鈥淩ecent changes have provided opportunities for new technologies,鈥� said Jay Costello, director of training for equipment manufacturer Hyster Co. 鈥淲e鈥檙e making our lift trucks more intelligent to address new challenges. Telemetry provides the ability to monitor performance 鈥� impacts, drive speed, equipment inspections 鈥� and to identify and pre-emptively address inappropriate behaviors, which ultimately can help to prevent problems.

鈥淗aving data related to impacts and incidents readily on hand will also allow companies to better isolate and work on remediating problem areas or situations,鈥� Costello added.

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Hyster also has added an element to its forklifts that seeks to prevent unqualified operators from using the machine, and that nothing can be done without a proper pre-shift check.

鈥淥ur offering of this technology for safety benefits is our Hyster Tracker wireless verification system,鈥� Costello said. 鈥淭he technology monitors the forklift fleet, controls operator access and helps to verify that the operator pre-shift checklist has been completed before operation. The checklist verification ensures that only qualified operators have access and that they are properly prepared to begin operation. Our idle shutdown feature prevents unattended equipment from running. Periodic maintenance, fault codes and impacts can all be tracked, making incidents easier to review and offer ready access to the data, if requested.鈥�

Another safety-related technology advance, said Wayne Wilde, field technical sales officer for forklift manufacturer UniCarriers Americas, is the increased use of blue lights, mounted on the rear of a forklift and shining on the floor, to warn pedestrians or other equipment operators that the forklift is nearby.

Rick Kidder, service training manager for Toyota Material Handling USA, said the company鈥檚 forklifts include an active stability technology, designed to reduce the likelihood of a tipover.

鈥淭he technology has been integrated into the majority of Toyota鈥檚 internal combustion, as well as 4-wheel electric sit-down counterbalanced models. . . .听 [It can] sense mast height, load weight, vehicle speed and yaw rate 鈥斕� angular acceleration 鈥� conditions that play a significant role in lateral lift-truck stability.

鈥淪hould the operator mistakenly place the lift truck in an unsafe condition, which may lead to potential lateral overturn, SAS instantly interprets those conditions and locks a hydraulic cylinder on the rear steer axle, changing the lift truck鈥檚 stability footprint from triangular in shape to rectangular, thereby increasing lateral stability and substantially reducing the likelihood of a lateral overturn,鈥� he said.

Earlier this year, Cargotec Corp. introduced its Kalmar-branded electric pneumatic forklift to the American marketplace. Run on AC power technology, the forklift provides an 鈥渆nvironmentally friendlier鈥� alternative for lifting loads between 11,000 and 19,800 pounds, the company said in a press release.

鈥淏y taking harmful emissions out of the equation, customers 鈥� especially those operating indoors 鈥� can operate in a cleaner and safer environment,鈥� said Peter Olsson, Cargotec鈥檚 director of industrial sales in North America. 鈥� Dan Calabrese and Transport Topics Staff