Let’s Dig into Forklift Detection Systems On National Forklift Safety Day 2021
If you’re reading this article about forklift detection systems, you’re probably an Operations or Safety manager, and this Forklift Safety Day 2021, you’re looking to finally get to a ZERO accident workplace. How do you do that? In this article we dig into forklift detection systems and what benefits they can deliver to you.
But first…a quick little aside on what people really think safety professionals do 🙂
What Do Safety Professionals Really Do?
A survey conducted by Safety + Health magazine asked this very question back in 2019 and the answers were as shown in the pie chart to the right.
The answers were clear…No to not really.
These answers are the very reason why one day a year is dedicated to safety. If you only think about safety one day per year, you are very lucky. This (hopefully) means that your facility is in great shape. Accident free, injury free and damage free. Everyone is practicing safety measures and your workers and forklift trucks are running close to 100% efficiency. We all aspire to be you.
What is a Forklift Detection System?
A forklift detection system is a tool or a device that alerts forklift operators and/or pedestrians of nearby traffic. For example a forklift detection system may be installed on a lift truck to alert operators for nearby pedestrians. These systems may be mandatory depending on business, local and/or national regulations for your geography.
Why Do You Need a Forklift Detection System?
New employees, new equipment and increased orders are some of the factors that are constantly added to the facility putting safety at an increased risk. As we applaud the growing business, take a deep breath because the risk of a lift truck accident, injury and/or damage has increased along with your orders.
Up until now, you’ve purchased just about every forklift safety gadget out there for safety. In the facility alone you have painted floors, blue lights flashing, alarms sounding, stop signs, 5S markings…it’s beginning to look like a circus. With all of that activity going on, is anyone really listening or watching?
A proactive forklift detection system might be the missing piece.
Forklift Detection System with AI
Call it forklift detection, pedestrian detection, product detection…it doesn’t matter. An AI-based forklift safety system can becomes the extra set of eyes for your operators.
An AI-based detection system like the SIERA.AI S3 watches every 60ms so nothing gets missed. Not a person, falling object, another forklift…nothing. Research on human reaction time has shown that in most cases, the human reaction time is too slow to stop an accident from happening. Therefore, nothing that people can do to improve. We are who we are.
However, as an operations safety manager, you CAN do something about it by investing in the right tools and technologies for your operations.
Forklift Detection System to Monitor Only What Matters
The SIERA.AI S3 safety system checks the vehicle’s surroundings every 60ms for pedestrians and obstacles. Depending on how you configure it, it can warn the operator when a pedestrian is 6 feet away or 10 feet away…your call. As a result, pedestrian near misses can be completely avoided. What if a near miss occurs? The S3 can record it and report to the facility manager wirelessly on a web dashboard.
Secondly, the S3 can also be configured to alarm for proximity to obstacles like racks and pillars. As a result, you can save on thousands of dollars of facility damage every year. Our own research shows that facilities can lose over $100K a year in forklift-related damages.
Avoiding False Detection Alarms
It’s great that the forklift detection system is watching, but for what? How far? When does it start? Great questions. With an AI-enabled detection system, you can eliminate false alarms by only having the system sound an alert for pedestrians or an obstacle closer than 3 feet as an example. As a result, safety goes up without annoying your operators.
Forklift Detection System: Does Anyone Need to Wear a Gadget? Reflector? Beacon?
No. With a detection system like the S3, there is no need to wear bands or tags. So let the forklift safety day celebration begin! Let everyone do their job. Keep everyone and your equipment efficient and productive. Just let your forklift detection system do its job and keep everyone safe within your facility.