Forklift Safety Zone: Advances in Forklift and Pedestrian Safety Alert Technologies

Forklift Safety Zone: Advances in Forklift and Pedestrian Safety Alert Technologies

By Kenneth Lawrence,
VP Marketing, Sky-Trax, Inc.

Forklift trucks are an essential part of most industrial and supply chains around the world. However, statistics indicate that they also present a very significant hazard to people occupying the same workspace. Forklift induced injuries can be severe or fatal as the trucks are heavy and powerful vehicles. Twenty years ago the forklift was the major cause of industrial deaths and accidents. Unfortunately up until now little has changed.

This paper will explore new forklift and pedestrian safety products that are being hailed as the most exciting piece of occupational health and safety news for decades. The products are truly revolutionary and offer a new break through in detection technology and are making a strong impact in safety applications.  

Forklift Accident Statistics

As reported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) June 2001, forklifts strike pedestrians everyday, resulting in 100 deaths and over 20,000 injuries annually in the United States Alone.

The NIOSH report shows that approximately every 3 days, someone in the US is killed in a forklift related accident. Each year, an additional 94,750 injuries related to forklift accidents are reported. The costs incurred due to forklift accidents are estimated to be over a hundred million dollars.

How do we get to such a large number? Besides workman’s comp or workers lost time at the job there are huge lawsuits awarded for forklift accidents. When you start adding up awards like $750,000 for a back injury or $2.8 million for a foot injury it’s easy to see how these costs add up with the number of incidents reported each year.

Forklift accidents happen because of many different reasons. The chart below shows accident percentages based on incident types. The first four safety alert technologies described in this paper will focus on the second leading forklift incident type where forklifts strike pedestrians.

Safety Alert Technologies

There are numerous technologies being developed today to address safety issues for industrial applications. This paper will discuss four technologies that can help reduce the incident rate of pedestrians being struck by forklifts and another technology that helps reduce accidents based on preventative measures that include maintenance and training awareness.

SICK: Mobile Safeguarding

SICK manufacturers the S 3000 series proximity laser scanner. The scanner mounts on the front or back of a forklift truck providing warning and safety zone areas for safeguarding and collision avoidance for mobile vehicles. The scanner can designate a slow-down area (warning zone) and stop area (safety zone) within the scanner range.

Typically used on automated guided vehicles, there is no reason this safety rated laser bumper can’t be used on a forklift to help distracted operators avoid serious collisions with pedestrians or other vehicles. When a person or object is detected, the SICK laser scanner can be configured to govern the forklift speed to slow down, trigger lights or audible alarms warning the operator before an accident occurs. With onboard sensor technology forklift drivers can reduce product and vehicle damage while helping to prevent accidents.

Door-Man: Intersection Caution

Door-Man Manufacturing Company designed the Intersection Caution System (ICS) to alert pedestrians or other vehicle traffic of approaching forklift trucks coming into an intersection. The ICS’s microwave motion sensor detects only vehicle traffic in the sensing area. Once detected, the controls lock in as long as the forklift is moving toward the center of the intersection. The audible and visual alarms are engaged until the vehicle has fully passed through. The system automatically resets and awaits the next forklift. As a result, pedestrians and other forklifts are alerted to oncoming traffic so they can react in a timely manner and avoid contact with the approaching forklift.

The ICS unit is self contained and typically is installed over busy forklift intersections that could also include pedestrian traffic.

The ICS unit works well in an open warehouse operation where the only support structure is the ceiling to hang and power the device.

Amskan: Fork-Alert Pedestrian Alert

Fork-Alert is an innovative, infrared communications technology developed by Amskan. It consists of a vehicle mounted transmitter beacon and wall/door mounted detectors. An invisible 30 foot beam sweeps around the forklift truck whenever it is operational. Strategically placed receivers detect the vehicle proximity and activate warning systems (via zone controller) such as flashing lights, physical barriers, audible alarms, signs or door locks.

The technology is not based on radio frequency (RF) so is not affected by interference from other plant or passing equipment. A long detection range and a configurable detection zone ensure vehicles are accurately detected on approach from any direction or orientation.

The Fork-Alert system gives an early, specific warning that a forklift is approaching in what may otherwise be an area that the forklift is not yet visible like blind corners, doorways, or around machinery etc.

Sky-Trax LPS: Collision Alert

Accident prevention is universally desirable. By automatically tracking the movement of forklift trucks, Sky-Trax LPS knows each vehicle’s location, heading and speed in real-time. This information can be utilized to warn pedestrians and vehicle operators of potential collisions and other dangers. By knowing precisely, where vehicles are located at every moment, Sky-Trax LPS can signal nearby pedestrians and other Sky-Trax LPS equipped vehicles before collisions occur.

Sky-Trax LPS monitors vehicle locations and transmits messages to the traffic control system upon vehicle entry into a Caution zone or Danger zone. Traffic control signal lights or audible horns at intersections alert oncoming forklift vehicles or pedestrians of approaching vehicles. Control of all intersections can be maintained with a single traffic control system.

Powerkey: 4000 Fleet Management System

The fifth technology in our discussion centers around fleet management systems that provide preventative maintenance and training certification monitoring that can help avoid another 20+ percent of forklift incidents pertaining to poorly maintained forklifts or untrained operators.

Powerkey offers a modular system that includes keyless access control ensuring only authorized operators with current training credentials can operate the forklift. By eliminating the need for a key, unauthorized access to the equipment is eliminated.

The LCD display module automates the daily OSHA safety checklist that is customized to ensure strict compliance with OSHA regulations for vehicle safety inspection. This system will provide automatic lock-out and generate a maintenance work order to ensure safe operation of the vehicle.

The impact shock sensor is easily programmable for shock levels and records the impact severity to identify and train abusive drivers. Real time audio and visual indicators provide immediate feedback to the driver, while impact data is transmitted via an RF communications link to the reporting system.

With the standard reports and charts packages, companies can analyze their forklift fleet utilization, driver productivity, task efficiency and activity metrics. Training coordinators can be alerted when driver certifications are about to expire and can manage vehicle access based on certification. Maintenance managers can monitor impact data and manage maintenance schedules via the electronic record keeping recorded from the OSHA safety checklist.

Safety Alert Technology Summary

Some companies have the ability of separating forklift and pedestrian traffic by keeping forklifts out of areas used by employees or using guarded walkways, painted aisles or strategically placed signs. In the cases where improvements are needed to reduce forklift and pedestrian collisions, technology can play a significant role. Companies can zone critical pedestrian and vehicle intersections by picking safety alert technologies that fit their needs. Reductions in abuse and damage by enforcing driver training certifications and using paperless reporting systems while providing management with better tools will help create a safer work environment.

Sky-Trax provides a family of products and solutions serving a wide range of safety, process optimization, and productivity needs for factories, warehouses, and distribution centers. Sky-Marx Floor Label Replacement System eliminates troublesome floor labels. Sky-Trax Indoor Positioning System works like a GPS, allowing accurate tracking of vehicles indoors and serving as the basis for inventory tracking, vehicle fleet management, pedestrian alert, and driver alert systems.

For More Information:

Visit the Sky-Trax website at http://www.Sky-Trax.com.