3 Tips on How to Prevent Forklift Accidents Using Technology
How to prevent forklift accidents? It’s one of the top questions asked by OSHA.
As we all know, OSHA was created to give workers a safe environment in order to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities. We’ve come a long way since it was enacted, yet forklift accidents continue to make headlines. How can the distribution center, manufacturer and warehouse managers chip away at forklift accident rates?
Let’s take a look at three areas: safety training, inspections and infrastructure protection. What’s going to be different in our discussion is the technology, and what insights it can give you to make more informed decisions.
How to Prevent Forklift Accidents with Safety Training
Safety training is a critical component to any safety program. But not everyone is at the same level of experience. There are operators that have 20 years of experience. The last thing they want to do is take forklift 101. “Save that for the new guy,” we’ve heard them say. Or you have the new guy who goes through forklift safety training and assumes that once they’re trained on one forklift, you know how to maneuver all kinds of forklifts. Right?
Forklift Safety Training Technology
The best way to train is to know what that operator needs. SIERA.AI solves that problem with the use of AI machine learning technology, a critical component to all of our safety solutions: S2 Digital Inspection with Impact Monitoring, S3 Pedestrian Detection and S3 Slow to a Safe Stop. Information is captured and stored in our web-based Dashboard. Why is this important? Because you’ll be able to analyze where drivers need improvement on a particular skill. Or you may uncover that the experienced driver needs training on turning tight corners. That’s the power of data. Focused operator training where it will directly impact accidents and damages.96,000 Forklift Accidents Happen Every Year. How Do You Get to a ZERO Accident Workplace? Download our Free 5-Step Forklift Safety Strategy Guide Below.
How to Prevent Forklift Accidents with Inspections
Operators are encouraged or even mandated to inspect a forklift before each shift. They are to check various aspects of the forklift with the engine off, then check the forklift again with the engine on. If an issue is found, it is recorded on a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard or reported in a book where the pages won’t get lost. Most times the manager will check the books once a week, flipping through the last few pages. Anything out of the ordinary? Does a maintenance check or a repair need to be done on the forklift?Forklift Inspection Technology
Maximizing the life of a forklift or a fleet of forklifts can only be done with information. How can those books or pieces of paper that captures a ton of great information be useful if it’s only on paper? Sure, if the manager is paying close attention to each forklift, and can remember the details of it over the course of a few years, yes that will work fine. Let’s try this instead. Use the S2 Digital Inspection with Impact Monitoring. All inspections are digital. Now operators can answer all the questions quickly and easily. Once they press submit, the answers go directly into the web-based Dashboard. Here, you’ll be able to quickly analyze the health of the forklift, any chronic repairs…anything you capture on the inspection report. Now, if you want to capture more data, simply add, edit or change out a question on the digital inspection report. It’s easy to do and located in the same Dashboard. The S2 takes it a step further with impact detection. The AI machine learning technology will be able to capture and report on various types of impacts. This information can be important when you’re trying to stop a chronic behavior. You’ll know the who, when and where in order to take corrective action.How to Prevent Forklift Accidents by Protecting the Facility
Damages. Your customers won’t be happy when their product is reported damaged. Nor will the plant or facility manager when the racking system has been hit in the same place for the tenth time. On average, companies pay $188k per year on facility repairs. What is the cause? Is it the same person and/or forklift? You can get answers to these types of questions in the same Dashboard.Facility Technology
The S3 Pedestrian Detection and the S3 Slow to a Safe Stop utilizes AI machine learning and sensor technology in order to detect, warn, track and report on near misses, partial pedestrian detection and much more. So not only are we monitoring for the facility but everything else as well. The sensors are constantly scanning in all 4 directions of the forklift, documenting all that it has ‘seen’. If it warns or stops (S3 Slow to a Safe Stop only), you’ll know as it tracks all those little things.
Having greater insights into your facility or warehouse enables you to constantly watch, or know what’s going on at all times. The SIERA.AI Dashboard gives the power where it belongs…with you.