It is very important for a goods transport operation such as a warehouse to work with maximum safety procedures so that employees and the top management can feel safe. One way to bring about safety is to install warning lights on your forklift trucks. Such trucks cast blue lights on the ground while in operation, for visibility purposes. The lights can be mounted either at the front or the back, or in both places. The lights are meant to warn pedestrians, and that is exactly why these are called as warning lights.
Not mandatory but highly recommended
No kind of warning light has still been made compulsory by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), but the value of your business will certainly go up when you buy forklift warning lights. Any kind of warning light, whether blue or red, can easily be fitted to the overhead guard using a mounting system. The lights also do not get damaged during operation when on the overhead guard.
Get forklift lights from a well known company for best results
Purchasing lights from a reputed vendor is an excellent way of ensuring that your business continues without stoppages. The process of repair or replacement becomes easy with a reputed company, and you also do not have to keep chasing them for getting the work done. In this way, very little productive time is lost in getting repairs done. Warning lights help a forklift truck the most when it is operating in a dimly lit area. High quality of parts on the vehicle will instill faith in the minds of employees.
Legitimate pricing
It is natural for any businessman to look for value for money on a deal, and you are no different. That is why you ought to choose warning lights that are available at a reasonable price. Today you have the option to browse through the different profiles of vendors online and select one with the best mix of quality and price. Spending some time on the Internet will allow you to find websites that give tremendous savings on different forklift parts, one of them being a warning light.
Many users of forklift trucks try to drill holes into their truck arms or walls to install external accessories. This is certainly a bad idea since it weakens the overall structure of the vehicle. Even OSHA strictly discourages the use of drilling machines. In case forklift users or companies persist with drilling, it is likely to result in accidents and significant damages.
Proper training of a forklift operator
Just as much importance that a machine holds in terms of safety in the warehouse, the role of the forklift operator is equally vital. Adequate training in different aspects of logistic support is very important, and so is adequate rest. Although too much stress can lead to an accident which can be expected in any industry, the forklift mishap can have more disastrous consequences in large warehouses due to the scale of operation.
Risks to pedestrians with forklifts
Due to the absence of warning lights, the risks to pedestrians in industrial logistics become far greater than when these lights are properly fitted. Various risk factors include the following:
- Working close to the forklifts- It is natural that there would be every chance of the pedestrian not realizing the presence of the truck since blind spots often restrict the view of an operator. Also, there is a chance of banging into objects or a pedestrian while reversing, without warning lights.
- Intersections with high pedestrian and forklift traffic- There is naturally a higher chance of a pedestrian bumping into a forklift truck here. The best idea would be for the logistics company to identify such zones and make markers accordingly, while ensuring warning lights on every forklift.
- Obstructions to transport- Aisle ways need to be free from debris and other kinds of obstructions. If not, this would hinder movements for both pedestrians and forklifts, thereby increasing the chances of incidences.
- Bad housekeeping- Damaged pallets, packaged loads, bins and other housekeeping hurdles could cause forklift trucks to drop loads, which could hurt pedestrians in the vicinity. An industrial logistics company needs to have an efficient housekeeping department to put such loads in places far away from trouble.
Right of way
As per OSHA, employers need to have a policy in place that allows pedestrians the right-of-way instead of forklift trucks. In fact, this statement holds true for all kinds of powered industrial trucks. However, both parties need to be equally alert in order to avert collisions. While pedestrians have to always be alert of forklift activity and understand where the trucks will usually be found, the operators need to leave space to walk from the edges of walls. They also need to be fully alert while negotiating corners. Speed is certainly not a problem, since the average speed is only around 5 mph.
