Forklift Innovations

Innovations are occurring faster than ever and it’s impacting the material handling trade, especially forklifts. Four new innovation trends have transpired in the past few years that have impacted the forklift. They are automation, digital connectivity and the Internet of Things (IoT), and safety and environmentally sustainable equipment design. E-commerce, environmental sustainability, Internet service and the increased cost of labor have pushed these advances. This has brought about the introduction of new forklift accessories that expand capability and improve safety. They include:

• Sensor Forks
• Vehicle-Mount Computers
• Smart Cameras
• Improvements In Forklift Attachments
• Enhanced Electric Forklifts

Sensor Forks

One example of this new concept of innovations is Weigh-In-Motion from Cascade Corporation, a manufacturer of forklift attachments based in Fairview, Oregon. The product assists forklift operators to approach a load, adjust fork spacing, and lift and weigh the load while the lift is in motion. Data on the weight of the load is automatically recorded as the lift transports it and is digitally communicated to a truck-mounted Bluetooth display. Once in the display, the data can then be sent wirelessly to an end user’s warehouse management system for analysis. The device, called ActivWeigh, ends the need for floor scales, reducing the number of trips and stops that the forklift is required to make. Obviously, the concept is a time saver and assists in improving warehouse efficiency.

Sensor technology can also assist in improving safety because they include safety features.

Vehicle-Mount Computers

JLT Mobile Computers, located in Växjö, Sweden and Chandler, Arizona, manufactures rugged computers that can be retrofitted onto any forklift, regardless of its power source. One of its mobile computers, the JLT6012A, includes integrated sensors that collect and manage data about the lift including acceleration, direction, battery voltage and current, ambient lighting, fuel consumption, temperature of the engine, and servicing requirements.

The sensors make it possible to develop software that can assist warehouse managers track their entire fleet of lifts. In addition, the company also has software that cuts off the screen so that a forklift operator is not distracted and can focus on his driving. The sensors also alert lift operators to environmental conditions including vibration and shock.

Smart Cameras

Technical innovations allow manufacturers to work with clients to come up with devices for specific applications. One company called Kiwitron makes artificial intelligence detection systems that sense pedestrians and forklifts. The device continuously processes streams of real-time videos to discover objects in the vicinity of a forklift. With this device, there is no longer a need for pedestrian tags. When the device senses an object, it alerts the forklift operator with an audio and visual signal. The sensor detects markers placed in certain areas of a warehouse as well as machinery and other obstacles. Once an obstacle is detected, the device warns the operator and also is programmed to automatically slow down the forklift. The product can be integrated with warehouse management systems so that near-miss incidences can be captured and analyzed. It also locates forklifts, monitors shock and parameter sensors, stores data, allows one to access the data, and provides management analysis reports.

Improvements In Forklift Attachments

Innovation is also assisting to improve existing forklift attachments. For example, the Bolzoni Group, makers of material handling equipment and based in Placenza, Italy, has made improvements to its clamps so that they are fully computerized and automated with integrated clamp testing to assure that minimum pressure is applied to the clamp. This assures that the forklift operator doesn’t have to guess how much pressure to apply. This technology also shares information with warehouse logistics managers and forklift operators.

Enhanced Electric Forklifts

New or improved sources of energy are another new technology that impacts the capability of forklifts. Hangcha, a manufacturer of forklifts based in China, is now offering the XH electric forklift series that lowers energy use in forklifts. It features a magnet synchronous system and high voltage platform that has an output of 309-volts. The company argues that the new lift will save as much as 20 to 30 percent in energy costs.

Due to the state of our environment, companies are looking for ways to reduce the use of fossil fuels. One company, Konecranes, manufacturer of lift products including forklifts, is developing a renewable, fossil-free chemical copy of regular diesel that includes vegetable oils and waste and residue fats. The combination of substances is said to reduce fossil-based CO2 emissions by as much as 90 percent. Said to be the same as regular diesel, the renewable fuel, known as HVO100, can be used in most diesel trucks.

Innovations are being achieved in all technologies at a dizzying pace. These improvements will impact on a lot of products including forklifts. The firms that stay up with the changes will succeed. Those that don’t may be destined to failure.

(Source: forkliftaction.com)