5 Key Trends and Tips in Forklift Operation Safety
As a company in the intralogistics industry, you’re likely employing the latest tech to keep up with demand and outpace competitors. Newer material handling equipment (MHE) and workflow management software are tools that the intralogistics sector relies on to improve operations. But what about improving forklift operation safety to increase productivity?
Improving safety systems for forklifts that only mitigates forklift-related accidents, but can also increase productivity and help realize more value. This guide will review forklift safety tips, safety rules trending forklift safety procedures. At ELOKON, we believe in improving intralogistics safety on multiple fronts to better protect the workplace.
Forklift Safety Tips
Forklift Safety Tips
There are some common forklift safety tips that every intralogistics company should follow. They include training team members, following legally required guidelines, and going above and beyond when it comes to team safety.
Train Team Members
Thorough forklift operation safety starts with adequately training team members on proper forklift usage. Any forklift operator needs to be certified and trained to drive one. Training for operators can include pre-operational checklist requirements, driving techniques, and load management. They can also include how to navigate in a warehouse area with pedestrian employees. In addition, the whole team can be trained on how to be cautious around forklifts and look out for them while they’re in the warehouse.
Follow Legally Required Guidelines
Following legally required guidelines is also critically important in forklift operation safely. Following these guidelines help prevent accidents and ensure that your operations are up to regulation. Not following legal requirements could result in financial penalties and halted operations, in addition to unnecessary forklift-related injuries and casualties.
Go Above and beyond in Safety
The last of the forklift safety tips we’ll share is to go above and beyond. But what does this mean?
While training team employees, employing certified forklift operators, and following legal requirements are important and necessary, they’re the minimum when it comes to safety. Warehouses and other intralogistics workspaces are busy and have many hazards where accidents still occur. Implementing safety and assistance systems, like ELOKON solutions, can add multiple additional layers of safety to industrial environments. The systems further mitigate the chance of forklift-related accidents or casualties.
Training, following legal requirements, and implementing additional safety systems safeguard intralogistics employees. These tips can also improve productivity. Now, let’s explore the importance of following forklift safety rules.
Following Forklift Safety Rules
Following forklift safety rules keep employees safe and companies protected. While incredibly helpful in intralogistics, forklifts can be dangerous if operators aren’t trained well or if the vehicles are misused. Without following forklift safety rules, the vehicles themselves become hazardous to their operators, pedestrian employees, other MHE drivers, the workspace, and warehouse objects. By following forklift safety rules, your team can minimize accidents and avoid costly downtime. Enforcing these forklift safety rules lowers liability in the event of a forklift-related accident. These forklift rules foster a culture of safety in a work setting, allowing leadership to set the standard of expectations so teams can confidently follow. Implementing safety guidelines shows your workforce that the company cares about their well-being.
We can’t stress the importance of these safety guidelines enough. We also recommend keeping current with trending forklift safety procedures. This allows companies to continuously improve their safety operations.
5 Trending Forklift Safety Procedures
Talking about safety and improving protocols is important– but where to start? What are important forklift operation safety procedures that warehouse teams should implement to mitigate collisions? Here are 5 trending forklift safety procedures for the modern intralogistics sector.
1. Improve Visibility
While warehouses should increase visibility by removing dangers within a forklift route, teams can also improve visibility by implementing intelligent forklift safety solutions. ELOKON has a portfolio of solutions available for increasing visibility regarding fleet management, zoning and speed control, and proximity detection.
2. Place Floor Markings
Placing yellow tape to mark hazards, high-traffic areas, or pedestrian walkways are forklift safety procedures that can encourage a safer working environment. This tape serves as a visual warning for dangerous areas around the warehouse. However, sometimes the tape can be missed or hidden, so employing a wireless safety system that either modulates forklift speeds or controls forklift speeds in certain areas can prevent forklift-related accidents. ELOKON ELOspeed and ELOshield can do just that.
3. Conduct Pre-Operational Checklists and Maintenance
In the US, it’s legally required that drivers complete pre-operational checklists before starting to drive. Also, regularly scheduled inspections can alert the team of any damage or wear that could be hazardous. ELOfleet makes pre-ops checklists simple to complete and maintenance easy to keep track of. These are important forklift safety procedures that ELOfleet streamlines.
4. Wearable Safety Technology
Another trend in forklift operation safety is wearable safety technology. At ELOKON, our ELOshieldGO solution offers pedestrian detection for forklift drivers. The modules on forklifts transmit a radio signal that is received and reflected by the pedestrian personal module. If a pedestrian gets too close to a vehicle, the vehicle module sounds both audio and visual alerts and it slows the vehicle down. The pedestrian module also sounds an alarm to prevent collisions.
5. Remote Fleet Analysis
The last of the trending forklift safety procedures is remote fleet analysis. Remote fleet analysis increases fleet data visibility and allows companies to monitor fleet status and operation time anywhere in the world. This increased visibility can improve safety as teams can readily access key information. ELOfleet offers a web-based dashboard where leadership can view active operators, impact statistics, maintenance schedules, and more.
ELOKON is an industry leader in safety and assistance systems for the connected workspace and we can help any warehouse find the right safety solutions for their operations.
Ensure Safety With ELOKON
At ELOKON, we’re dedicated to creating leading safety and assistance systems for the intralogistics sector. Our portfolio of solutions makes it easier to maintain a protected warehouse environment without losing productivity. Contact us at ELOKON today to implement any one of our solutions and tailor it to your work floor.