In today's busy internal logistics material handling environment, managing forklift safety is an arduous task. However, safety related technologies are developing rapidly, and sensor driven solutions can ensure that accidents can be avoided before they occur.
Even if forklift operators are fully trained and certified, there is a risk of operating forklifts or walking near them. In the heavy traffic environment at the intersection and aisle of the warehouse, including other forklifts, walking employees, and more and more autonomous mobile robots (AMR) are involved.
The wharf area will be very crowded, and loading with forklift or logistics Trailer operation will bring potential hazards, especially if the trailer is not properly restrained. It is always a risk for goods to fall from the floor, as is the accidental location of pallets or goods left on the floor.
Forklift suppliers say that these risks exist for a long time, but current industry trends, such as e-commerce growth and long-term labor shortage, have expanded the risks. It all boils down to an increasingly tense environment.
Fortunately, safety related lift truck technologies are available, including existing solutions such as telematics and virtual reality (VR) training, as well as a series of newer sensor based solutions, which are expected to help avoid accidents from the beginning.
"These [sensor based] technologies actually improve operations by raising the driver's awareness of the surrounding environment, which is crucial today when the entire industry is facing labor challenges." Mick McCormick, North American warehouse and senior application director of Kion, said: "according to the degree of employee turnover experienced by an enterprise and its seasonal peak demand, it may bring a wave of new employees and new forklift operators. Therefore, equip them with equipment that can help them operate in these busy environments, and proactively inform them of the risks they need to pay attention to, especially when they first arrive at a workplace."
If the telematics technology is well applied, it will contribute to the safety of forklifts. However, some people say that the traditional telematics technology is too outdated.
Siera AI is applying machine vision technology and artificial intelligence software to provide active safety alarm and monitoring for forklift fleets.
"The first generation of telematics is passive." Saurav Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of Siera AI, said that the company is a forklift safety solution supplier using machine vision and AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology. "If there is an accident, the management finds out after the accident. It is too late. Moreover, if the management is notified, they may be too busy and they may lose track. As a result, there is a lack of information about what happened.".
Thinking about the safety foam
"Sensor based solutions fall under the banner of operator assisted solutions as the second set of eyes of operators. If alarms are ignored or accidents are imminent, these solutions can control the speed and performance of forklifts, or they can be configured to automatically reduce the speed in designated areas, such as the end of the aisle or near the lounge." McCormick said: "[these new solutions] It's actually adopting the rules that the safety manager wants to follow and making sure that everyone is aware of them as they go through the facility. "
Not all operator assistance solutions work in exactly the same way, but they all try to use sensing technology to detect risks and warn the operator. In some cases, the forklift will be slowed down or stopped to avoid accidents. Some use lidar or machine vision sensors located on forklifts, while others use tags or transmitters on pedestrians, infrastructure or mobile assets.
Siera AI is applying machine vision technology and artificial intelligence software to provide active safety alarm and monitoring for forklift fleets.
McCormick said that such sensing should be "smart" enough to identify the direction of the object or other factors, such as whether the pedestrian is safely on the other side of the guardrail. "You don't want a lot of false alarms with alarms, because the operator may be immune to these alarms because they send out too many alarms." McCormick said.
Kevin Paramore, emerging technology sales manager of Yale materials handling company (Yale), said that telematics functions such as Digital Security Checklist and access control are still valuable, but newer sensor based operator assistance solutions, such as Yale reliance, are an active real-time tool.
Virtual reality (VR) training solutions, combined with classroom and practical training, can help train new operators and allow emergency scenario testing without physical risk.
Paramore said that these sensors formed the equivalent of a digital safety "bubble" around each forklift. Yale reliance can use lidar sensors and ultra wideband (UWB) equipment on forklifts to detect objects and pedestrians. Sensing is linked to Yale's Forklift control to automatically apply performance adjustments, such as slowing down forklifts in designated areas or when pedestrians or obstacles are too close.
"Yale reliance actually creates an invisible safety bubble around your forklift, and potentially all pedestrians in the facility." "Now we can be more proactive and help prevent collisions by raising the awareness of operators," Paramore said
In Hyster, the operator assisted solution is called the Hyster reaction. According to NIC temple, director of emerging technology business development of Hester, one of its key capabilities is that it can be combined with the control and stability functions of forklifts to slow down forklifts when needed or in designated areas, which is very obvious to operators. The solution can also adjust the hydraulic function to help reduce the risk of tipping and load tilting, and provide overload arrest to prevent the operator from moving loads that exceed the specified weight threshold.
"This reduction in speed is something that humans can really adapt to and recognize, not just visual or auditory reminders." "The human mind is very good at calling out flashing lights or audible alarms, but it is more difficult to call them out at a reduced speed," temple said
With Siera AI, the solution is based on visual technology placed on any forklift, combined with artificial intelligence to sense risks in real time and drive alarms. Labels are not involved, but operators do get active alerts, a software solution for trending and analysis, and a digital safety checklist function. Importantly, Agarwal said, close range errors captured by vision were included in the analysis, creating more effective indicators.
"The only way to change culture is to monitor what is happening and make small changes every day." Agarwal said, "that's why you need leading indicators. This is also the role of automatic proximity reporting to let you clearly understand what is happening. For example, among the 10 new operators, 5 are very good, but the other 5 are the people who create or participate in most dangerous situations and risks. Then you should focus on them."
The active safety function in the Hester reaction solution allows automatic deceleration to the specified speed at the end of the channel, etc.
Hierarchical approach
Other security related technologies, such as access control in telematics or VR training, are still important for forklift safety. In other words, this is not just the latest sensor, but multi-layer security enhancement technology.
