Will your Product/Solution

• Work in my specific environment. e.g. Loading dock, Aisles, Manufacturing area etc.
• Configure to account for different equipment sizes, speed and loads
• Change alerting behavior based on where it is located e.g. less alerts when in busy areas like Loading docks but normal alerting in Aisles or other parts of the building
• Alert pedestrian as well as forklift operator to each others presence
• Alert if the forklift is at risk of hitting fixed property such as shelving/racking etc.
• Detect a pedestrian worker that may be doing inventory or checking a pallet when they are not in direct light of sight of the forklift collision avoidance system

Does your product

• Require a separate power conversion device or circuit to operate
• Work in high humidity and high temperature fluctuation areas
• Alert people with color deficiency or impairment in hearing

The post Questions to ask when selecting a forklift collision avoidance system appeared first on ARINAlert - Forklift Pedestrian Collision Avoidance System.

1: Train your workers

2: Segregate workers from forklift traffic to the extent possible

3: Create and manage a forklift maintenance program

Lets talk about each of these in more detail and why they are important.

Training:

It is absolutely important that forklift drivers and pedestrian workers who share space with the forklifts should both be trained to work in their areas.

OSHA requires that forklift operators be trained and certified to operate forklifts. This training and certification ensures that forklift drivers are aware of the risks that forklifts pose to other workers and property.

For pedestrian workers, it is important to understand the damage a forklift can cause. New forklifts are very quite and will not make any noise to alert workers to their approach. This combined with the lack of visibility for the forklift driver makes it very dangerous for pedestrian workers. So pedestrian workers need to be trained and retrained to ensure they are constantly looking out for forklifts nearby.

Segregate Workers from forklift traffic:

If at all possible and to the extent possible, forklift traffic should be segregated from pedestrian traffic. This segregation should be physical i.e. with physical barriers so workers will not wander into a forklift area by mistake.

Create a maintenance program

The risk of accidents increased significantly if the forklifts are not maintained regularly. Forklift maintenance should be a important  part of operations. Any process that can help make identification of pending failures or incorrect operation quickly and enable the identified problems to be addresses in a timely manner will improve overall fleet performance and reduce accidents. A shift inspection process for forklifts will identify problems before they cause accidents.

Once these simple processes have  been implemented and become part of the culture, you are ready to look at active solutions to help further reduce risk of accidents.

Call us at +1-724-897-7216 or email at info@arintech.us and we can provide you with as much time as you and your team require and consult you (for Free) so you can pick the right solution for your needs!

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Accident risk goes up significantly when unauthorized and untrained people are able to turn on and operate a powered industrial vehicle. Powered industrial vehicles are smaller in size compared to regular cars but weigh just as much as a typical car. Their weight can easily double when there is a load being moved. 

There are multiple ways to ensure that only authorized drivers get on forklifts or are able to operate any kind of material handling equipment. These methods include

• Putting keys in a common key box in a place where only authorized drivers have access
•  Training everyone who works in the facility to operate all the equipment
• Providing personal “master” keys to each operator or a key to the equipment that person is trained to operate
• Use shift inspections and authentication via the inspection process to enable turning on the equipment
• Use personal protective devices like the ARINAlert pedestrian wearable as a keyfob. 

Each method has its strengths and will help address different situations. 

Call us at +1-724-897-7216 or email at info@arintech.us and we can provide you with as much time as you and your team require and consult you (for Free) so you can pick the right solution for your needs!

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A shift inspection checklist should enable the driver of the forklift to properly, but easily, collect information about the various systems of the forklift. This information can then be stored digitally and any concerns identified can be sent to the maintenance team. 

Anytime an inspection fails, the failure is reported immediately to supervisors and also to the maintenance team. This allows supervisors to take appropriate action that can range from parking the forklift to signing off on use because they deem the forklift usable in a same manner.

This second action can only be allowed if maintenance is informed about the failed inspection and is preparing to fix the issue.

