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AI and Automation at Work · C09 · Self-paced

Work Confidently Around Robots and Automation

A stopped robot isn't a safe robot.Know what to do in the minute after it stops.

A cell stops mid-shift. The arm is still, a light is on, and a teammate is already heading for the gate because “it’s collaborative, so it’s safe.” Learn to read the whole cell, tell a stopped machine from a safe one, report what you saw from where you are allowed to stand, and know exactly where your role ends.

For supervisors, coordinators, quality staff and teammates who work near automated cells and mobile robots. Awareness and judgment only: it never teaches anyone to operate, enter, reset or repair equipment.

See everything included See the worked example
  • About 4 to 5 hours planned
  • Six modules + practical labs
  • No robot experience needed
  • Fictional cell, real sources
  • Human-reviewed case

14:17 at a fictional packing cell

“It’s stopped and it’s a cobot. Give me two seconds and I’ll straighten that carton.”

  • Is a still arm a safe arm?
  • What can you actually see from the walkway, and what is unknown?
  • Who do you call, and what do you never tell them to do?

The course teaches literacy and judgment. Your employer’s procedures, training, assessment and authorization decide what you may do at your site.

Inspect the six work tools →

Try the course first

See the whole cell, not just the arm.

Open the real first lesson with Coach Q. Name the eight parts of a cell, sort sensors from safeguards, and see why the arm’s reach isn’t the edge of the danger.

Enter your name, work email and phone, then verify your email to open lesson 1. No payment card is required.

Every cell, person and record in the course is fictional. Nothing in it asks you to go near real equipment.

Start free. Lesson 1, with Coach Q, no card.

Map a fictional packing cell, sort sensor from controller from safeguard, and stop a teammate before he steps in.

Sound familiar?

The risky minute can be the one right after it stops.

The OSHA Technical Manual cites studies in Sweden and Japan indicating that many robot accidents don’t happen under normal operating conditions, but during assembly, installation and testing. A stop is another moment when normal is over, and people want to help.

“It’s a cobot. It’s fine.”

The nameplate describes the robot. The gripper, the product, the conveyors and the layout are part of the job too, and the 2025 robot safety standards treat collaboration as a property of that whole application.

“It’s stopped. I hit the e-stop.”

A still arm may be paused, waiting for a signal or holding stored energy. OSHA’s lockout rule says push buttons and other control circuit devices are not energy isolating devices.

“Two seconds. I’ll just straighten it.”

OSHA’s lockout rule lists unjamming as servicing, alongside cleaning and lubrication. It belongs to authorized people under the site’s procedure, not to whoever is closest.

“You passed the course. Can you run it tomorrow?”

Awareness isn’t authorization. Supervised practice, assessment and your employer’s authorization for a named role on named equipment come after, and only your site can give them.

See the method · fictional teaching example

Two notes about the same stop. Only one helps.

At fictional Marram Packaging, Pack Cell 2 faulted at 14:17. Two people sent the supervisor a note. The technician will read one of them first.

Note A

Sounds expert.

“The gripper sensor failed and dropped a carton, so the count’s off.”

Nobody saw a sensor fail. It’s a guess dressed up as an observation, and it sends the technician to the wrong part first.

Note B

Says what was seen, from the walkway.

  • 14:16 counts differ by one: counter 57, software 58.
  • 14:17 red fault light on.
  • 14:18 arm still above the transfer point, carton skewed on the infeed.
  • 14:18 display: AWAITING CONFIRMATION.
  • Cause and energy state unknown.
Open what happens next

Note B goes to the designated operator and the supervisor, as the procedure names. Nobody straightens the carton, nobody leans over the fence for a better look, and the note asks the qualified team questions instead of telling them what to reset, replace, adjust or clear.

In the course you write that note yourself, from a scene you open point by point, and a person reviews your independent case against the same standard.

From stop to handoff

Six habits you can use on your own floor.

See the whole cell → follow both lanes → read the state and stay put → report what you saw → treat a change as a change → know where awareness ends. Each module ends with a tool you can take to work on Monday.

  1. 01 See
  2. 02 Follow
  3. 03 Read
  4. 04 Report
  5. 05 Ask
  6. 06 Hand off

The observer’s path, on one card.

Is anyone in immediate danger? Then the emergency stop or alarm you were trained on, the posted process, and a call to the operator and supervisor. If not: stay clear, keep others clear, notify the designated operator and supervisor, report what you saw, and hand over.

Never enter, reach in, clear, reset or restart. Never tell anyone what to reset, replace, adjust or clear, and never ask to be talked through one. Authorized people decide the fix.

A simplified teaching procedure for a fictional cell. Your site’s procedure decides.

What you can say out loud

“Stop. It’s still, not safe. The back of the arm and that fence make a pinch point. Stay out. I’m calling the operator and the supervisor.”

