The protection of electric forklifts is a systematic project that requires efforts from multiple aspects. The specific details are as follows:
Personnel Protection
Requirements for Operators
- Health Check-ups: Operators must undergo regular physical examinations to ensure they have no visual or hearing impairments, as well as no severe diseases that may affect driving, such as heart disease and hypertension. Before operation every day, they should conduct a self-assessment of their physical condition and avoid driving when fatigued, after drinking alcohol, or after taking medications that may affect judgment.
- Qualification Certification: Operators must be at least 18 years old, have completed professional training, and hold a valid operation certificate.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Safety Shoes: Equipped with anti-slip, anti-crush, and anti-puncture functions to protect the feet from accidental injuries.
- Safety Goggles: Prevent eyes from being injured by splashes, especially when handling fragile or sharp objects.
- Safety Helmets: Protect the head from falling objects, especially when working in areas with high shelves.
- Reflective Vests: Improve visibility in low-light conditions and reduce the risk of collisions.
- Hearing Protection: Wear earplugs or earmuffs when working in areas with excessive noise.
Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance
Daily Inspection
- Battery Status: Check the battery power to ensure it is sufficient, so as to avoid safety hazards caused by sudden power depletion during operation. At the same time, check if the battery connections are loose and if there is any electrolyte leakage.
- Tires: Inspect the tire pressure and wear condition to ensure good grip and prevent skidding. Check if there are any damages or foreign objects embedded on the tire surface.
- Forks: Check if the forks have cracks or deformations, and ensure the fork surface is clean without oil stains or foreign objects. Meanwhile, check if the lifting of the forks is smooth.
- Brake System: Test the sensitivity and effectiveness of the brakes to ensure the forklift can stop quickly in case of an emergency. Check if the brake fluid level is normal and if there is any leakage in the brake lines.
- Steering System: Inspect if the steering mechanism is flexible without jamming. Check if the free play of the steering wheel is within the specified range.
- Lights and Signals: Ensure the front and rear lights, turn signals, and warning lights work normally to improve visibility at night or in low-light conditions.
Regular Maintenance
Conduct comprehensive inspection and maintenance of electric forklifts in accordance with the maintenance cycle recommended by the manufacturer, including battery maintenance, brake adjustment, tire replacement, and hydraulic system inspection.
Fault Reporting
If any abnormality or fault is found, the forklift should be stopped immediately and the maintenance personnel should be notified. It is strictly forbidden to operate the forklift with faults to prevent the expansion of faults and greater safety hazards.
Safe Operation Specifications
Start-up and Shutdown
- Before starting, confirm that the surrounding environment is safe, ensure the brake is pressed, and start the vehicle correctly in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
- When shutting down, park the forklift in the designated area, turn off the power, and remove the key to ensure the vehicle is in a safe state.
Driving Speed
When driving inside the warehouse, the speed should be controlled within a safe range. Especially in narrow passages, intersections, areas with limited visibility, or crowded areas, the speed should not exceed 5 km/h.
Load and Balance
- Strictly abide by the maximum load capacity of the electric forklift and avoid overloading.
- Goods should be stacked evenly to avoid unbalanced loading and ensure the stability of the vehicle.
- When handling tall and heavy goods, extra care should be taken to prevent the goods from tipping over or colliding with shelves or personnel.
Visibility Management
During driving, always keep a clear view, use rearview mirrors and reversing radar (if equipped) for auxiliary observation. Stop to observe or ask for guidance from others when necessary. Exercise extra caution when working in areas with limited visibility to avoid blind driving.
Special Operations
When handling special goods such as fragile, toxic, flammable, and explosive items, special operation procedures must be followed, and necessary personal protective equipment should be worn to ensure operation safety.
Human-machine Interaction
During warehouse operations, operators should maintain good communication with other employees. Especially during cross-operation and collaborative handling, clear command signals should be established to ensure coordinated operations and avoid collisions or misoperations.
Environment Optimization
Layout Planning
Reasonably plan the warehouse layout, and clearly divide forklift driving passages, operation areas, and pedestrian walkways to reduce cross-operation and avoid collisions between forklifts and personnel or other equipment.
Environmental Cleaning
Keep the work area clean and orderly, and promptly clean up debris, oil stains, and water stains on the ground to prevent the forklift from skidding or operators from slipping. Regularly clean shelves, passages, and other areas to ensure no dust accumulation or obstacles.
Lighting and Signage
- Ensure sufficient lighting in the warehouse, especially in forklift operation areas, passages, and corners, to avoid limited visibility due to insufficient light.
- At the same time, set up clear and eye-catching signs, such as speed limit signs, no-entry signs, and safety warning signs, to guide forklift operators and other personnel to operate and walk correctly.
Installation of Safety Protection Devices
Alarm Devices
Install forklift overspeed alarm devices and forklift seatbelt alarm systems. When the forklift is overspeeding or the operator fails to fasten the seatbelt, the devices will promptly issue sound and light alarms as a reminder.
Anti-collision Devices
Equip with forklift anti-collision alarm safety protection systems. The safety protection radius can be preset based on data such as the size of the operation space and the turning radius of the forklift. When obstacles or personnel enter the monitoring and alarm range, the system will remind the operator to operate carefully to avoid collisions.
Positioning and Imaging Systems
Install systems such as fork positioning lights and forklift reversing images to help operators accurately grasp the position of the forks and the situation behind the forklift, improve operation accuracy, and reduce accidents caused by limited visibility.
Height Limiting Devices
Install forklift height limiting alarms. When the forks of the forklift rise to a preset height, the system will issue an alarm to prevent the forks from colliding with obstacles above.