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Camera based solutions will promise that the cameras can differentiate between human workers and other objects and can alert the forklift operator to the presence of either.

We suggest you ask these questions before determining is a camera based solution is right for you

1: What happens if a person is behind a pallet and absolutely not visible to the forklift driver or camera?

2: What happens if a person around a corner and not in the line of sight of the forklift driver or camera?

3: Are you Ok if the forklift hits a pallet of product or fixed property but do not want the forklift to hit a pedestrian worker?

Call us at +1-724-897-7216 or email at info@arintech.us and we can provide you with as much time as you and your team require and consult you (for Free) so you can pick the right solution for your needs!

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The elimination of hazards through the construction of physical barriers or offsetting of schedules so that pedestrians and equipment do not share the same path is the most effective means. Personal protective equipment (PPE) such as helmets, eye wear, ear plugs, and steel-toed shoes are worn to reduce the effects of exposure to environmental dangers are the least effective means.

With regards to forklifts safety, there are several effective engineering controls as noted by a provider of manufacturing insurance.

Moving down to engineering controls, there are a multitude of technological solutions on the market today to aid in employer’s forklift safety efforts. Some examples are: lights that extend in front of or behind the machine to alert pedestrians to its presence, speed limiters that can prevent collisions due to travelling with excessive speed, and pedestrian sensing devices that alert drivers to stop movement.

Engineering Controls – Additional Cost or Cost Reduction?

While engineering controls can increase worker safety, the ultimate decision on “how, what and when” to do as well as the associated costs invariably becomes a basic business decision, generally based on a Return on Investment (ROI) calculation.

While some ROI calculations are straightforward, a ROI calculation in accident prevention can be elusive. A blog post by the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC) Administrator/CEO quantifies and summarizes the ROI succinctly:

Various studies report that for every $1 invested in workplace safety, employers receive between $2 and $6 in return. Ohio BWC is investing in safety as well. We offer numerous opportunities for companies to get financial assistance when they invest in safety.

In 1999, the Ohio BWC established a Safety Intervention Grant program to evaluate ROI in engineering controls. In exchange for the grant, workers compensation claims were compared before and after the implementation of equipment. BWC grants have proven that workers compensation claims are consistently reduced when investments in engineering controls are subsidized.

With the safety intervention grant, private and public employers are eligible for a 3-to-1 matching grant, up to a maximum grant award of $40,000 for each eligibility cycle. This means BWC gives $3 for every $1 the employer contributes.

In return, employers will submit a one-year case study with a cost benefit analysis one year after the date of the intervention. Employers will also submit a two-year report two years after the date of the intervention. We’ll use this information to determine the effectiveness of the intervention and share successes with other employers.

Taking a deeper dive, the RAND Corporation independently studied the impact of the NIOSH-BWC partnership and effectiveness of safety intervention grants as they pertain to engineering controls. The BWC accelerated the growth of the grant program, quadrupled funding, based on NIOSH work. NIOSH determined that, when investments are made in engineering controls, savings are realized through avoiding workers’ compensation costs, associated productivity gains, and avoided uncompensated wage losses.

More than with the other case studies, the impacts of this work are still developing. Nevertheless, the authors find evidence that, between 2013 and 2017, NIOSH research has been associated with $4 million to $7 million per year in avoided workers’ compensation costs, $7 million to $11 million in new streams of annual productivity gains per year, and from almost $700,000 to more than $16 million in avoided uncompensated wage losses per year.

Given that grant awards totaled $13.8 million annually during this same period, it can be concluded that investments in engineering controls pay for themselves in the first year. The RAND study also notes that “unlike the other estimates, which are lump sums, these estimates are annual benefits that presumably last for the life of the purchased engineering control.”

If you are considering improving work safety while reducing your costs through engineering controls for your forklifts, like our ARINAlert system, we can help you build a business case by contacting us at info@arintechnologies.xyz and we can compare notes.