For example, digital access controls restrict who can start and operate forklifts based on their permissions and authentication. Access control has become a stake in forklift safety. Paramore said: "just leaving the forklift in an unattended logistics center, factory or retail environment without access rights or key control, you are creating your own risk."
Similarly, having a digital list can not only eliminate paper records, but also support subsequent processes to correct problems found during safety inspections. For example, Paramore believes that worn seatbelts recorded on the digital list can be reported to the person in charge of maintenance or the fleet supervisor.
"If the safety belt can no longer be used, we can take the next step to lock the forklift until the safety belt is fixed. These are digital tools that everyone can interact with to keep informed. The purpose is to provide the safest environment."
Collin rush, InfoLink customer support director of crown equipment, said that telematics will generate a large amount of data, but some organizations may not have personnel to monitor and analyze the data for improvement. This is why an option of the crown InfoLink telematics and fleet management system is a service for connection maintenance and analysis. It uses crown experts called remote health fleet managers to actively monitor trends and help identify areas for improvement.
Rush pointed out that there are some positive aspects of forklift telematics. Access control allows only certified operators to operate a given forklift. In addition, custom options can be used to establish different maximum speeds for the operator based on experience. "These levels are configurable and you can take them to the next level as new operators gain experience." Rush said.
David Norton, vice president of customer solutions and support of the Raymond Corp, said that VR training is still very important for safety work, especially in providing more tools for training operators. However, he added that VR should be regarded as an auxiliary tool and hands-on guidance for classroom training, rather than a substitute.
"VR is very suitable for classroom training and hands-on training as required by OSHA." Norton said, "VR can help new operators understand the working principle of forklift controls and how forklifts will stop, turn, manipulate or place loads, and the virtual experience gained by operators when completing the course will be helpful. Moreover, with VR, you can expose new operators to emergencies that they will never be able to encounter during hands-on training, because in a virtual environment, there is no real risk."
Designed for safety
ANSI standard b56 specifies the core safety requirements for forklifts. The standard was developed with input from the industrial standards development foundation (ITSDF) and focuses on core safety elements, such as roof guards and safety belts, which are considered essential in forklifts.
Forklift manufacturers comply with b56 and contribute to the development of standards, but each OEM can provide stability control and other functions to further improve safety, or options or accessories useful for specific applications, explained Tom Lego, Toyota brand ambassador for Toyota material handling.
"B56 is an ANSI standard, just like the gold standard agreed by everyone. If you want to manufacture forklifts, you need to ensure that you are within these parameters." "In other words, it gives manufacturers the space to continue to look for ways to drive improvements," LEGO said
Paul short, President of combilift in North America, pointed out that some safety related design features are affected by the type of products being processed and the trend of narrow channels. The forklifts provided by its forklift series are designed to handle long load racks that are usually stored on cantilevers. Short said that the cantilever shelf may pose a special safety risk, because the arms of the shelf protrude outward to accommodate products as long as wood or pipes, so it will pose a risk when reversing.
In order to solve this risk, the combi-mr4 model adopts a standing or sitting model, the operator exit is located at the side rather than the rear, and the rear of the forklift is protected by a protective structure. Short said: "unlike the pallet rack, the rack arm can enter the cab, so in our design, we fixed the rear of the forklift, so nothing can enter from the rear during operation, and the operator can enter from the side."
Short explained that the principle of keeping the long load low on the ground during transportation is also adopted by the forklift of combilift, which helps to improve the stability. Another safety related function on the pedestrian stacker of combilift is the tiller design that can swing left and right, which allows the operator to stay on the side of the stacker rather than behind it when picking up the load. Standing on the side of the stacker can eliminate the risk of being trapped or squeezed behind the stacker, while making it easier for the equipment to turn and operate in narrow aisles.
"This function moves the operator away from the crush zone." Short said, "we attach great importance to the types of functions that are designed primarily from customer requirements to make their operations safer."
The increasing use of self driving forklifts is largely due to the shortage of operators, as well as the fact that self driving forklifts use sensors to avoid collision, and generally (there are dual-mode models that can be operated manually), no operator who can be operated is injured. However, the deployment of automatic forklifts should still involve the updating of safety best practices, especially in the training of pedestrians working with mobile automation.
"Autonomous driving is a hot topic in the current market and will continue to grow, especially when customers face the challenges of labor shrinkage and labor retention." Kai beckhaus, President of MCJ supply chain solutions, an automation joint venture between yonghengli and Mitsubishi logisnext Americas, said: "With the use of AGVs or any technology or the change of process flow, enterprises still need to consider how to establish appropriate safety protocols and how to correctly train employees to interact with equipment in the work area. Safety training and employee awareness will always be important aspects that enterprises need to pay attention to, and safety training itself will adapt to the needs of practical application".
Foundation first
The consensus among suppliers is that the latest sensor based solutions can be well adapted to many businesses, even relatively small but busy sites. Another area of consensus. Start with basic knowledge, such as a strict training and certification program, and pay close attention to traffic patterns, layouts, signs or other plans to solve safety problems, rather than relying solely on technology.
For example, Lego said that at Toyota's facilities, every worker would receive some guidance on how to safely interact with the lift truck. Workers were taught to use simple gestures to indicate their direction of turn, including pedestrians. "LEGO said:" when forklifts and pedestrians come together, they must have this common experience, these road rules.
Forklift safety is also best treated as a work of continuous improvement, especially in the case of continuous employee mobility or layout changes. OEMs, dealers or third-party safety or fleet management companies can help, but ultimately, continuous improvement depends on follow-up actions, such as analyzing accident data from telematics systems, or any accident or near miss records, to determine the root cause and determine adjustments.
"For any dangerous situation or event, it's best to stop and learn from these events to see what can be done to correct the things that led to the accident, so as to avoid bigger problems," LEGO said
