Increase Productivity and Safety

Increase Productivity and SafetyEvery year there are many avoidable injuries and accidents in warehouses and distribution centers involving very narrow aisle (VNA) trucks. Equipping the VNA machines with the Aisle Alert System can help minimize those accidents and subsequent lost productivity, investigations, and litigation.

The Aisle Alert System is composed of two main components: non-contact, safety-rated Laser Bumpers™ and an evaluation unit. Mounted on the vehicle, the Safety Laser Bumpers use innovative laser technology to detect in-aisle objects or traffic. Using time-of-flight measurement, the distance to the detected object can be calculated by measuring the time difference between the emission of a laser light impulse and the return receipt of the light impulse that is reflected off the object. If the data show the presence of a person or avoidable object in the truck’s path, the truck is safely decelerated, controlled to a crawl and, if required, stopped prior to a collision.

Benefits of the Aisle Alert System

• Improved safety: wider sensing field enables earlier detection of in-aisle objects or traffic
• Non-contact solution reduces downtime caused by injuries and accidents
• Vehicle system slowdown or controlled braking if object or person is detected
• Higher productivity than using mechanical bumpers
• Promotes the use of very narrow aisles in warehouses, which lowers facility cost per unit of goods
• Satisfies safety regulations for safe operation of VNA trucks (Category 2; optional Category 3 – EN954-1, IEC 61508; also OSHA as regulated by 29 CFR 1910.178 (1993))