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Besides providing communication between devices, BLE can also be used for positioning by determine the approximate distance between the devices. Positioning can be helpful in some applications like social distancing devices that need to determine when two things (i.e. people, devices, tags) are in close proximity.

A somewhat similar method that has been around for decades, but just recently started making its way into everyday devices is Ultra-Wide Band (UWB). For example, most of the smart phone makers like Apple and Samsung have started incorporating UWB technology into their devices.

At ARIN Technologies, all of our products like ARINAlert and the new SocialDistancer digital PPE devices rely on UWB and here is why.

Reason #1 – Bandwidth

UWB and BLE are similar in that they are both low-power radio systems. However, the biggest differentiator is the bandwidth.

Typical bandwidth of UWB is 500MHz compared to 20MHz for BLE. This massive bandwidth differential, along with other characteristics, makes UWB more suitable for positioning.

It [BLE] was not made for tracing, but at least it can give an indication [of] which other phones have been in close range.

Sven Mattisson, Bluetooth designer and engineer, Ericsson AB, 1995

Reason #2 – Time-of-Flight

UWB uses a technique called Time-of-Flight (ToF) to calculate distances. It is similar to echo location used by bats. On the other hand, BLE uses Received Signal Strength (RSS) for calculating position.

As an example, consider six people, each with a PPE device that can communicate with each other. Each person is anywhere from one to five meters from the center (0 meters) person as illustrated below.

The ToF method of computing distance is through timestamps and does not require the devices (tags) to be in Line of Sight (LOS) with one another. The normal distribution curve for distance calculated using ToF between different devices at different distances is shown in Figure 1. As you can clearly see, each distance is very distinguishable and within an accuracy of 10 centimeters.

Figure 1

As mentioned above, BLE uses RSS to measure distances between devices. The normal distribution curve for RSS indication is shown in Fig.2 and indicates the unreliable nature of BLE to differentiate devices even when they are 1 meter apart.

Figure 2

Another interesting point about Figure 2 is that the tags are in LOS with each other. While the yellow curve can be clearly distinguished, the others are not.

For this example, the device represented by yellow curve is placed right on top of the receiver while the other six devices are spread 1 meter apart (or anywhere from one to six meters from the receiver). As shown, you cannot distinguish whether a distance is 1 meter or 6 meters because there is no clear relation between RSS and distance outside of an ideal environment. As such, this is the reason why BLE can only provide proximity and not precision.

Reason #3 – Non-Line of Sight

In Non-Line of Sight (non-LOS) situations, the UWB radio signal will be attenuated, but the signal strength measurement is not used for range calculation. As such, the timestamps required by the ToF technique remains accurate in calculating the distance with an accuracy of 10 centimeters. We have tested our UWB devices in non-LOS situations where there are obstacles (e.g. concrete blocks, humans, etc.) and the distance calculations have always been accurate.

To see ARINAlert at work in a non-LOS scenario, please view our video.

In contrast, BLE’s reliance on RSS for distance calculations can be negatively influenced by external environmental factors. The signal can be diminished, reflected, or even amplified, thus resulting in unreliable calculations. For instance, if the person is simply turned away from the receiver, the distance calculated by RSS is greater than the true distance and thus inaccurate.

Need to learn more?

Here are two articles that might be of interest.

FiRa Consortium – How UWB Works

ElectronicDesign. – What’s The Difference Between Measuring Location By UWB, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth?

Conclusion

UWB with the ToF technique is the more accurate method of measuring distances when compared to BLE with the RSS technique. This is critical for social distancing and contact tracing applications, where accuracy and precision can make or break the effectiveness of a safety system.

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According the latest CDC guidance, the virus is thought to spread mainly from person to person:

• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet, which is about two meters)
• Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks

While masks can help with the “respiratory droplets”, it does not tell workers, busy doing their job, that other workers are within the 6 feet (2 meter) close contact zone.

