Systems to cut the cost of collisions

One of the most important environments in today’s business is the warehouse – a hub of activity for storing, shipping, receiving and circulating goods through the facility on the way to their final destination. It’s a vital link in the material handling chain and it’s also a prime area for accidents. In fact, thousands of injuries occur in warehouses, some fatal. 

Why? By its very nature, the warehouse environment presents a number of potential safety hazards. Forklift and pedestrian traffic, noise, material handling, the amount of activity, distractions, tight spaces, blind corners – all are ingredients for cooking up an accident.

Creating and maintaining a safe warehouse environment is not just about traffic management or safety equipment or even training – it’s about a comprehensive program; one that considers every option possible to prevent accidents and injuries to people, equipment and facilities. That includes collision impact protection.

There are several “hot spots” in the warehouse that are extremely vulnerable to collisions. One is the blind spot around corners where pedestrians and forklifts intersect. Pedestrians move in and out of the forklift driver’s operational field of vision. When there is no separation between pedestrians and vehicles or when vehicles are moving at a higher rate of speed, the risk of accidents increases. Poor lighting, lack of warning signs and no barriers at crossing points increase the risk even more. 

See around blind corners

Prevention measures include marking floor areas to designate accepted traffic routes, providing optimal lighting, posting warning signs, mirrors, barriers and railings and installing a collision warning system. Sentry Protection Products recently introduced the Collision Sentry – designed to create a safer working environment by reducing or eliminating “blind corner” collisions. Using infrared motion detectors to “see” around blind corners, the Collision Sentry flashes a warning to forklift drivers and pedestrians that a collision is possible. The product is self-powered, portable and deploys immediately. The product was recently voted the overall winner in the 2013 IMHX Design 4 Safety competition after capturing the top spot in the Technology Division.

Heavy lift truck traffic moving in and out of the warehouse at varying speeds, presents a danger to building columns as well. The force of the tow motor impact can significantly damage structural columns, surrounding supports and again – people and equipment. 

Forklift vehicles need weight in order to lift heavy objects, but that weight isn’t always easy to control, especially in increasingly tight quarters. In addition, the typical forklift system carries its load in front of the driver; a good idea for picking up and moving objects, but one that can lead to a severely obstructed view of objects near the ground and in front of the vehicle. That obstructed view makes building columns a prime target for repeated hits and significant damage – to the column, the forklift and the operator. Underestimating the distance required for a forklift to come to a safe stop can lead to additional incidences of impact with structural columns.

What about racking systems? Racks are continually subjected to abuse and most of the damage is caused by impact from forklifts. Damage to the racks not only compromises the integrity of the structure, it can shift the alignment of the stored materials causing them to fall which leads to additional damage, breakage and costs. The compromising effect of dings, dents and buckles accumulates until the structure can become unstable enough to collapse. Racking is made to hold up shelves; it’s not made to withstand impact. In reality it has to do both.

Impact-absorbing products like rack protectors and column protectors provide excellent protection from lift truck/structure collisions and have the ability to sustain repeated impacts. Through research and development, Sentry Protection Products created and manufactures the highest quality column protectors (Column Sentry) and rack protectors (Rack Sentry) to absorb impact and reduce the severity of the collision damage.

The bottom line? Make safety a priority. Develop a comprehensive safety program for your facility using all the tools available. Then implement and enforce it daily. The results will benefit you, your employees and your business.