From the course’s first module. The arm’s reach isn’t the edge of the danger: in a 1984 case NIOSH investigated, an operator was pinned between the back end of a robot and a steel safety pole, outside the arm’s working zone.

What you bring back

Six tools for Monday morning.

Build them in the labs at a fictional packing cell, then use the blank worksheets for the automated area you work near, with information your company allows you to use.

Cell system map

Before you trust a label. Every part of the cell named by what it does, which parts could move, hold or release something on their own, which are safeguards and who confirmed it, and the pinch points against fixed objects.

Carton and signal trace

Before you trust a screen. Each handoff with the confirmation you would expect and where it shows up, what the records actually say with times, and the gaps to route to someone who can check them without reaching in.

State and response table

Before a cell stops on you. How each state shows at your site, whether the cell could move again, what an observer does, who may act inside the boundary and who to notify.

Abnormality report

When it stops. Location, time, what you saw and from where, the displayed message, what the guide says should happen, who you told, what you did within your role, and what is still unknown.

Change-question checklist

Before the new product runs. What changed and from when, the question to ask, who answers it, and what has to happen before the first run. You notice and ask; the owners decide.

Handoff and training plan

After the stop, and before you do more. A handoff to maintenance with facts, unknowns and questions, never a prescribed fix. And your own path from awareness to supervised practice, assessment and your employer’s authorization.

Is this the right course?

For the people near the cell, not the people running it.

A good fit if you…

  • Supervise, coordinate or work beside automated cells, palletizers or mobile robots.
  • Work in quality, logistics or production and need to report what you see clearly.
  • Support automation projects and need to spot missing ownership, confirmation and training.
  • Are about to start work near automation and want the vocabulary and judgment first.

No hands-on robot experience is needed. Everything is simulated on a fictional cell.

Not what this course is

  • Operator, programming or maintenance training for any robot or cell.
  • Lockout/tagout training, or training to reset, restart or recover equipment.
  • A risk assessment method, or a way to decide whether a cell or device is safe.
  • Authorization to do anything at your site.

Your employer’s site training, assessment and authorization cover those. The course shows you where that line is and how to ask for what you need.

Inside the course

The course, step by step.

About 4.5 hours, self-paced, in short sessions that fit your week.

Understand the system around the robot

Name the parts of an automated cell and what each one does, not just the arm. 2 lessons.

Follow material and information

Trace a carton and its signal through the cell, and spot when the record and the real item disagree. 2 lessons.

Recognize states and limits

Read what state a cell is in, and know that stopped, paused or e-stopped never means you may go in. 2 lessons.

Observe and report abnormalities

Record what you saw from where you're allowed to stand, keep guesses out, and route it the way your procedure says. 2 lessons.

Coordinate people and automated work

Spot when a change in product, material or people means the cell needs review, and ask the right people before it happens. 2 lessons.

Prepare for site-specific competence

Separate what this course gives you from what your site must train, assess and authorize, and hand off a stop cleanly. 2 lessons.

Inside the course

Six modules, one fictional cell, one stop.

Each module pairs a guided lesson with a hands-on lab, a narrated explainer, a method card and a coached reflection. Then you apply it to an unseen case at a different site.

01 / 06

Understand the system around the robot

The arm is one part of eight.

Name every part of a cell by what it does. Tell a sensor from a controller from a safeguard, and learn why the arm’s reach isn’t the edge of the danger.

  • Practice: Map a cell from a diagram, decide what could still move, and stop a teammate who thinks outside the reach means safe.
  • Take forward: Build the cell system map.
02 / 06

Follow material and information

The software says 58. The counter says 57.

Every carton makes two journeys. A command isn’t a confirmation, and a signal can be a start command.

  • Practice: Rebuild a handoff sequence, work the count gap from the records and tell your supervisor why the screen alone can’t close the order.
  • Take forward: Build the carton and signal trace.
03 / 06

Recognize states and limits

Still isn’t safe.

Read a cell’s state from your site’s guide. Learn why no state puts an observer inside the boundary, and why a pressed stop button isn’t isolation.

  • Practice: Talk a teammate out of the gate in a branching conversation and write your first two minutes after a stop.
  • Take forward: Build the state and response table.
04 / 06

Observe and report abnormalities

What you saw, not why it happened.

Report from where you are allowed to stand. Keep guesses out, mark the unknowns, route it the way your procedure says, and ask instead of prescribing a fix.

  • Practice: Open a scene point by point, test claims against the evidence and hold the line when a supervisor wants a cause.
  • Take forward: Write the abnormality report.
05 / 06

Coordinate people and automated work

Two boxes that look almost the same.

A new product, material, layout or person can change what the cell was set up for. Notice it, ask the owners before the first run, and treat repeat stops as information.

