requirements when integrating a robot into a robot cell or application. Robots on their own are not a complete machine until the end-effector—the device at the end of a robotic arm designed to interact with the environment—is added, they are integrated into a robot cell and then programed to complete a task or process.

Robot integrators should pay particular attention to the changes in Part 2 of the standard because that is where they will find the requirements for integrating a robot into a robot cell and safely using it in a warehouse or distribution centre.

Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS) anticipates that the updated CSA Z434 will also include an additional component that will provide end-user guidance on the safe use of industrial robot cells. Topics such as collaborative application technology selection guidance, end-user risk assessment, training, verification and validation and requirements for maintaining acceptable end-user risk will be covered.

Greater guidance for collaborative robot applications

One of the main things we expect with this update is an expansion of the requirements for collaborative robot applications, where robots and humans work side-by-side. In the past, humans were kept completely separate from the robot application. But now, with advances in safety functionality, humans and robots are able to work together collaboratively.

While many companies are excited about implementing new collaborative applications, I still see misconceptions and misunderstandings about the technology when visiting workplaces. A robot may incorporate the safety functionality for collaborative applications; however, that does not mean it is inherently safe out of the box and ready to work with humans. It must still be set up and tested according to the standard, which is where we currently see gaps. The new standard will provide the clarification and guidance necessary to reduce the risk to humans.

If a robot in a distribution centre picks an item and then hands it off to a human as part of a collaborative task, the risk that comes with that contact needs to be mitigated—which is the goal of the updated requirements in the new standard. If a comprehensive risk assessment is carried out and the robot application is designed and integrated accordingly—ensuring the robot’s safety functionality appropriately limits factors such as speed, force and pressure outputs—the risk of injury to the human will remain low.

Worker training is another important safety element when dealing with collaborative applications. Training should focus on the worker’s movements and precision in the execution of their task to minimize unplanned contact with the robot.

When it comes to order fulfillment, more and more distribution centres are using industrial (autonomous) mobile robots (IMRs). These applications may not include intentional contact between the robot and a human worker. However, when articulating robot arms are added to IMR platforms and there is a need for the human to work collaboratively with the robot (e.g., at hand-off or drop-off locations), the new CSA Z434 standard will provide important safety requirements for those interactions. As human/robot collaboration in warehouses and distribution centres becomes more prevalent, I believe the new CSA Z434 standard will provide important guidance for minimizing the risk to humans performing collaborative tasks alongside robots.

Key updates coming in the new standard

If your workplace is planning to implement a new robot application soon, follow ISO 10218:2025 in addition to any legislative requirements specific to your jurisdiction. This will ensure the integration will align with the requirements of the new CSA Z434 when it is released.

Here are a few more details of what you will find in the new standard:

■ Additional requirements for cybersecurity to protect networks from being hacked, including requirements for secure access to controls, network segmentation and fail-safe behaviour during periods of communication loss

■ Clear descriptions for collaborative applications, such as hand-guided control, speed and separation monitoring, power and force limiting and their associated safety functions

■ Biomechanical force and pressure limits not to be exceeded across 29 body areas during human-robot contact in collaborative applications

■ Additional clarity on functional safety requirements for various robot safety functions such as emergency stop, normal stop, protective stop, interlocking, reset, start/restart interlock and mode activation

■ Measurement methods for validating pressure and force during contact events for power and force limiting (PFL) collaborative applications

■ The addition of risk assessment protocols specifically focused on robotic applications.