Monitoring method

A method of monitoring a robot including a plurality of actuators and configured to perform a predetermined process operation, wherein

• at least one of the actuators is set as a monitoring target,
• at least one type of monitoring parameter related to operation of the actuator is assigned to the or each actuator set as the monitoring target,
• the predetermined process operation includes a plurality of process phases which are performed sequentially in time, and
• the at least one actuator set as the monitoring target operates in each of the process phases,
• the method comprising:
• a preliminary operation step of causing the robot to perform the predetermined process operation one or more times and detecting, in each of the process phases, the or each assigned monitoring parameter for the or each actuator operating as the monitoring target in the process phase;
• a ranking step of deriving a load level based on a predetermined load evaluation procedure for each of the monitoring parameters detected in the preliminary operation step and ranking all of the detected monitoring parameters in decreasing order of the load level;
• and
• a normal operation step of monitoring primarily a monitoring parameter highly ranked in the ranking step, wherein the monitoring is performed for the actuator that operates in the process phase in which the highly ranked monitoring parameter was detected.