Transmon Engineering are pioneering leaders in forklift safety solutions, designing and integrating innovative technology for a global market, including Europe, the Middle East, North & South America. From Speed Controllers to Proximity Warning Systems, Transmon continues to develop cutting-edge forklift safety solutions, making a significant and positive impact on customer operations.

The warehouse, plant, depot and production environments continue to evolve, partly as a result of the growing e-commerce market. With online purchasing at an all-time high, warehouses and production facilities are under pressure to store more products than previously required, and enhance efficiency for pick, pack and dispatch processes.

The changing environment is also shaping forklift truck usage and increasing the need to integrate existing safety equipment, as well as adapt and innovate with new technologies. With such a need for streamlined operations from goods-in to dispatch, warehouse, production and depot managers are seeking out ways to enhance their facility, whilst keeping their workforce safe.

With storage space at a premium, forklift drivers and manual pickers are often working in close proximity, around narrow aisles full of stock, pick & pack areas, as well as product arriving via goods-in, and out via dispatch, providing numerous places where accidents can happen.

One of the most critical areas around forklift movements that warehouse managers need to address, is dynamic speed. There are a variety of different technologies that can be deployed here for varying situations e.g. driver aids for high bay, LiDAR detection for narrow aisles etc. but the key is to understand the potential risk of each situation and adapt technology to suit the requirement.

Using an Adaptive Speed Control system, a forklift truck, mobile plant or other materials handling equipment (MHE), benefits from a Speed Controller which assists the driver by reacting immediately upon sensing a pedestrian or other obstacle in the vicinity. Reliance on the driver’s own reaction time to slow the truck is avoided, and the truck starts to slow down automatically through the integrated iTEch-7 speed limiter. 

Fitting our universal speed limiters couldn’t be more straightforward. Our iTEch-7 controller is compatible with Diesel, LPG and Battery Powered Forklifts. Additionally, we have developed Plug & Play Cable sets available for Toyota, Hyster, Caterpillar and Doosan forklifts ensuring speed safety can be deployed across forklifts and MHE, wherever you are in the world.

Integrating readily available technologies such as Radar, RFID, Ultra-wideband, LiDAR and Ultrasonic, can further improve solutions, for example, enhancing an Adaptive Speed Control system to provide a Dynamic Speed Management system. Here, the truck speed is dynamically managed in accordance with the changing working environments or level of hazard. Up to three different speeds are supported through the iTEch-7, providing an enhanced level of site safety, yet allows for productivity to be maintained.

Bespoke Solutions

With much of the focus for forklift safety solutions on site speed limits, it’s important to find a balance with optimising performance with safety. Productivity is key to overall warehouse efficiency and technology can provide the answer to finding this balance, through innovative solutions. 

At Transmon we have an enviable reputation for designing and developing bespoke solutions that deliver on both safety and productivity. Many of our customers have an insight to what they believe would be the solution they are looking for, however we take a detailed approach assessing their overall requirements and site parameters, to then design and implement a tailored solution that benefits their operational efficiency.

For one customer, we designed and integrated pedestrian alert cameras and ultra-wide band (UWB) proximity warning building zone systems with our universal iTEch-7 speed limiter, to provide automatic ‘slow downs’ when people or zoned areas are detected. Such solutions can be easily retrofitted to all types of forklift trucks and materials handling equipment, keeping everyone safe on site using the customer’s existing fleet.

With workplace safety of paramount importance, we recently worked with an international customer to provide a solution that would provide an elevated safety feature within narrow aisles. To alert other forklift drivers and pedestrians that a forklift truck was in a particular aisle, we installed an antenna close to the end of the aisle, providing a suitable warning zone at each aisle end. When a truck was in that area, a fixed beacon would light up to alert other drivers and pedestrians of its proximity. 

This solution was designed with our ultra-wide band technology for wire guided VNA trucks, however we have designed numerous variations of this safety feature. For example using ultra-wide band antennas to create a virtual gateway for free-roaming forklifts, whereby truck and building antennas interact to slow a truck down and/or activate a blue light to alert other drivers and pedestrians that a forklift truck is about to emerge from a particular aisle or zone.

Gearing Up for our Latest Innovation

With our technology ever-evolving, one of the latest innovations is our intelligent and programmable Auto Gear Change System. The system is specifically designed to protect forklift and MHE transmissions from mis-use and burnouts, by preventing the truck control system from shifting into a higher gear from a standstill or a slow speed.

Gears are selected in accordance with the road speed, rather than driver decision. The forklift will always start from a standstill in 1st gear. As the speed increases, the system will engage 2nd gear when appropriate, and then into 3rd gear when the speed and environment allows. This system can be retrofitted to any forklift or MHE making it a versatile solution across our customers’ vehicle fleets.

Safety Through Artificial Intelligence

The growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in materials handling is proving very beneficial in reducing accidents in the workplace, such as implementing pedestrian alert equipment to inform forklift drivers that workers are in the vicinity. Additionally, speed control systems can use AI technology where it is a requirement to engage low speeds in certain zones within a warehouse or depot, to keep the work place safe for pedestrians, stock and building infrastructure.

An example of AI integration, is at one of our customers’ warehouses who needed to enhance driver management and the safe operation of their fleet. Taking all their requirements and site parameters into account, we delivered a solution using AI-enhanced cameras covering any potential blind spots to offer optimal visualisation and awareness of their immediate surroundings.

Let Technology Enhance Safety Standards

Using available technologies and systems such as Adaptive Speed Control or Dynamic Speed Management will enhance operations and improve safety across the board. Working with our global network of dealers across North and Latin America, all of our bespoke systems and solutions can be easily retrofitted onto existing forklift and materials handling equipment. From telehandlers to tow trucks, if it has wheels, we can work with it!

For more information, please contact us, visit our website www.transmon.co.uk, or connect on Social Media: LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTube.