How Hazardous Situations are Mitigated with a Proximity Detection System

Proximity detection system on a lift truck has been a growing conversation for the past few years. These are sensors that scan around a piece of equipment looking for something that is potentially within the vicinity of the lift truck. By adopting a proximity detection system, it alerts the lift truck driver when a person or object is around.

What is a Proximity Detection system on a Lift Truck?

A Proximity detection system on a lift truck is critical for detecting objects or pedestrians within a defined distance from the forklift. Distances can be set to a warning zone or to a critical zone ensuring the forklift operator takes action in order to avoid a collision or accident with a person, object, another piece of equipment or the facility itself.

Why is Proximity Detection System Important?

By using proximity detection systems for forklifts, you can mitigate the risk of some of OSHA’s Fatal Four, namely struck by objects and caught-in/between. Struck by Objects includes falling objects and being struck by equipment or machines and accounts for 11.1% of fatalities. Caught-in/between is when the worker is caught in or compressed by equipment or objects. This accounts for 5.5% of fatalities in 2021.

Safety Technology in the Workplace Survey

What do the workers and employers say about a proximity detection system? In 2020, the NSC conducted a survey of 500 employers and 1,000 workers from safety-sensitive industries, and here’s what they found:

Clearly, the statistics that is most concerning is for the workers. Just two years ago, 61% reported being exposed to struck by risks. That statistic alone is cause to evaluate a proximity detection system. Let’s take a closer look.

Why are Workers Exposed?

The facility is a lively place to be. There’s always something moving, people are going in various directions and so are the machines or equipment. Forklift operators have the difficult job of multi-tasking. They have to fulfill orders, put away pallets, watch for pedestrians, corners, walls, objects and other equipment…all at the same time. Then add blind spots…there’s the highest risk.

From the other side, you have pedestrians. The facility is busy and produces a ton of noise. Will pedestrians be able to hear the alarms on the forklifts or other equipment as it comes to the end of an aisle? What about a forklift driving behind the pedestrian? Will the pedestrian know? It can be a challenge.

Getting to Zero

As there are many safety solutions in the market, the SIERA.AI customer chose us for a reason. The S3 pedestrian detection, or S3 PDS. It works differently.

• There are no RFID tags or technology. The S3 PDS works independently on each forklift. It can go into the deepest part of the facility and work.

• The machine vision sensors on the S3 PDS scan every 60ms around the forklift.

• The system is called S3 PDS because it can identify the difference between a human being and an object. Whichever it detects, the proper visual cue is given to the operator.

• The sensors are also independent. If you have a person within the defined distance on the left, and a box is also within the defined distance on the right, the S3 PDS will detect both, record both and notify the operator of both.

• The system can be configured to your pre-defined space. If you want 10’, 8’, 22’ go ahead and set it to your area. Even at 22’, you still haven’t reached our maximum. Wonder what that is? Ask us.

Are you ready to make a dent in that 61%?

Get your workers out of a statistic? Great! Contact us today and get answers to the above question and more now.