Safety When it Matters Most

Wherever industrial trucks are in use, there exists a complex interplay between man and machine. The Linde Safety Guard is an innovative monitoring system which provides an early warning of potential hazards.

What if people, their handling equipment and the infrastructure could communicate with each other?

Material handling operations like loading and unloading forklifts / trucks can encounter potentially hazardous situations. Industrial trucks and personnel working together in close proximity can be challenging and difficult to control. In the worst-case scenario, this can lead to injury or property damage.

Every aspect of any material handling application demands constant vigilance by all personnel involved: Blind corners, low visibility areas and distracting noises are all ever-present safety risks in intralogistics and manufacturing working environments.

A Timely Warning: The Linde Safety Guard

The Linde Safety Guard is an innovative monitoring system which increases safety for truck operators and pedestrians in the vicinity of the truck. Active advance warning in the event of potential hazards mean that everyone involved can react immediately. Depending on the application and the equipment, the Safety Guard system warns of imminent danger via acoustic signals, flashing LED lights or vibrations. Hazards can then be dealt with before any physical injury or collateral damage occurs.

This unique safety system was developed by the start-up Comnovo, which was acquired by Linde Material Handling in July 2017. The system has been incorporated into Linde Material Handling’s industrial trucks since early 2016. Since then, the system has proven itself across a wide variety of industries.

Hazardous Workplace Zones for Industrial Trucks and Pedestrians

At corners, junctions or hall entrances, industrial trucks can pose a risk to pedestrians. The Linde Safety Guard system provides advance warnings to both the operator and pedestrians. The warning signal can be transmitted through walls and racking and is accurate to within 10 centimeters. Warnings are only triggered when there is a clear danger, thus avoiding false alarms.

Excessive Speed

Accidents can occur if industrial trucks travel too fast through areas where personnel frequently cross. Long, straight stretches can also tempt truck operators to exceed a safe travel speed. The Linde Safety Guard automatically reduces travel speed in these critical areas.

Multi-Truck Accidents

Collisions between trucks can occur at crossing points where visibility is poor or restricted. In these circumstances, the Linde Safety Guard system warns all truck operators of the other trucks’ presence in their immediate vicinity. The Truck Unit displays the direction from which the trucks are approaching. The minimum distance between trucks before a warning is triggered is adjustable.

Tailored Safety

The Linde Safety Guard system increases the safety of all personnel involved in internal traffic. It can see around corners and through walls, reduces speeds automatically and can be programmed to suit any hazardous scenario.

The Linde Safety Guard uses warning zones to prevent accidents. Transmitters are positioned on industrial trucks, walls, racking and even carried by the personnel themselves. This ensures rapid detection, early warning and avoidance of hazardous situations.

If a pedestrian and a truck look likely to collide, then both the industrial truck and the pedestrian are warned simultaneously. A receiver in the truck indicates how many pedestrian personnel are approaching the danger zone and from which direction. Pedestrians are warned by the
transmitter they have on their person. This also works through walls and racking.

Speed restriction zones can also be pre-defined and programmed, so that the system automatically reduces the truck’s speed in these zones and also warns the truck operator. This minimizes accidents between trucks and personnel in areas like production, order picking areas and busy intersections.

All this is only possible because the Linde Safety Guard system is able to precisely determine the position of marked objects or personnel with an accuracy of ten centimeters accuracy and the warning zones are individually adjustable. This level of precision also helps to prevent false alarms. Moreover, a broadband
radio signal in the 4 GHz range (UWB) helps to ensure reliability by eliminating interference from WiFi, Bluetooth or RFID.

The system can be adapted to meet any safety requirements. It consists of individual modules and can be tailored to the respective hazardous situation on individual sites.

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Advantages at a Glance

  • Personnel and zone recognition
  • Warning zones that can be configured within 10 centimeters of precision
  • Visualization of the number and position of personnel in the danger zone
  • Mutual warning for pedestrian personnel and truck operators
  • Detection through walls and racking*
  • Versatile, adaptable and rapid installation

*Valid for typical infrastructure in intralogistics. Checked during consultation.

Truck Unit

The Truck Unit warns the industrial truck operator via LED lights and acoustic signals.

Portable Unit

The Portable Unit warns personnel of approaching industrial trucks using acoustic signals, LED lights and vibration.

Sensors

Detect the modules carried by pedestrians and industrial trucks in the defined hazardous zones.

Truck Unit small

The Truck Unit small is attached to the forklift and communicates with stationary modules such as the Static Unit or the Zone Marker.

Static Unit

The Static Unit marks hazardous zones in critical areas such as access doors or low visibility intersections. This module warns others in the area via acoustic signals and LED lights.

Zone Marker

The Zone Marker defines speed restriction areas.

Charger

The charger charges the Portable Unit inductively. The fully automatic activation provides optimum convenience for the operator.