Working in a warehouse environment can be a dangerous undertaking. Workers who move heavy loads from one place to another can suffer injuries to the back, neck, shoulders, or legs. Workers assigned to the dock are susceptible to accidents due to lack of concentration or quick closing doors.
Two new products have been introduced that relieve both situations and ensure more safety.
Caster Concepts, makers of casters and based in Albion, Michigan, has introduced the first motor-powered caster. The motor is battery powered and the casters can be integrated on to tugged carts. Because of the motor on each caster, the need for manually pushing or pulling heavy loaded carts has become obsolete.
Drive casters come with either a 0.25- or 0.5 horsepower motor that provides enough power to move loads of up to 6,000 pounds at speeds up to 5 mph. Moreover, you can add a second drive caster to handle double the load capacity and permit tank-style steering with each caster pushing in opposite directions to turn.
The casters can be equipped with a quick-change battery or with a power regenerated device that permits recharging. The casters engage when the cart is removed from the train.
This product obviously makes the chore of material handling easier with less chance of injury for workers.
The second product is designed for dock use. Rite-Hite, manufacturer of loading dock equipment, industrial doors, safety barriers and more and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has introduced an LED Virtual Vision® system that alerts dock workers using colored LED lights if there are pedestrians or a forklift approaching the other side of a closed
high-speed door.
A plethora of accidents resulting from workers or forklifts entering through an opening door are avoided. The system includes the LED lights and a motion sensor on each side of the door. When the sensor detects a forklift, person, or other object approaching the door area, a strip of red light emitting diodes will flash on the opposite side of the door. The lights are commonly placed on either side of the door outside the frame. However, they can be located anywhere that offers the best visual warning.
The system can complement or serve as an alternative to high-speed doors that include clear plastic vision panels.
Use of the Virtual Vision® system is sure to reduce and maybe even eliminate a major source of accidents in a warehouse environment.