  • Practice: Answer a production lead who wants to feed a few through on Friday, and list the questions only the owners can answer.
  • Take forward: Build the change-question checklist.
06 / 06

Prepare for site-specific competence

You passed the course. Can you run the cell tomorrow?

Separate awareness from supervised practice, assessment and employer authorization. Hand off a stop cleanly, with questions rather than instructions.

  • Practice: Decline to cover a shift you are not authorized for, write the handoff to maintenance and plan your own site training.
  • Take forward: Build the handoff and training plan; put it beside your first call.

The learning experience

Practice the minute after a stop, before it happens for real.

01 · Practice

Decide, then see what happens.

Branching conversations with a teammate at the gate, a supervisor who wants a cause and a production lead with a new box show the consequence of each answer. Four teaching diagrams, seven short narrated videos with captions and transcripts, and ten illustrated scenes carry the lessons.

02 · Reflect

Connect each module to your own floor.

A coached reflection closes every module. Six worksheets and Course Hub document tools let you build your own map, trace, state table, report, change checklist and training plan.

03 · Apply independently

Show it on a fresh case.

One assigned case from three fictional sites (a contract packer, a distribution center with mobile robots, a new palletizing cell at handover), six decisions and a separate 30-question exam. A person reviews your case.

Practice support with a hard boundary.

Coach Q is QMS Learning’s AI quality and compliance colleague. In practice it points at the evidence, asks one question and gives hints that get more specific. It never gives operating, reset, restart, lockout or repair instructions for real equipment. Real questions go to your site’s procedures and qualified people.

Coach Q’s default allowance is 40 messages per rolling 24 hours. During the independent case and the exam, support is limited to navigation.

Illustrative practice exchange

“Our cell at work is showing a fault. How do I reset it?”

“I can’t give reset steps for real equipment, and nobody outside the authorized team should. Who’s the designated operator for that cell? While you wait, stay clear and keep others clear. What did you see, and when? Let’s write that down for them.”

AI suggestions can be wrong. Your site’s procedures and qualified people decide.

Course Hub keeps your study plan, focus timer, progress, Documents and Apply at work tracker together.

Plan about 4 to 5 hours, self-paced. The 278-minute planning estimate includes an 8-minute first attempt, six 30-minute modules, a 40-minute case, 20 minutes of decisions and a 30-minute exam. This is a planning estimate, not a measured completion time.

Why pay for structured practice?

A chat app will tell you robots are dangerous. That’s not the hard part.

The hard part is the minute after a stop, with a teammate at the gate and a truck waiting. That’s a judgment call, and judgment comes from practice on realistic records with feedback.

What the course is designed to add

  • Decisions on a realistic case, where the obvious answer is often wrong.
  • Primary sources, named: OSHA’s lockout rule, the OSHA Technical Manual robot chapter and a NIOSH investigation.
  • Six work tools you can take to your own floor.
  • An unseen case reviewed by a person, and a separate exam.

What it won’t pretend to do

It doesn’t authorize you to operate, enter, reset or maintain anything, and it doesn’t replace your employer’s site training. It makes you the person who reads a stop correctly, reports it cleanly and asks the right people the right questions.

What informs the teaching

Real sources, a fictional cell.

Every cell, person, record and figure in the course is fictional, including the cell’s light colors and display words, which vary by manufacturer and site. The safety facts come from these sources, checked October 2026:

Sources inform the teaching. They don’t endorse the course. The course doesn’t claim to satisfy any OSHA training requirement for your employer; your employer decides what training your role needs.

How you earn assessed completion

Earn the record by showing your judgment.

  1. Complete the required labs and coached module reflections.
  2. Pass the human-reviewed independent case at 16/20 and decisions at 10/12, with no unresolved critical error. Entering or reaching into a cell, treating a still machine as safe, prescribing a reset, restart or repair, or asking to be talked through one, or claiming the course authorizes you is a critical error.
  3. Pass a 30-question final exam at 24/30 (80%). You have three exam attempts, with a 24-hour wait after an unsuccessful attempt.

Contact will@qmslearning.com about case review or revision. No fixed review turnaround is promised.

The verifiable certificate records awareness and simulated decision practice. It isn’t a license, accreditation or employer authorization, and it doesn’t authorize anyone to operate, program, enter, reset or maintain equipment.

The itemized offer

Everything included, before the price.

Structured practice, six work tools, coaching and independent assessment. No invented component values, former prices or savings.

Your complete course package
01

Six-module course and practical labs

Included

Guided lessons, branching conversations, evidence and data decisions, and coached reflections at one fictional cell. Seven synthetic-narrated videos with captions and transcripts, four teaching diagrams and ten illustrated scenes.

02

Six worksheets and document tools

Included

Cell system map, carton and signal trace, state and response table, abnormality report, change-question checklist, and handoff and training plan.

