Maintaining a safe workplace is a non-negotiable in materials handling environments
According to the National Safety Council, in the US in 2024-25, 84 people died as the result of forklift accidents. Meanwhile, in 2023-24, there were 15,460 days of work lost in the US as a result of such accidents.
Given that such statistics are broadly replicated, or in some cases exceeded, in jurisdictions around the world, the clear message for businesses that are serious about the wellbeing of their own people, is that safety must remain the top priority.
With this mind, here is a selection of safety-related products that are intended to help reduce forklift accidents resulting in death, injury or lost time.
Camera system for multi pallet handlers
Bolzoni’s latest safety-related product is Easy-Fork, a camera system designed for installation on multi pallet handlers in the beverage industry.
“The system is made of two main cameras and a seven-inch monitor in the cabin,” says Carlo Fallarini, global marketing director at Bolzoni Group.
“Ensuring a clear view of the fork tip and the pallet pockets, as well as beyond the load, the solution helps materials handling operations improve safety and productivity.”
Easy-Fork is recommended for installation on multi pallet handlers in the beverage industry
The system includes a sensor with the ability to automatically switch the camera view in the cabin monitor, depending on the operational phase. In this way, it provides the forklift driver with improved visibility when handling multiple pallets from the ground, from conveyors or from trucks.
In general, without the help of such a system, the presence of mast components, profiles, cylinders, chains, pulleys, and so on, make it difficult for the driver to clearly see the fork tip and the pallet pocket from his seat.
“Our solution significantly reduces the risk of damage to the pallet and load, and especially, the risk of wrong handling and load dropping,” says Fallarini.
Asked for a typical operational example, Fallarini points to the task of picking the pallets from the warehouse floor for loading onto trucks from the side.
The first camera, which provides a clear view of the operations, assists the driver to pick up the pallets, while the second camera, positioned on the tip of the fork, helps place the load correctly onto the truck.
Beyond bolstering the immediate safety of personnel and property, Easy-Fork has another sometimes-neglected benefit.
“The camera system prevents the driver from assuming incorrect positions during work, bending the neck, or leaning the back,” says Fallarini.
“Working in a warehouse, it’s common to see drivers leaning outside the cabin trying to get a clear view of the pallet handling.”
Over the course of an eight-hour shift, these types of movements have the potential of causing injury to the driver’s back.
Pedestrian detection system
Along similar lines, Davis Derby offers AIC4 AI-Alert, a forklift mounted driver aid with four cameras.
Davis Derby offers AIC4 AI-Alert, a forklift mounted driver aid with four cameras
“The system uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify pedestrians around vehicles and alerts the driver both audibly and visually to their presence and relative position,” explains Dave Randle, CEO of Davis Derby.
“The visual aid is provided by a small in-cab indicator showing the direction of the alert and can be further enhance by the fitting of our optional seven-inch monitor.”
The four cameras incorporated in the AIC4 AI-Alert are designed for mounting on, which means the system is suitable for materials handling equipment with a roof.
As Randle notes, it does not require pedestrians to wear technology of any kind in order to be identified.
“The camera automatically detects pedestrians whether they are wearing hi-vis clothing or general clothing, so members of the public and visitors are not excluded from detections,” he says.
Designed with an understanding that every operation – and every workplace – is unique, the system incorporates configurable “zones”. Clients are able to set these detection zones around the vehicle, according to the requirements of the specific application.
“Zones can be any shape, not just rectangular,” says Randle. “There are amber zones and red zones for each of the four cameras.”
In addition, each zone can have its outputs configured according to client requirements. For example, outputs can be set to alert the driver and initiate vehicle creep speed (if available) in an amber zone, then to alert the driver in the case of red zone detections.
“Red zone detections are recorded to the built-in storage and can be retrieved manually by the client,” says Randle.
Lithium batteries with built-in fire extinguisher
According to Mark D’Amato, vice president of sales at ENEROC USA, it is important to address fire hazards in confined spaces that house a forklift’s electrical components or cabling, which can overheat or experience short circuits.
ENEROC's latest lithium battery models feature a built-in fire extinguisher
“Fires in batteries can lead to equipment damage, operational downtime, and serious safety risks,” says D’Amato.
Designed with this issue in mind, ENEROC’s latest lithium battery models feature the Flexible Temperature-Sensing Self-Activating Fire Extinguishing Device, which is essentially a built-in fire extinguisher.
“By automatically detecting and extinguishing fires within seconds at the source, the built-in fire extinguisher minimises the risk of fire spreading, ensuring the protection of both personnel and assets,” explains D’Amato.
