Can a Forklift Safety System Detect Pedestrians, Objects and Pedestrian and Objects Together?

A pedestrian warning system is a critical component to forklift safety. It allows the forklift operator to know when a human being is within a defined proximity to the moving or working lift truck. This is critical especially if you’ve had near misses, injuries, or a fatality in your facility. Can a pedestrian warning system be expanded to include partial human detection? Or what if you want to also bring down the cost of damages caused by low level impacts. To accomplish all three goals, do you need to have three separate systems? If so, how will the forklift operator ‘see’? Let’s take a closer look by starting with the pedestrian warning system.

What is a Pedestrian Warning System?

A pedestrian warning system saves lives of those within a defined proximity to a working forklift truck. It is meant to increase forklift safety with the use of technology so no person goes undetected, even if the forklift operator is looking the other way.

According to OSHA, “Forklift operators should always be aware of conditions in their workplace, including pedestrian traffic. Forklift traffic should be separated from other workers and pedestrians where possible.” Unfortunately, this is posing some challenges:

• If the forklift operator is in the act of operating the lift truck, how can the operator also be watching out for pedestrians? They can’t.
• So, do they need an extra set of eyes in order to watch around the forklift? Then you need two people at all times. Is that feasible? Maybe technology can help.

Detecting Humans and Objects

SIERA.AI uses AI machine learning technology in order to give vital information to the forklift driver. Once you’ve determined what is a safe or unsafe distance for pedestrians and objects, set that distance in the telemetry Dashboard and your operators are ready to go.

Here’s how it works.

• The camera(s) are scanning or searching every 60ms for two specific items: a human being and objects.
• If the camera detects an obstruction within its safety space, It takes the information and the AI determines if it is a person or an object.
• If it is a human being, then the operator is alerted with a flashing symbol of a person and also receives a warning sound.
• If it is an object, then the operator is alerted with a flashing symbol of a box and also receives a warning sound. This can reduce product damages within your facility which ultimately saves you money.

All information is recorded in the telemetry Dashboard for further analysis.

Partial Human Detection

A person is performing their job tasks all day long. They are never just ‘seen’ in their entirety, meaning from head to toe. They can be standing behind a box, crouched half way inside a racking system, bending over to clean something up to name a few. What happens to those people? Aren’t they still at risk? Absolutely.

Partial human detection, offered by SIERA.AI is vital to your environment. If an elbow, foot, head or any part of the human body is visible from behind an object, the system will warn the driver using the human symbol. It will always alert the driver of the human first. This further reduces the risk of a human getting injured.

All Three are in One

The SIERA.AI single system is a pedestrian warning system, an object warning system and detects part of the human body. These three areas make a full and complete forklift safety system that can lower the risk of fatalities, injuries and damages caused by forklifts. Contact us today at sales@siera.ai or call us at (512) 817 0702.