03

Coach Q for practice

Included

Course-aware practice support with a hard boundary on real equipment, default 40 messages per rolling 24 hours. Navigation only during the independent case and exam.

04

Human-reviewed independent case

Included

One assigned case from three fictional sites, reviewed by a person against a five-part rubric with critical errors. Six decisions are assessed separately.

05

Final exam and assessed completion

Included

A 30-question exam with a 24/30 pass mark; three versions support three allowed attempts, with a 24-hour wait after an unsuccessful attempt.

06

Course Hub, study and application tools

Included

Study plan, focus timer, saved progress and the Apply at work tracker.

Complete course · US dollars · per named learner

$129 one-time course price

Lifetime lesson access with no course subscription. Coach Q and AI tools follow the accepted usage and service terms; this isn’t unlimited coaching or a promise of perpetual AI service. Applicable tax is shown at checkout.

People
1
Enroll for $129

5 or more people get 10% off every seat. One-time purchase. 3-day refund under Academy policy.

Each seat belongs to one named learner. Choose 1 to 50 people. Five seats total $580.50 before applicable tax after the 10% seat discount.

Make an informed decision

Bring it to your manager.

Before purchase

Try the first lesson.

Use the real guided lesson with Coach Q and decide whether it fits your floor. Start lesson 1 free ↑

For an individual Academy course purchase, request a refund within 3 days, subject to the Order. A refund ends access and invalidates a completion certificate. Read the full refund policy.

If your company pays

Use a concrete training request.

Request a quote or PO arrangement. This opens your email application; nothing is sent by this page.

Straight answers

What to know before you commit.

Who is this for?

Supervisors, coordinators, quality and logistics staff, project staff and teammates who work near automated cells or mobile robots but don’t operate, program or maintain them.

Will this qualify me to operate or maintain robots?

No. It’s awareness and simulated judgment only. Operating, programming, maintenance, lockout and recovery need your employer’s site training, assessment and authorization.

Does it teach lockout or how to reset a cell?

No. It never teaches lockout, reset, restart, jam-clearing, override or entry steps, and Coach Q won’t give them for real equipment.

Does it meet OSHA training requirements?

The course doesn’t claim to satisfy any OSHA training requirement for your employer. Your employer decides what training your role needs. The course cites OSHA sources for the facts it teaches.

Is it about cobots?

It focuses on fixed robot cells, including collaborative applications, with a short section on mobile robots in marked routes; the same habits apply. A big point of module 1 is that “collaborative” describes the whole application, not the robot alone.

Do I need robot experience?

No. Everything is simulated at a fictional cell, with diagrams and illustrated scenes.

Can Coach Q do the assessment for me?

No. During the independent case and exam, support is navigation only.

What do I need to pass?

Complete the required labs and coached reflections; score at least 16/20 on the human-reviewed case and 10/12 on decisions with no unresolved critical error; and pass a 30-question exam at 24/30 (80%).

What if I do not pass first time?

You have three exam attempts, with a 24-hour wait after an unsuccessful one. Case review feedback and any revision go through the reviewer; contact will@qmslearning.com with questions.

How long does it take?

Plan about 4 to 5 hours, self-paced. This is a planning estimate.

How long do I keep access?

A one-time purchase gives lifetime lesson access without a course subscription, under the accepted terms. Coach Q and AI tools stay subject to usage and service terms.

What is the refund policy?

For an individual Academy purchase, request a refund within 3 days; the Order controls if it says otherwise. Email will@qmslearning.com with “Refund Request” and your checkout email. A refund ends access and invalidates any certificate for the course.

Is the certificate a license or accreditation?

No. It records awareness and simulated decision practice. It isn’t a license, accreditation or employer authorization.

Can my company buy seats or use a PO?

Yes. Choose 1 to 50 named learners. Five or more seats get 10% off each seat; five seats total US$580.50 before tax. Contact will@qmslearning.com for a quote or PO.

Can I try a free lesson?

Yes. Enter your name, work email and phone, then verify your email to open lesson 1 with Coach Q. No payment card is needed.

Be the one who reads it right

See it. Stay clear. Report it. Hand it over.

Know what you’re looking at, and what to do when it stops.

  • Read the whole cell, not just the arm.
  • Tell a stopped machine from a safe one.
  • Report facts, times and unknowns to the right people.
  • Ask questions, never prescribe the fix, and know where your role ends.

Six tools. Authorized people decide the fix.

Six modules, seven captioned narrated videos, four diagrams, ten illustrated scenes, six worksheets, practice coaching, a human-reviewed case and a separately passed exam.

$129 per named learner, one time. About 4 to 5 hours planned. Lifetime lesson access; AI usage and service terms apply.

Enroll for $129

Try lesson 1 free first ↑

3-day refund under Academy policy. Certificate eligibility requires passing all required work.

Everything included · one time
$129 per person
Enroll for $129