Feldschlösschen is Switzerland’s leading brewery and the country’s largest distributor of beverages. In line with the company‘s ZERO Accidents strategy, it aims to reduce the yearly number of safety related incidents to zero by 2030. In order to achieve this, Feldschlösschen and its MHE supplier Jungheinrich made the joint decision to install ELOKON’s radio-based proximity detection and warning system ELOshield.
Over the years, the brewery’s production facility at its HQ in Rheinfelden has undergone continued expansion, and is now spread across a number of locations including a basement. This has resulted in a mix of employees on foot as well as those driving forklifts working in close proximity. The high level of traffic, both human and motorised, poses a heightened risk of accidents, particularly in areas with limited visibility such as thoroughfares and entrances to transfer aisles.
Warehouse Manager Martin Waldmeier: “Our aim was to use the latest technology to ensure the highest level of safety in our logistical operations. We chose to partner with ELOKON as the company has a wealth of experience in the beverage sector, enabling us to offer the best possible protection for our workforce. As the products are also OEM-independent, we can use them for our entire forklift fleet.”
A total of 30 forklifts have now been retrofitted with ELOshield and the system is operational in all hazardous areas of Feldschlösschen’s plant, reducing the risk of accidents and incidents to the workforce as well as to infrastructure and vehicles.
The various functionalities of ELOshield were individually configured according to the prevailing requirements of specific locations. ELOshieldZONE for example was chosen to safeguard the thoroughfares linking warehouses as well as the bottling plant.
If a forklift enters this area, the ELOshield vehicle module triggers a warning signal and automatically reduces the vehicle‘s speed. Personnel working in these zones are supplied with portable personal transponders. These send warning signals both acoustically and by vibration whenever a forklift or industrial vehicle approaches. The ultra-wideband technology (UWB) ensures unobstructed protection so that people and vehicles can be promptly detected and alerted in blind spots and through obstacles.
“The ability of ELOshieldSPEED to automatically reduce a vehicle’s speed was particularly important for us in certain areas and in the case of complex and critical situations,” explains Waldmeier, and adds: “With some of our forklifts moving loads of up to 3.5 tonnes, this not only increases the risk to our staff but can result in costly damage to goods and infrastructure in the case of a collision. We were also very impressed with the functional diversity of the ELOshield assistance system, which allows a customised security concept to be devised for different areas.”
Matthias Merklinger, Key Account Manager After Sales at Jungheinrich sums up: “From initial consultation to commissioning, the ELOKON project team was always there for us whenever needed. The systems are working perfectly and as a result we have been able to successfully prevent operational accidents”
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