Peter Harvey will introduce presentations from some of the Finalists in the Safety Category for the 2012 FLTA Awards for Excellence. These safety innovations include:

• Zone Safe Proximity Warning System from Avonwood Developments Ltd

• JCB Changezee from JCB Industrial

• BlueSpot™ from Linde Material Handling (UK) Ltd

• MForks from RAVAS Europe BV

• BT Reflex Shocks from Toyota Material Handling UK Ltd

Read on to find out more.

ZoneSafe® Proximity Warning System

ZoneSafe® is a proximity warning system which provides protection to help safeguard personnel from forklift truck collisions. Fitted to a fork lift truck the system provides a configurable 360° invisible detection zone and an audible/visual alarm.

ZoneSafe® transponders are worn by all personnel. These are detected when a person enters the proximity zone around a fork lift truck. Entering the zone will trigger an audible/visual alarm, alerting the operator of the forklift that a pedestrian is in close proximity. ZoneSafe® can be fitted to most materials handling vehicles.

ZoneSafe® unit’s record and log events as they happen. Event logs are easily downloaded from each ZoneSafe® unit allowing users to view, compare and analyze the collected data such as proximity detections either locally or over the web. Being able to analyse this information offers an essential tool to help managers identify potential issues and provide opportunities to improve site training and safety.

ZoneSafe® offers more than just proximity warning of pedestrians to vehicle operators. ZoneSafe® can be used to protect equipment and infrastructure reducing vehicle collisions, help prevent vehicle to vehicle incidents, setup exclusion areas and zones around equipment or danger areas as well as access control for pedestrians and vehicles.

ZoneSafe® offers organisations an effective and flexible component to health and safety by reducing forklift and pedestrian collisions, improving driver awareness and ensuring materials handling operations are carried out safely, securely and efficiently.

JCB Teletruk Changeeze

Quick-Disconnect device

The JCB Changeeze device is a carriage-mounted interface which enables various lifting devices and attachments to be changed in less than 30 seconds without the operator having to leave the cab of a JCB Teletruk. It operates hydraulically.

The latest hydraulic JCB Changeeze is unique in the world of industrial counterbalance forklifts. It is particularly useful in builders’ merchants yards and the fast-growing recycling industry where users require a variety of machines and attachments to perform several different tasks. With a Changeeze fitted, the JCB Teletruk can, to some extent, do the work of several other types of machine such as loading shovel, skid steer loader, telescopic handler, and conventional industrial counterbalance fork lift.

Cost-savings for the customer can be significant. Changing attachments on a conventional masted counterbalance fork lift is a job for a trained engineer, and JCB has observed that typical call-out charge is around £200.

However, the major cost-saving is where the purchase of one Teletruk with Changeeze could well save the customer in the region of £28,000, when costed over five years against a standard fork lift plus skid-steer or small loading shovel.

JCB’s strategy with the JCB Teletruk is to concentrate on fork lift users who can benefit from the machine’s telescopic reach to reduce the amount of space required for lorry loading. Also to improve site safety because of reduced forklift movements, and to improve site safety by allowing the separation of pedestrian pathways completely from fork lift work zones.

It further developed a previous easy-to-use manually-operated design.

BlueSpot™ from Linde

In 2011 Linde Material Handling introduced the BlueSpot™ safety device to raise awareness in the workplace of mobile material handling equipment, without further noise or audible distraction to the fork lift truck driver or fellow workers.

BlueSpot™ is a unique combination of high powered LED lights that project clear blue spots some 3 – 4 metres in front of moving equipment. Designed to alert pedestrians walking near or across the line of travel, the spot is highly effective at enhancing the welfare and safe passage of pedestrians in the vicinity of material handling and associated equipment.

Especially useful in noisy working areas where audible warnings become indistinguishable from daily activity, or where the repetitive sound of reversing klaxons causes aural stress and an inertness to the proximity of such warning, the BlueSpot™ has become a proven tool in the development of employee and pedestrian safety.

Also good at highlighting the location and movement of material handling equipment both inside and outside the warehouse or manufacturing environment, it can be fitted as either a new truck option or a retrofit product on most makes of equipment.

Available in flashing or stable configuration, the BlueSpot™ has been designed to withstand the constant vibration and gruelling working conditions associated with the MHE environment.

With over 5,000 now fitted by Linde globally – 25% of which are in the UK, BlueSpot™ is being seen increasingly as the next ‘seatbelt of safety’ in the MHE world.

About the presenter:

Stephen Edwards,  Aftersales Commercial Manager at Linde Material Handling Ltd in Basinsgtoke, has worked with Linde for seven years, initially as General Manager Parts Division. Stephen’s primary role is the development of Aftersales products and services in the UK.

MForks:

Fork load indicator

MForks is designed to help a fork lift driver lift a load safely and to avoid dangerous situations, such as forks breaking.

A patented measurement system is incorporated in the forks, which measures a combination of the load’s weight and its load centre point: the load moment.

As a result, the MForks indicator – which is mounted in the cabin – calculates whether the load, in its current position on the forks, may be lifted safely. The indicator shows the actual load moment as a percentage of the maximum lifting capacity for the load centre.

At this year’s Fork Lift Truck Association Awards for Excellence, MForks was the overall winner in the Safety category.

BT Reflex reach truck:

The only truck with Shock Sensors fitted as standard

Last September (2011) Toyota Material Handling UK announced all new BT Reflex reach trucks were to be fitted with shock sensors as standard. This new safety feature was later shortlisted in the FLTA Awards Safety Category.

In today’s fast paced warehouse environment, more is demanded in a shorter space of time. This puts stress on both operators and equipment which can result in unpredictable damage to goods, equipment and infrastructure.

As part of Toyota’s on-going commitment to help reduce accidents, damage and drive down costs in the workplace, Toyota was the first materials handling equipment manufacturer to fit shock sensors as standard to its entire range of BT Reflex reach trucks. Shocks will allow any impact to trucks to be monitored, recorded and linked to drivers – leading to cost savings as well as increased safety on-site.

Mounted on the truck, shock sensors record impact. Impacts above a pre-set threshold will be registered. When a shock is detected through an impact, the truck will be limited to creep speed (2.5 km/h) and a signal will sound every five seconds, until the truck has been reset by PIN code, or reset key/card.

As impacts/ shocks can be measured and recorded, poor driving can be detected and damage to trucks, goods and racking can be reduced -resulting in cost reduction and a safer operation. Shock sensors will also have a positive effect on driving behaviour, leading to increased safety on site.

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