PURPOSE: To prevent a robot hand from its impact touch trouble or the like easily generated at the time of restarting after once stopping by providing a selecting means which changes from the preceding time working position of the hand to its program reference point a refuge position with a rapid transfer possible from the program reference point at the time of restarting after once stopping.

CONSTITUTION: A robot hand 3 is moved to a safe reference point A in the upper of a workpiece 2. Next checking the hand for whether or not it is restarted after receiving a once stop signal, when a flag 'once stopping present' is turned on, a refuge position of low speed approach starting the hand 3 is switched to the point A by a selecting means turning off this flag. On the contrary, when this flag is turned off, the hand 3 is rapidly moved to the refuge position, being the preceding time working position receiving an urging signal of a limit switch 4 provided in the hand 3, and moved at a low speed toward the workpiece 2 before this switch is turned on. The hand 3 holds the workpiece 2 and updates the refuge position to the present value by this urging signal.