Securing safer material handling through next-gen solutions

RISK MITIGATION should be at the top of the agenda for anyone operating in this space and, as such, investment in new solutions which reduce potential dangers to people, inventory, vehicles, racking and commercial interests should be paramount as well.

Putting safety firmly on the radar

Linde Material Handling recently organised a webinar, in partnership with Logistics Matters, which explored the opportunities presented by burgeoning new technologies such as machine learning and Artificial Intelligence. 

Central to this session, entitled ‘Warehousing 2.0: Putting the AI into Intralogistics’, was the potential of Artificial Intelligence in improving safety. 

Speaking as part of the webinar, Aleksandar Krnjaic - a senior research engineer for automated solutions leader Dematic – said one of the most notable developments in this area is AI-based machine vision, which enables systems to extract a ‘deep understanding’ of their environment using cameras and leverage that visual information to make high-level decisions - such as instructing autonomous vehicles in warehouses to slow down when potential accidents are detected. 

Using a similar principle, Linde Material Handling has launched a Reverse Assist Camera, an AI-based camera system that automatically detects pedestrians in the vicinity of a reversing forklift truck. The system differentiates between people and obstacles in real time, warning the operator of imminent collisions. This warning function can also be programmed to automatically reduce speed near people.

Linde have also developed a Reverse Assist Radar system which detects obstructions behind counterbalanced trucks and automatically stops the vehicle if there are any hazards. 

Action not reaction

Ian Abbott was another one of the experts to take part in the recent Linde webinar. As Director of Solution Development for UK/IRE and Nordics at KION Group, he talked about how evolving technology – specifically Artificial Intelligence – can be used to identify and address potential safety issues before they ever arise. 

For instance, if an AI system was given access to data from temperature and vibration sensors, Ian said it could be used to anticipate failings in forklifts and other vehicles in a practice called predictive maintenance.  This would not only prevent costly downtime but also enhance safety by addressing issues before they become critical.

This principle could be expanded to a wider warehouse setting by allowing AI to review video footage gathered through a comprehensive network of cameras, to effectively identify unhealthy trends or high-risk junctions.

Ian stressed that, for this to be effective, operators would need to ensure AI was armed with as much information as possible, saying: “Artificial Intelligence thrives on data; the more it receives, the more extensive its knowledge base becomes, enhancing its ability to anticipate trends and make complex, informed decisions…for AI to achieve its full potential we need to ensure it is being properly fuelled.”

Making safety a priority

We are already seeing how next-generation technologies are transforming safety in the context of material handling and intralogistics and there is still more to be won from the rise of AI and machine learning. It will be crucial for operations to adopt advancing solutions to secure greater safety and ensure they don’t fall behind.

For more information, visit www.linde-mh.co,uk