Forklifts are simultaneously the most valuable and hazardous pieces of equipment on the factory floor but as Katherine Crichton found out, advances in speed control systems are improving operator safety.
EVERYONE knows that there is no such thing as safe speeding, or if you do speed, ‘no one thinks big of you’, but the fatalities recorded each year on Australia’s roads indicate that the message still needs to sink in.
Speeding while operating a forklift is just as thoughtless and dangerous, greatly increasing the chances of losing control of the vehicle, resulting in damaged goods or at worst, workplace fatalities.
The good news is that with constant lobbying by workplace safety authorities, combined with increased demand and implementation of advanced technologies designed to increase operator OH&S, forklifts are now safer than ever.
One of the key safety technologies is speed control, and according to Nathan McKenzie, national sales manager with Speedshield, controlling forklift speed is an intrinsic factor in making workplaces safer.
“A traffic management system, such as zone based speed control using RFID or GPS technology, allows manufacturers to control the speed of forklifts as they move throughout the site,” McKenzie explained.
“RFID speed zoning uses smart tags usually placed between doorways or on the ground to distinguish between different zones.
“A reader is placed on the forklift and as it travels between these zones, it reads the speed limit information from the tags and automatically adjusts the maximum safe working speed limit for that area.
“GPS Zoning uses GPS tracking to retrieve the position of the forklift and checks the vehicle’s current zone of operation. This is achieved by comparing the forklift’s position to a list of predefined GPS zones and the speed of the vehicle is adjusted according,” he told Manufacturers’ Monthly.
“For example, if the forklift is passing an office block, the speed can be lowered to a walking pace, reducing the likelihood of an accident by giving people the opportunity to get out of the way.”
RFID zoning is mainly recommended for indoor and smaller outdoor areas, while GPS is said to be suitable for large, predominately outdoor areas.
McKenzie says many manufactures prefer flexible systems rather than having a single speed limit on a forklift, which can be seen as restrictive.
“Travelling at only 5km/hr may be suitable for a production environment, but may not be feasible in a larger warehouse situation,” he said.
Manufacturing safety
With safety increasingly a focus for businesses, vehicle manufacturers are now incorporating more OH&S features into forklift design.
George Pappas, national retail sales manager with Linde Material Handling, said innovations such as swivel seats, high visibility mast systems and hydrostatic drives, all work to improve operator comfort and safety.
“The development of high visibility mast systems came out of a need to address the issues associated with traditional masts, which were often clunky and had the lift cylinder in the middle, restricting the operator’s vision.
“The modern mast is slender, with more efficient hydraulics allowing slimmer cylinders, which can be positioned behind the mast channels, enlarging the “window” in the mast.
“Instead of hose reels most forklifts now have the hoses running along the mast channels,” he said.
Pappas also said that in addition to safety benefits, there are also improvements in productivity.
“More visibility, accuracy and control of the forklift all contribute to more efficient operation.
“The operator’s focus can be on performing the task at hand and not be concerned about ergonomic injuries or load location.”
Both McKenzie and Pappas stress the importance these technologies have in not only improving the design of the forklifts, but in creating a safer workplace culture in relation to operating these vehicles.
McKenzie says forklifts are the only thing in the plant that can kill someone. “Everything else is pretty much controllable.
“These technologies encourage people to do the right thing,” McKenzie told Manufacturers’ Monthly.
He explains that implementing a traffic management system which will control the speed of a forklift so it will either stop or slow to an unusable speed if it’s travelling in an area or a direction it shouldn’t be, is an efficient way of training operators to drive more safely and effectively.
And if drivers are concerned about speed limits slowing down production, Pappas says operational advantages out-weigh the possible disadvantages of less ground-speed.
“One of the myths is that speed across the ground equals high productivity. This is a fallacy.
“What increases productivity is the accuracy; how the forklift can be positioned on the ground to lift a load and carry it. This process takes much more time than the total time spent across the ground,” Papas told Manufacturers’ Monthly.
“This is an attitude that needs to change but there’s only way it can be altered and that is through exposure to the solutions.”
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