Forklifts are an essential piece of equipment in many industries around the world. However, while these vital tools help move businesses forward in many sectors like warehousing and manufacturing, they also pose a significant threat to pedestrian workers. Any time pedestrians and mobile equipment interact or have the possibility to clash, there is the potential for severe and sometimes fatal accidents to occur.
Pedestrian detection sensors are usually aftermarket devices installed on mobile equipment that provide an active safety measure designed to prevent accidents and protect pedestrians. Typically these sensors detect when an obstacle or pedestrian has entered an area around mobile equipment such as forklifts and audibly alert both the operator and pedestrian. They can be regarded as a second set of eyes for your mobile equipment operators.
Why are sensors important?
No matter where you go in the world, forklifts are hurting people. Forklifts injure more people in the United Kingdom than any other type of equipment, and 57% of all people injured by forklifts in the UK are pedestrians. In the United States, forklift accidents killed 78 workers in 2020, and 36% of those killed were pedestrians. Despite the implementation of a range of passive safety measures, it is clear that there is a lot of room for improvement regarding pedestrian safety around forklifts.
The material handling industry is busy, and recent labor shortages have only made it more hectic. The movement of people, merchandise, and equipment in your average warehouse creates a high potential for a negative interaction between people and equipment. One of the best ways to tackle this persistent and widespread safety issue is with pedestrian detection sensors.
What sensors are available on the market?
Pedestrian detection sensors all serve the same purpose, to prevent accidents by helping mobile equipment operators become more aware of their surroundings. Succeeding in this goal is vitally important, especially as the post-pandemic labor shortages have companies managing an influx of new, potentially less skilled, and overworked employees.
While pedestrian proximity sensors attempt to solve the same issue, they do not all work the same. For example, some use lidar or machine learning, and others use tags or transmitters worn by pedestrians. There are many options on the market, and most sound great until you start digging into the details.
What are the biggest issues with pedestrian detection sensors?
As with anything, there are always pros and cons to consider before making a choice. Here are some of the most noteworthy issues to look out for.
Some sensors rely on tags
Most pedestrian detection sensors require that employees wear a tag that the sensor detects. The main reason these systems fail is that with tags, the worker must begin wearing and managing a new piece of equipment. It seems simple enough, but it requires employee compliance and a behavior change, making the adoption process more challenging. Also, these tags often run out of batteries and get lost, forgotten, or broken, leaving workers unprotected.
Some sensors are unreliable
One of the most significant issues many sensors have is that they are far too sensitive. This sensitivity means that operators are bombarded continually throughout their day with nuisance alarms. These alarms go off in error because the sensor is not intelligent enough to distinguish between a person and an object. As a result, operators eventually stop reacting to the alarm, effectively making the sensor useless. It is like the fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf; eventually, people lose confidence in the alert.
Some sensors cannot handle a wide range of environments or conditions
The diversity amongst industries means mobile equipment is not always in a clean, interference-free workplace. You will find forklifts in every corner of the globe, from the frigid cold of the Arctic Circle to the sweltering heat of the Sahara Desert. From a relatively clean and flat warehouse to a dusty and dirty construction site and everywhere in between. Because of this variety, having a pedestrian detection sensor that can handle any environment without sacrificing performance is crucial.
Unfortunately, many sensors on the market cannot accommodate this basic need, and their sensors malfunction or stop detecting workers in critical moments. This fatal flaw amongst many sensors results in a decrease in performance and an increased risk of potential accidents. So ask yourself, what good is a pedestrian detection sensor if it can not detect people?
Some sensors are complicated
While sensors that promote Artificial Intelligence may sound exciting, they also bring other unintended issues. For example, as technology becomes more complex, sensors often become less user-friendly and more expensive to implement and maintain. This complexity can also mean that your equipment is out of service for longer during device installation or troubleshooting, directly impacting your business's productivity.
How SEEN Safety is different
Often the most straightforward solutions are also the most effective, and many sensors overcomplicate what should be a simple fix. Where other sensors use complex software and unreliable technology, the IRIS-860 from SEEN leverages one of the most commonly used pieces of personal protective equipment, the high visibility vest. Because the sensor picks up on a piece of PPE that your employees are already comfortable wearing, employees do not have to change their behaviour and do not require any training.
SEEN Safety's forklift and mobile equipment sensors have reliably guarded countless pedestrians all over the globe and in every type of environment and condition. With the IRIS-860, operators feel better knowing that if they make a mistake, there is a second set of eyes to catch them. Likewise, business owners have peace of mind knowing that they are protecting their workers with an effective tool 24/7.
With their practical, user-friendly, and affordable pedestrian safety solution, SEEN Safety offers one of the best sensors on the market today. Your employees deserve to feel safe at work and not worry about being seriously hurt or killed by forklifts and other mobile equipment. With the IRIS-860, they can now put their minds at ease knowing they are protected. Get started with SEEN today, our Check Fit self assessment questionnaire will help you determine whether SEEN is right for you.