This is where our new SocialDistancer can provide busy workers with the alerts they need. Unlike Bluetooth devices, our devices use proprietary Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology that is much more precise when calculating distances, providing a more reliable alert. Bluetooth uses Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) for distance approximation which leads to unreliable alerts and false positives for contact. In other words, while you want workers alerted, you don’t want errant alerts which not only distract workers from their task but provides unreliable contact data.

Speaking of contact data, the SocialDistancer records recent contacts so in the unfortunate event of a worker testing positive for COVID-19, you have a record of recent contacts and can take appropriate actions. And for worker privacy, contacts are anonymous, based on unique ARIN ID’s.

To help manage all of the data, it can be easily be uploaded and retrieved from our cloud servers.

Lastly, the SocialDistancer is designed for industrial ruggedness and split-second response times so you and your workers can get on with your work knowing that SocialDistancer is standing watch.

To recap, here is why you should choose SocialDistancer:

• Alerts are given at precisely 6 ft (1.83 m)
• Contacts are cached at 6 ft, no false positives
• Contacts are anonymous, based on unique ARIN ID’s

If your business is ramping back up, SocialDistancer can help. For more information, visit www.socialdistancer.us

SocialDistancer is a trademark of ARIN Technologies

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Can we do it? Yes, we can!

At the core of ARINAlert is the ability to measure distances accurately and making decisions rapidly based on those measurements. It is a natural extension to give social distancing alerts.

How did we respond to such requests? Initially, we considered a single request to be an outlier and added it to the backlog. Several in-bounds later, we ran a short experiment. In this case, we packaged 2 pedestrian wearables with lightly customized software, added a buzzer and, voila, we created one social distance alerting system.

The ARINAlert wearable now provides a protective bubble.

Workers within 6 feet of each other (aerosol droplet range) receive a warning beep of 2 Hz and workers within 3 feet of each other (large droplet range) hear a danger beep of 4 Hz.

Stay away. Stay safe.

Now that we have established feasibility, we ask ourselves,

“Should we do it?”

It is understood that people need to feel safe at work. No employer wants the liability of exposing workers to illness, and nobody wants to get sick, especially when the consequences are high, but we have some questions:

• Are people serious about investing in social distancing PPE?
• Is social distancing a fad? Will people still care about this scenario after the curve has flattened and things return to normal?
• In the wake of reduced productivity and trillions of dollars of economic damage, will widespread adoption of outbreak prevention technology become a priority?
• Is it worth spending time to complete the development and commercialize social distance alerting?

What do you think? Will social distancing alerts become a thing?

Send us a note at info@arintechnologies.xyz and let us know what you think.

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There are several factors to consider when determining a safe distance from a forklift:

• Forklift speed
• Forklift size and weight
• Picking height
• Load size and type

First, consider the size of the forklifts in your facility. This will give you a minimum safe distance to maintain between you and the machinery. Forklifts are designed to work in tight quarters and narrow aisles. Unlike automobiles, forklifts steer with the back wheels and pivot around the front wheels. While this design is optimal for carrying heavy loads and spinning, forklift movement can catch a pedestrian off guard. When moving forward, the rear end swing has the potential to clip racking or nearby people. Likewise, the long forks swing around when traveling in reverse.

A forklift travelling at 7 mph requires about 20 feet to stop, according to A Guide to Forklift Safety. When you are situated in the direction of travel of a forklift, give extra time and space to react in case the vehicle unexpected changes direction.

Picking height is a little less intuitive, but when a forklift is loading or unloading material from a high rack, give an extra wide berth equal to the height of your racking. As the material comes off from the rack, it has the highest potential for damage. Not only can it fall from a tall height, but this is the likely time that a forklift can tip. The tipping motion creates an arc which the load travels, crashing down many feet from the forklift location.

Lastly, consider the material in transit. If the load shifts quickly and becomes unbalanced, it will tip and fall to the ground. Give extra space in case a tall box topples or building material falls from a pallet or, perhaps, a containers full of liquid crashes and bursts.

With all of the negative aspects of COVID-19, it has taught us a new term, Social Distancing, that can be put to practical use around forklifts. Stay safe out there.

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