The Role of Active and Passive Safety Systems in Forklift Accident Prevention
Forklifts are the backbone of many businesses, but they can also be one of the biggest hazards. Even with strict safety rules like operator training, pre-operation checks, and speed limits in place, accidents still happen, putting both workers and productivity at risk. So, how do you close the safety gaps and ensure a safer workplace?
The answer lies in new technology. Industry 4.0 advancements are changing the game, offering smarter, more effective ways to prevent accidents and keep everyone safe. In this post, we’ll explore innovative solutions that boost pedestrian safety around forklifts and show how leadership can step up safety efforts to protect their team.
Key Forklift Safety Topics
Before diving into forklift safety technologies, it’s important to cover the essential areas that support overall safety. Focusing on these key topics helps prevent avoidable accidents, protects your team, and keeps your business running smoothly. Accidents don't just put employees at risk, they can bring operations to a standstill.
For example, a forklift collision or injury can cause major disruptions, delaying shipments, and creating a ripple effect that takes weeks to recover from. Accidents can also result in fines, legal issues, or higher insurance premiums, all of which negatively impact the bottom line.
To mitigate these risks, here are three key safety areas to focus on:
- Forklift Training: Regular, in-depth training ensures operators know how to handle forklifts safely and respond to emergencies. Training needs to be ongoing to prevent complacency and keep up with new equipment or hazards.
- Proper Signage: Clearly visible and regularly updated signage is crucial for warning workers about forklift zones, speed limits, and restricted areas. But signs alone can’t prevent accidents, they must be part of a larger safety strategy.
- Pedestrian Awareness: It’s critical to protect pedestrians who work alongside forklifts. This means creating structured traffic patterns, designated walkways, and teaching workers to avoid blind spots or high-traffic areas.
While these measures are important, they can’t eliminate all risks. To truly improve safety, leadership needs to implement advanced technologies, which brings us to the role of passive and active safety systems.
Passive vs. Active Safety Systems
Safety systems are divided into two categories: passive and active. Each serves a role, but the effectiveness varies depending on the environment and the human element involved.
Passive Safety Systems
Passive safety systems are preventive tools designed to alert workers to potential hazards. Seatbelts, for example, are a straightforward safety measure that prevents serious injury in the event of a collision. Blue lights installed on forklifts serve as a visual alert to pedestrians, and other forklift operators, signaling that a vehicle is approaching. These systems are beneficial, but they have limitations.
For passive systems to work effectively, employees need to actively engage with them. A seatbelt only protects a driver if they remember to wear it. Similarly, blue lights only prevent collisions if pedestrians notice them in time to react. In busy environments where employees are often focused on their tasks, it’s easy for warnings like these to go unnoticed.
The human factor always introduces another layer of risk. For instance, in a crowded warehouse, a worker carrying materials may not see a blue light warning because their focus is elsewhere. Or an operator might ignore signage due to time pressure, which leads to accidents that could have been prevented with an automated response.
Active Safety Systems
Active safety systems are designed to automatically detect and respond to potential hazards in real time, without relying on human attention. These systems step in where passive measures fall short by removing the guesswork and human error from the equation.
For example, a pedestrian proximity detection system can automatically slow down a forklift when it senses someone walking nearby. Unlike a blue light, which warns the pedestrian, an active system actively controls the situation by reducing the speed of the vehicle, giving both parties time to respond safely. This kind of intervention greatly reduces the risk of serious accidents.
These systems go beyond simply warning workers; they actively take steps to prevent accidents. This is especially useful in situations where workers are distracted or unaware of their surroundings. Active systems are widely recognized for their effectiveness in high-traffic areas, where workers on foot and machinery are constantly interacting.
Beyond preventing injuries, these systems can help maintain productivity. When accidents happen, productivity suffers. Active safety systems provide the real-time, automated protection that passive systems can’t always guarantee. Next, we’ll take a closer look at how ELOKON’s solutions help protect workers and prevent accidents.
ELOKON’s Solutions for Pedestrian Safety Around Forklifts
While safety regulations require that only trained operators drive forklifts, these rules alone don’t eliminate the risk of accidents. That’s why ELOKON has developed several active safety solutions to enhance forklift safety.
ELOshield
ELOshield offers multiple modules to boost pedestrian safety around forklifts and vehicles:
- ELOshieldGO: This module uses Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technology to detect when a pedestrian and forklift are too close to one another. When this happens, the system sounds an alarm and can automatically reduce the forklift’s speed, giving both the pedestrian and the driver time to react.
- ELOshieldDRIVE: Designed to prevent vehicle-to-vehicle collisions, this system detects when forklifts are in close proximity,warns the drivers and can reduce the speed of the forklifts.
- ELOshieldZONE: Ideal for areas with poor visibility, like gates or entrances, ELOshieldZONE can slow down forklifts when they enter a busy area to reduce the chance of collisions with pedestrians and other forklifts.
ELOprotect
Warehouses often have very narrow aisles, which can be especially dangerous because of limited visibility. ELOprotect uses laser technology to monitor these spaces. If the system detects a pedestrian or another vehicle in the path of a forklift, it automatically reduces the vehicle’s speed to prevent a collision. This technology is particularly helpful in keeping VNAs safer.
ELOspeed
Forklifts that transition between indoor and outdoor areas face additional challenges, such as changes in lighting and speed limits. ELOspeed uses radar to detect overhead structures, such as a warehouse roof, and automatically slows the vehicle down when it re-enters the warehouse. This system helps prevent accidents in these high-risk areas by controlling vehicle speed based on the environment.
Simplifying Safety with ELOKON
At ELOKON, we believe in making safety easy through technology that works in harmony with your team. Our systems go beyond standard safety rules to provide extra protection where it’s needed most. Don’t leave your warehouse safety to chance; reach out to us today, and let’s discuss how ELOKON can help safeguard your operations.
Let’s take your workplace safety to the next level.