Designed to detect and extinguish fires in small, enclosed spaces without requiring electrical control systems, the device features a temperature-sensitive tube filled with a clean extinguishing agent, such as perfluorohexanone or heptafluoropropane.
When the surrounding temperature reaches a critical threshold (110°C, ±10%), the tube automatically ruptures to release the agent and suppress the fire within seconds. Operating in this way, it has proven its reliability and leaves no residue or pollution.
The built-in fire extinguisher is suitable for the various types of batteries commonly found in materials handling operations. It can be used with all ENEROC lithium batteries for Class I, II, and III forklifts, including very narrow aisle (VNA) trucks, aerial working platforms (AWP), scissor lifts, boom lifts, AMRs, and AGVs, and so on.
“This feature drastically decreases the risk of fire in warehouses, logistics centres, and manufacturing environments where forklifts and other industrial equipment operate,” says D’Amato.
With a tested fire extinguishing time of just 1.9 seconds, the device has the capacity to detect and suppress fires quickly. As such, it significantly reduces the risk of fire-related incidents.
“Additionally, its clean extinguishing agents are non-conductive and non-damaging to electrical equipment, ensuring minimal disruption to operations,” says D’Amato.
Driving assistance system
Hangcha’s latest safety-related offering is an Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS), which uses onboard cameras and sensors to monitor both the internal and external environment of vehicles in real time.
Hangcha's ADAS uses onboard cameras and sensors to enhance overall operational safety
“By analysing this data, the system can detect pedestrians during operation and provide early warnings or automatically slow down the vehicle,” says Cao Xun, product manager at Hangcha.
With the capacity to identify unsafe driver-related variables such as fatigue or smoking, and where necessary trigger an alert, the device is to able enhance overall operational safety and encourage better driving.
Designed for traditional forklifts, including counterbalance forklifts and reach trucks, it helps operators deal with things like blinds spots and the complications of operating in mixed traffic.
Noting that operators often have limited visibility due to forklift structure, Xun says that ADAS uses multiple cameras to improve overall visibility.
“In addition, ADAS can detect nearby people in real time, issue voice alerts, and even automatically reduce speed when necessary,” Xun explains.
On top of this, it provides real-time reminders to reduce risks and employs GPS positioning to track the location of vehicles in real-time.
Narrow-aisle warehouse assistance
In narrow-aisle warehouses, it is not uncommon for items to end up crooked or protruding from racks into the travel aisle. Because clearances are so tight and operator visibility – especially on the engine side of the vehicle – is limited, drivers often cannot spot these obstructions in time.
This leads to collisions that can damage not just the vehicle's cabin, hydraulic compartment, chassis, or battery, but the racking system itself.
Clear Aisle Assist detects protruding loads early and intervenes before collisions occur
Available now from HUBTEX, Clear Aisle Assist directly addresses this problem by detecting protruding loads early and intervening before such collisions occur.
A patented Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-based driver assistance system designed for narrow-aisle warehouses, it uses LiDAR sensors strategically mounted on the vehicle to scan vertical planes along the racking on both sides, and in both forward and reverse travel directions.
“The system monitors for loads or materials that protrude from the rack into the aisle,” says Michael Röbig, head of product management at HUBTEX. “The monitored zone adapts dynamically to key vehicle parameters such as travel speed and lift height.”
When the system detects an obstruction, the driver first receives a clear visual warning on the in-cab display.
“If necessary, Clear Aisle Assist then automatically reduces the vehicle's speed to prevent or minimise a collision,” says Röbig. “Importantly, it does all this without adding any extra tasks for the operator. The system is triggered and operates entirely automatically.”
A HUBTEX-proprietary, patented system, Clear Aisle Assist was developed in-house specifically for the challenges of narrow-aisle long-load storage. It is available across the entire PHOENIX multidirectional sideloader range.
One factor that makes Clear Aisle Assist particularly noteworthy is that – though it is classified as a driver assistance system, rather than a certified safety system – it delivers a significant, tangible improvement in collision avoidance.
“It complements existing personnel protection scanners by adding a layer of protection specifically against goods protruding from the rack,” says Röbig. “The result is fewer repairs and less vehicle downtime.”
And beyond that, the likely result is a materials handling operation that values the wellbeing of its employees as its top priority and understands that efficiency and profitability are the likely consequences of establishing and maintaining a safe workplace.
Find out more about our contributor's specialist forklift safety systems in this dedicated Virtual Expo Showroom.
For this report we interviewed the following industry specialists: