Accessory or necessity?

With a range of forklift add-ons available, it is important for managers to determine which are useful and which are an operational necessity, as Paul Sercombe of Transmon Engineering explains

Materials handling requirements and priorities differ depending on the business, operation and the equipment used. In order to determine whether a forklift add-on is necessary as opposed to useful, companies should first identify the operational needs and what benefits the add-on equipment will bring.

Safety should be a priority in any operation utilising materials handling equipment so add-ons that enhance levels of safety are often more of a necessity. For operations where forklifts and pedestrians are required to operate in the same areas, for example, Transmon's Active Zone Reversing System can be added to any vehicle.

The Active Zone Reversing System provides a visual and audible alarm as it gets closer to a person, object or structure such as racking. The distance limits are adjustable with warnings that can start at up to 7 metres, which get increasingly louder and change from green to amber to red.

No add-on devices are intended to replace the requirement for proper training. They are designed as an addition, to support the training and further enhance safety levels.

On sites where a speed limit applies, speed limiting devices, such as Transmon's Speed Savure, assist managers in enforcing the limit, to reduce the risk of speed related accidents.

Where there may be variable speed limits, on larger sites for example, Transmon's Zone Speed Savure uses RFID Active tags, which signal a speed limiter only when required. On entering a restricted zone the speed limiter is activated and the truck speed is controlled. As the truck leaves the area, the driver has the option of selecting high speed mode, which means the operator is always in control and makes a conscious choice to select an appropriate speed.

The Zone Speed Savure can help sites to adhere to safety regulations, without compromising productivity levels where a speed limit is not required.

Specialist operations such as cold store or storage at height operations often present the obstacle of poor visibility, which is a safety hazard, but also presents the risk of damage to stock or equipment. Transmon's Vision Savure with an in-cab CCTV screen gives operators clear visibility, and Trans Cam Savure records accidents for analysis before and after impact vibration.

While it may seem that safety is the only instance that add-ons might be 'necessary', operations can benefit hugely by becoming more efficient. Heavy duty 24 hour materials handling operations may need to place a focus on reducing wear to forklift components such as tyres, brakes and gears.