Forklift Safety With LED Blue Warning Lights

Executive Summary

The article is about the application of LED blue for forklift safety. It is about the advantages of fixtures. Also, the role of the forklift is important on the commercial side. It is best for:

Engineers and Lightening specialists
Business owner
Best practices for certain applications

The article helps in reducing the risks involved in operations and industries. It also marks safety concerns for industries in relation to forklifts.

The Introduction

The forklift safety is considered in the following domains:

Storage facilities
Warehouses
Delivery bays

The key objective of these vehicles is the shifting of the facility from one section to the other. Key features, in this case, are a movement of:

Packages or payloads
Heavy units
Moving vehicles

A forklift is essential to ensure workplace safety.

It is also safe for employees to be aware of all guidelines regarding safety and security.

Accidents related to forklifts have always been very lethal.

As per statistics from 2014, at least 4,679 people have lost lives to such accidents. It makes 90 deaths in a week and at least 13 deaths daily.

The percentage of deaths due to different reasons is as follows:

8.4 Percent owing to getting stuck in something
1.4 percent owing to getting in between something

As per statistics by Bluespot, 19000 accidents occur due to forklifts and pedestrians. In total, some 36 accidents occurred due to drivers.

Mainly the lights are installed either in the front or on the back side of the forklifts. This way it is easier to get notified in case the vehicle is approaching.

The LED Technology

Mechanisms and Benefits

LED lights are mainly set to meet the lighting requirements of industries. It has a life of 50,000 hours and can easily be repaired and maintained.

The designs of the lights are solid-state, which makes them sturdy. The light is like a circuit board, It is unlike filament that comes with loose settings.

It is because of this, the light remains safe from rough treatment. Accidents are reduced and also it remains safe from chemical impact.

LED has as such no impact on the mercury and working of lights. The compactness of fixtures tends to keep the units within tight space.

In the case of the forklift, a light is mounted on the machine frame. This way it never blocks or hinders the peripheral vision and view of the viewer.

In terms of lumen per watt, it gives out 60 to 100 lumens per watt.

The ranges of lumen per watt produced by fluorescent and incandescent are 75 to 87 and 14 to 17. LED is able to produce better lights when compared with other light sources.

It is not possible for fluorescent to flog. It rather flicks before giving out full light.

The metal halide lamps have restrike periods with lengthy startups.

Depending on the fixture, it starts between 10 to 20 minutes.

The togging LED never impacts the life of the lights. However, togging of both incandescent and fluorescent reduces their life span.

NYSEG (New York State Electric and Gas Corporate) has come up with the study. It displays the toggling capability of the LED light.

The group came up with the testing of the entire LED bulb in 1995. Over 100 bulbs were tested during the procedure.

All these were provided via LEDtronics. LED bulbs were turned on, off, and used during this process.

As a result, it was obvious that over 20 percent of incandescent lights didn’t work.

However, with the same testing, none of the LED lights showed any issue.

As per the NYSEG verdict, non-LED showed any problem for 22 months. It is pertinent to mention that even light somehow toggled in the process.

For incandescent lights, the failure percentage was 25 percent.

Exposure To Alertness and Blue LEDs

For workplace safety, the blue LED is the preferred choice. The wavelength strength given out by blue LED is shorter.

It is also said to reduce the production of melatonin among humans.

Melatonin is said to have caused sleep in humans. In the absence of light, this phenomenon is greatly reduced.

Since vehicles move rapidly in the industrial environment.

Thus, these lights are good to keep workers alert of any unforeseen situations. When the blue light is given out in the form of a flash, it is easily noted by all workers.

And when it is viewed, it is easier to witness it from a distance even.

There has been some research on the blue LED lights by Harvard medical school. Research says that blue lights are better in:

Changing attention
Mood swinging
Reaction time

The light is said to be disruptive at night time. It becomes another feature for businesses to work and keep all alert.

This additional feature of blue light was studied in yet another research.

