Safety and forklifts: three measures to protect pedestrians

Safety and Forklifts: Three Measures to Protect Pedestrians

Lifting and handling equipment, and in particular forklifts, are essential equipment for transferring goods both in factories and storage warehouses. But every year, the handling of such devices causes hundreds of accidents. Here are three steps you can take to protect pedestrians by safely using a forklift.

Organize Work in a Safe Manner

Studies show that poor work organization prevents to the occurrence of forklift accidents. On the contrary, factory and warehouse managers must ensure:

• To provide a layout of the workplace that allows for sufficiently wide aisles
• To Clear Alleys, Junctions and Access Doors
• To have a traffic volume in correlation with the maneuvering area
• To separate the foot traffic area and the cart maneuvering area
• To Prevent People from Entering Lift Truck Maneuvering Areas
• To Provide Adapted Training for Truck Drivers
• Not to impose production constraints that cause speed and stress
• To regularly check and maintain loading platforms and equipment and to renew it when necessary.

Adopting the right actions

Careful behavior on the part of the driver also reduces the risk of a forklift accident. For example, he must make sure to:

• Ride at a moderate pace
• Use an adapted technique in reverse
• Turn, brake, and accelerate (driving that is neither sudden nor acrobatic)
• Warn Other Factory or Warehouse Workers When Using a Cart Near Them
• Communicate with other team members in the case of shared tasks or areas
• Never Put a Person as a Passenger on the Cart or Load
• Park
• Lock the Wheels of the Device When Stationary

Pedestrians must also take all possible safety measures and in particular:

• Wear High Visibility Clothing
• Keep a sufficient distance from the forklift
• Make your position known to the driver
• Stay Away from Trucks with the Fork Raised and Never Go Under the Fork

Equip yourself with an ingenious prevention system

There are prevention systems in place to avoid forklift collisions with pedestrians. Proxipi is a solution at the cutting edge of technology that makes it possible to detect the pedestrian in the handling area thanks to the badge with which the pedestrian is equipped and the antenna with which the forklift is equipped.

• With the first solution, the system alerts the truck driver and the pedestrian when the latter is within a radius of 15 meters around the device. Everyone can then take the appropriate measures to avoid a collision.
• The Flex Solution offers pedestrian detection with two-way alerts. In addition, it triggers automatic interactions on the machine, for example the activation of the speed reduction.

In Quebec, accidents involving a forklift number in the hundreds each year, in the most serious cases up to the death of a worker. Only good work organization, training and behavior as well as an adapted prevention system can accidents such as pedestrian crashes and getting stuck between the cart and an object can be avoided.