What is a Safe Distance for Pedestrians and Material Handling Vehicles

Forklift pedestrian safe distances is vital for those who work near a forklift. However, when taking a look online to understand what is the recommended distance, there seems to be a variety of answers. On one website, it was 4 feet, yet others claimed it to be 3 feet, 5 feet or even 9 feet. But how can anyone know if they are 4 feet in distance? It’s really all a guessing game when it comes to forklift pedestrian safe distance. Then add on top of that the forklift driver is working and the employees or workers around the forklift are doing their jobs…how do you know if you are within a forklift pedestrian safe distance? Let’s figure out how technology can help manage safe distances and alert when it’s within a danger zone.

What is a Forklift Pedestrian Safe Distance?

A forklift pedestrian safe distance is the desired number of feet a pedestrian or object needs to keep between itself and the forklift truck. This distance is to ensure the safety and security so injury or damage is not inflicted. By keeping a safe distance, a company will save on worker’s compensation, cost of damages, cost of repairs as well as insurance costs associated with the damages.

How Technology Can Help

Technology has come a long way for forklift safety. With the latest machine learning and AI technologies in the market, it has made forklift safety systems smart and safe. This technology is teachable, meaning the more experience it gets, the more accurate the results become. Add on that it can distinguish between a human and an object, and now you have something of real value.

When a forklift safety system using this technology like the SIERA.AI forklift safety system is used, it will scan every 60ms searching for some type of obstruction: human or non-human. Now, that’s where you can set the distance. Because each facility is a bit different, you may need the distance to be longer or short. You can set the distance to be as far away as 33 feet. Should you need 33 feet is up to you, but you have that as a choice. It is up to you what is going to be the best distance: 10 feet, 5 feet, 27 feet. What matters is that based on the load being carried and the distance or clearance the forklift driver needs from another object or person is key.

Alert! Alert!

Now that the distance is set, it’s time to get started. As the forklift operator goes about their job, the forklift safety system will begin by scanning. Once the forklift safety system identifies something that is in its defined path, the forklift safety system will provide an audio and visual alert. If it is a person, the forklift operator will ‘see’ a symbol of a human along with a loud beeping sound. Now the operator will know there is a person within that distance and allow the operator to take action.

If the forklift safety system identifies an object within its defined path, a symbol of a box will appear along with an audio alert. Now the forklift operator knows it is a box, broom, customer product…whatever the item is has been identified. Now the operator knows what it is and can take the appropriate action.

Contact Us!

Contact us today at sales@siera.ai or call us at (512) 817 0702.