THE ONETRACK GUIDE TO FORKLIFT SAFETY
Select the Best Forklift Cameras for Your Warehouses
Why invest in forklift safety cameras?
If you rely on forklifts and other MHE in your warehouses, you need to consider investing in a forklift safety system. AI forklift cameras bring deep visibility into operations so supervisors can coach operators, EHS leaders can build robust forklift safety programs, and logistics leaders can drive real ROI from warehouse safety.
3 reasons to invest in forklift cameras
90,000+
forklift related injuries each year
10%+
of forklifts are involved in an accident each year
The benefits of forklift camera systems for logistics leaders
01. Never miss an incident in your warehouses
AI forklift cameras can be your eyes on the floor at all times. You get real-time, video-based notifications of every safety incident in your warehouse. Proactively coach your operators to improve the behaviors in your warehouse – from hard forklift impacts, phone use, product hits, and everything in between.
IN THIS CHAPTER
01. Understand the technology: What are forklift camera systems?
02. Evaluate your options: What are the different forklift safety options?
03. Select the right vendor: What to look for in a forklift safety system?
Part 1 — Understand the Technology
What are forklift camera systems?
Forklift camera systems are incredibly powerful tools to help improve your forklift safety programs. Especially when combined with AI. From coaching MHE operators to investigating workers comp claims, they can be used in a number of ways to greatly improve safety in your warehouses and can even help you reduce costs.
Want to see for yourself how OneTrack works? Check out this interactive product tour.
How forklift camera systems work
These systems work by mounting cameras on forklifts and other MHE equipment to capture footage of the operator and the surrounding area of the lift. The best forklift camera systems go beyond traditional GForce and telematics and use artificial intelligence (AI).
These safety systems use AI to monitor MHE equipment 24/7 (without needing to dedicate manpower). With AI, the system can detect a number of different safety events like impacts, harsh brakes, phone use, product damage and more. These systems automatically alert operations leadership to help provide better visibility and upgrade operator coaching and safety investigations.
Expert Panel
How 3 Logistics Leaders Use AI Forklift Cameras to Improve Warehouse Safety
Hear stories from real logistics leaders about how they use technology to keep their warehouses safe and productive.
Part 2 — Evaluating Your Options
What are the different forklift safety solutions available?
Not all forklift safety solutions are created equal. There are a number of different tools available, but what’s the best option for your warehouse? Let’s take a look.
Forklift telematics systems
Forklift telemetry systems use a GForce threshold to notify you when an impact occurs and lock out a lift. Unfortunately, GForce is a static number. It can’t differentiate between a dockplate, a crack in the floor, or an impact, which can lead to false positive triggers.
This forces logistics teams to turn down the GForce threshold on their forklift telematics to a point where many safety events, impacts, and product hits slip through unnoticed.
.png)
Proximity alarms and pedestrian monitoring systems
These work a lot like your cars back-up camera. These proximity alarms produce an audible beep whenever the lift gets too close to something, and some systems can even slow down a lift whenever pedestrians are near.
These are great supplemental tools for a forklift safety program, but it’s like putting a bandaid on a bullet hole. Without addressing the root cause (operator behavior and accountability), nothing will really change.
AI forklift camera systems
AI forklift camera systems (like OneTrack) learns your unique warehouse processes and alerts you when things like forklift impacts or product hits occur. Beyond that, it allows you to be proactive instead of reactive after an incident.
OneTrack is able to detect leading indicators of safety events, phone use, idle time, and can even monitor lift utilization and digitize your pre-flight inspections. We then give you robust reporting to help coach operators, improve process using data, and create the safest and fastest warehouses on the planet.
Different camera configurations for your forklift safety program
The overhead camera is the bread and butter of a good forklift camera system. This should provide you with a clear image of the operator as well as a 360° field of view around the MHE. The overhead camera is designed to provide actionable coaching opportunities by showing what an operator was doing when an impact occurred, or what process barriers may have led to an incident.
360° overhead view
Video coaching
Environment monitoring
Leading indicators & near misses
Different forklift camera system features
Once you've landed on what forklift camera configurations best fit your needs, you'll also want to think about some of the most important features forklift camera systems offer as you evaluate vendors. From artificial intelligence to customizable analytics, here are the top forklift safety features to look for.
