The safer way to start the day

I.D. Systems’ pre-ops checklists promote responsible and safe MHE operations.

Ensuring material handling equipment and operators are fit for their tasks at the start of a working day or shift are – or should be – standard operating procedures. However, actually making sure these procedures are being followed can be a different matter: as much as fleet managers would like to rely on the diligence and conscientiousness of employees, enforcing and monitoring the process by electronic pre-ops checklists is a much more fool proof than the old manual paper trail methodology, and inadvertently leads to fewer accidents and lower MHE repair costs.

It is acknowledged that MHE fleet management systems can play a major role in improving safety by making operators more accountable, monitoring impacts and reducing the likelihood of careless driving. Central to this are pre-ops safety checklists such as those offered by I.D. Systems (UK) Ltd., a leading provider of OEM independent MHE fleet management solutions designed to reduce costs whilst improving productivity and enhancing safety procedures.

I.D. Systems is the pioneer of the electronic pre-ops checklists and continuously works on improving and expanding this functionality. Today, key features are hierarchical and impact-driven checklists. Furthermore, it is standard for checklist questions to be tailored 100% to the customers’ operational requirements and the type of equipment being used.

The randomising of answers to pre-ops checklist questions further ensures that an operator must actively review the response options prior to confirming their answer. This innovative feature eliminates the risk of operators simply “ticking the box” without reviewing the answer options first. Wrong/critical responses by operators can automatically enforce a log-out procedure: operators will not be able to use the truck in question and the truck will wirelessly send a message to the head of the workshop of its current log-out status.

Intermediate answers on the state of trucks included in I.D. Systems’ PowerBox™ and PowerFleet™ products again offer more options than a simple yes/no reply: the possibility to enter a minor warning alert – without prompting the log-out process – can be recorded to enable prompt post-shift preventative maintenance to be carried out, reducing major future repair or truck breakdown events.

MHE fleet management systems can also be used to ensure that only trained operators can drive specific truck types such trucks are not “borrowed” or inappropriately used by other departments. Furthermore, the fleet manager can configure questions to suit the requirements. Questions such as “Do you believe that you are wholly fit to drive this forklift?”, “Are you wearing appropriate PPE?” or “Are you under the influence of any medication?” can be included to reinforce the message that operating a potentially dangerous piece of equipment is not to be taken lightly.

Accidents with forklift trucks and other industrial materials handling equipment are sadly still all too common. However, by using devices such as I.D. Systems’ holistic and customer configured pre-ops checklist features in the all-important first few minutes of a shift, fleet operators can increase risk awareness, reduce complacency and ensure the wellbeing of the workforce.

ID Systems

www.id-systems.com