Another research at Harvard Medical School has compared blue colour with green color. For 6.5 hours, participants were exposed to both colours.

The production of melatonin is reduced twice in the presence of blue light. However, for green colour, the impression remained less than twice, i.e., 1.5 hours.

There was another test on trends in neuroscience and education by German researchers.

They exposed people to both blue and white colors and checked the reaction.

The people exposed to blue showed better processing and memory retention. The percentage remained up by 33 percent.

Forklift Safety and Blue LED Light

The Compliance by OHSA for powdered Industries Trucks

For powered industrial trucks, there are some guidelines to be followed in the light of OHSA.

The guidelines are meant to keep both vehicle and person safe during the operations.

To ensure safety, there are the following recommendations to be used for forklifts.

Mainly it is about horns, seat belts, fire extinguishers, backup alarms. Besides these, there are mirrors, warning lights, brake/directional lights.

There are some safety measures in the light of OHSA to be incorporated:

All heavy power propelled trucks should be equipped with
Whistle
Horn
Other devices for producing sound
Gong, etc

This is as per B56.1-1969, ANSI

All trucks should also have operator-controlled:

Gong
Whistle
Horn
Another sound-producing device

In light of ANSI/ITSDF B56.1-2011.

Depending upon the workplace and requirements, trucks must have:

Additional devices for visual and sound production for trucks, like blinkers

In the light of ANSI/ITSDF B56.1-2011.

The rules around the blue LED lights are considered complicated. Same are also subject to interpretation.

The OHSA, Director of enforcement Mr. Thomas Galassi has something to say in this regard.

There is no specification regarding the allocation of lights on powered & industrial trucks.

Does it have to have beep lights or flashing lights?

The following ruling were shared by OHSA Director enforcement in this regard:

In the light of OHSA regulations for powered trucks, §1910.178 (h)

(2)”In case the light is low to 2 lumens/ square feet, it should have auxiliary lighting options”.

As far as standards §1910.178 is concerned, there is no requirement for backup beep or flashlights.

There is yet another duty under the OHS Act, which is 29 U.S.C. § 654 (a)(1). It is said to be a general duty act.

It means all the employment and employment places should be free from any hazards.

It also involves all actions that keep employees safe from all probable hazards.

B56.1-2009 says that industries know the hazards involved in the workplace.

It equips vehicles with all the required lights to stay safe while at the workplace.

As per the Galassi remarks, the blur LED light is the alarm and precautionary light.

This is a light on a forklift for ensuring accountability. The clarification doesn’t mean that the equipment won’t warn people of the danger.

About the Application and the Best Practices

On forklifts, blue safety LED side lights are considered the first line of alert. Normally, these lights are installed on the top of the machines.

Thus, while operating, the installation doesn’t hinder the view or path forward.

Mainly the LED proximity lights have the capability to provide an alert to about 16 to 24 feet.

For any nearby workers, it gives a warning at least 1 to 3 seconds in advance.

However, the time frame may vary as per the situation. It also depends upon the direction, and speed of the forklift.

Thus, businesses are purely responsible for getting lights on forklifts.

The LED lights should be both on the front and on the backside of the forklift. There are some vehicles that use only the lights.

There are some others that also make use of the audible clues along with visionary light.

This process is very effective. In the case of some highrise buildings, the forklift should also be equipped with a backlight.

Thus, in case of early alarm on the back safe the pedestrian from any hazards.

It is even true when the person is either listening to music or looking somewhere else. It is even applicable in case the person is wearing any earplugs.

The sturdy feature of the blue LED lights needs to be ensured. It means selecting the right light with standards approvals, clarifications, and light requirements.

To meet compliance at the workplace, some LED lights to come with a UL rating. Also, vibration and shock resistance are crucial for industrial equipment.

In case of the hazardous workplace, they believe in investing in proof LED lights. These lights have a specific rating for working and operations.

For workplaces that have corrosive nature of work, corrosive LED lights should be preferred.

Such lights can prevent one from malfunction and any failure in premature lightening.