Worker Awareness and the Proximity Warning System

When a proximity warning system alarm sounds from the material handling vehicle to the forklift operator, is the worker aware of the approaching danger? As many have tried with blue lights and loud beeping sounds when the lift truck comes to the end of an aisle, it doesn’t always work. Maybe the beeping sound to the pedestrian is from the next aisle, or the light doesn’t seem to be as far as they may think it is. Are we relying on the worker to be diligent, or lift truck driver to be fully aware even while working, or do they both need a bit of assistance. Let’s take a further look as to how technology within the proximity warning system and other measures can help keep accidents dormant.

What is a Proximity Warning System?

A proximity warning system is a way for a vehicle to pedestrian, a vehicle to vehicle, or a vehicle to equipment or the facility’s infrastructure to sound an alarm both visually and audibly to the operator in order to let them know in advance of potential danger of an accident. The technologies have varied over the course of the years, however with the advancement of AI machine learning, a proximity warning system stands the greatest chance of being effective and keeping everyone and everything safe.

Problems with Warning Sounds on Pedestrians

While these sounds have been used for a long time, there’s one thing for certain: warehouses, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers are noisy. Very noisy to the point where workers are wearing ear plugs. These devices can reduce the amount of sound causing the pedestrian to not hear or hear as well, the loud beeping sounds. In addition, after working in these facilities for a period of time, the pedestrian becomes desensitized to the noise, or alarm fatigue that when it is repeatedly used, especially in safe conditions, the pedestrian ‘tunes’ it out.

How Can It Be Fixed?

Technology today can benefit the forklift operator as well as the pedestrian with the use of AI machine learning technology on a forklift safety system. Although there are many aspects to a forklift safety system, we’re only going to focus on what the AI machine learning technology is doing to combat the alarm fatigue and doing two things at the same time.

The AI machine learning technology has gone through extensive learning in order to identify what is a human and what is an object and tell the difference between the two. Within the Dashboard of the forklift safety system, you can set the distance as to when you want the proximity warning system to activate, whether it be 5’, 23’ or up to 33’ in a single direction.

When the forklift safety system is activated, it continuously monitors every 60ms, for a human or an object. When the human or object comes within the predefined distance, that’s when the audio and visual alerts activate. The operator can then take action to avert an injury or accident. The proximity warning system allows the operator to continue to work and the workers to continue to do their job. This does not mean people shouldn’t continue to watch for the moving vehicles, but it does take a more proactive stance to keeping people and even objects…safe.

Pedestrian Training

However, be sure to train pedestrians on the proximity warning system so they understand how the technology works. And… to continue to avoid moving vehicles. Pedestrians and operators should continue to practice good common sense when it comes to machinery, but by implementing a proximity warning system can help to warn pedestrians and operators well in advance to avoid an accident. Teaching them to respond to these warnings are key to keeping the facility safe.

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