The Single Best Way to Prevent Forklift Damage
One of the greatest and most persistent questions in manufacturing, warehouse, logistics and distribution centers is, “How can I prevent forklift damage?” It is a question that every manager tries to answer every time he/she walks into the facility. Damage to the facility and the customer’s product comes in various ways. Product can be damaged when it’s in the process of being lifted, transported, or at its final destination. In addition to the product being damaged, the forklift can get damaged in the process, causing additional forklift repair expense. So, the question still remains, “How can a company that relies on forklifts as a part of its operation prevent forklift damage?”It’s the Forklift Operators Fault!
In just about every article you read, the blame is most times directed to the forklift operator. The result…the forklift operator needs more training. Is that what’s going to prevent forklift damage? More training? Let’s take a look at this from a different perspective. The operator is in a facility that has continuous movement of people and equipment. If you have workers doing their job, it’s up to the forklift driver to watch for their safety. If there’s a pedestrian from the office or an outside visitor, it’s up to the forklift driver to watch. If there’s moving equipment that’s autonomous or not, it’s up to the driver to watch. That’s a lot of responsibility on the forklift driver who also has a job to do.The forklift driver’s responsibility is to operate a machine to move goods from one area to the next. However, these movements can be challenging.Prevent Forklift Damage and Product Damage
The forklift driver has a lot to watch out for: pedestrians and other moving and non-moving equipment. What can be done to help the forklift driver be safe for himself, others around him, the facility and the product it stores? There are many safety tools that have been provided for forklift drivers: seatbelts, blue lights, strobe lights, backup alarms and more. These are reactive type of forklift safety solutions, which means they are not the best solutions to prevent forklift damage or even product damage. Instead, let’s discuss a couple of more proactive safety solutions.S3 Pedestrian Detection
Technology has empowered management to gain control of the safety issues within their facility. The S3 Pedestrian Detection uses machine vision technology that constantly monitors around the forklift truck every 30ms. If a person or object comes within a pre-defined distance, the audio and visual alarms notify the operator. The deep learning works to identify if it’s an object or a person. It then shows you the picture of a person or object so you are well aware what type of obstruction is around the forklift operator.
What if the obstruction is both?
Meaning there is a person bent over and is 98% obstructed by the box, or maybe only 50% of the person’s body is showing. The SIERA.AI technology can partially read that there is a hand, foot, or head showing. It will let the driver know there is a person within the pre-defined protection zone.
Why does this work so well?
The S3 Pedestrian Detection is installed directly on the forklift. There are no other wearable devices eliminating any risks of those who ‘forgot’ to put the wearable device on. This is a great way to prevent forklift accidents.
Combination of Pedestrian Detection and Slow to a Safe Stop
You need more. The S3 Pedestrian Detection is great, but there are a couple areas within the facility where it needs the best there is in technology in order to prevent forklift accidents.
That’s where the S3 Slow to a Safe Stop comes in. The proactive forklift safety solution is everything described in the S3 Pedestrian Detection, but goes one step further. If the forklift operator fails to comply with the warnings, then the S3 Slow to a Safe Stop will override the driver and automatically slow down until it comes to a complete stop. This is the ultimate solution for reaching the goal of zero accidents.
Overall, to prevent accidents use a combination of S3 Pedestrian Detection in the areas that are not so high risk, and instead reserve S3 Slow to a Safe Stop to care for those areas instead.
If you’re ready to get control of your facility, book a trial today.
Book a Risk-Free Trial
Or Get a Custom Quote
We just need a few details to get you started.