Artificial intelligence (AI): The best forklift safety systems are built with artificial intelligence at their core. AI makes it possible to go beyond just GForce to detect critical safety events and unlocks the ability to coach operators on leading indicators and near misses.
Impact detection: The best forklift camera systems eliminate the feeling of coming into work, finding out there was an incident, and then when asked about it, saying “I don’t know”. And it shouldn’t just detect hard impacts. Soft impacts and rack bumps lead to more wear and tear, and therefore more maintenance dollars spent.
Real-time alerts: It doesn’t do much good to coach weeks after an event takes place. The best forklift camera systems send out alerts within minutes of a safety incident occurs, so your supervisor team can have prompt coaching conversations while the details are still fresh.
Leading indicators and near misses: The real differentiator between an AI system like OneTrack and a traditional forklift safety system. OneTrack is able to pick up on leading indicators and near misses (like not looking in the direction of travel or phone use during operation) so you can proactively coach operator behavior, before an accident ever happens.
Field of view: This is what the forklift camera will actually see — and what you’ll see when an alert comes through! You want a good field of view, without compromising on resolution or angle. OneTrack uses a proprietary lens to maximize for both - giving you a crisp 360° view of your MHE.
Internet connectivity: The beauty of an AI forklift safety system is that it doesn’t require someone to constantly watch footage and flag events. It does it automatically. But to get those alerts you need reliable connection. Cellular and wifi connectivity are must haves for your forklift camera system. With OneTrack we use a proprietary mesh network to ensure maximum connectivity.
Audio alerts: It’s best to stay away from recording audio (for privacy concerns), but it is a good idea to have some sort of audio alarm built into your forklift camera. Similar to a seatbelt alarm in your car, this is an audible reminder for operators to complete their pre-flight OSHA inspections, when they travel into a restricted zone, or even for pedestrian detection.
Customizable analytics: Video alerts are an amazing capability for site level improvements, but to make real change on a network level you need to unlock your data to spot safety trends. A system like OneTrack becomes your single source of truth for all warehouse data, with powerful out of the box Leader Standard Work dashboards, plus the ability to build custom reports to meet your needs.
See how OneTrack AI Forklift Cameras Improve Warehouse Safety
Ensure all warehouse employees clock out safe after every shift with AI forklift cameras that analyze MHE in real-time and automatically alert your team of safety events with video evidence.
Part 3 — Select the Right Vendor
What to look for in a forklift safety system?
With so many different solutions out there, it’s impossible to try everything. Instead, consider looking for a solution that combines the best features from each forklift safety category into one platform.
OneTrack’s Warehouse Intelligence platform offers AI forklift cameras, powerful forklift telematics, and AI labor management features all in one easy to use system.
Trusted by some of the safest and fastest warehouses on the planet, OneTrack monitors your operations 24/7, and within minutes of an event being detected, sends your team a video alert showing exactly what happened. This kind of deep visibility will help you take your forklift safety to the next level.
Currently evaluating forklift camera solutions? Book a custom demo today and see how an all-in-one forklift safety platform can improve your operations.
Customer Story
How Hain Celestial Reduced Forklift Safety Events by 80% with OneTrack
Hear from Hain Celestial's Sr. Warehouse Manager about how he upgraded his forklift safety program with AI forklift cameras to keep people safe and productive.
Make forklift safety a priority with OneTrack
OneTrack's AI Forklift cameras and safety tools give logistics leaders the visibility they need to help reduce forklift accidents, improve operator behavior, and lower costs. Explore how our Warehouse Intelligence platform can help you improve safety and drive ROI.
AI Forklift Cameras
Protect your warehouses and keep people safe with AI forklift cameras that monitor MHE for risks 24/7 and send real-time video alerts to help keep operations running smoothly.
Dynamic Labor Management
Engineered labor standards are broken. Improve productivity in your warehouses by using AI to proactively alert you of risks, track your labor processes, and connect WMS timestamps with video context to make critical process improvements.
Proactive Operator Coaching
Coaching shouldn't ONLY happen after a major incident. Get alerts of the leading indicators of MHE safety incidents to coach operator behavior proactively and change the culture in your warehouses.
