Are pedestrians in your workplace at risk of getting hit by a forklift?
In the past years, there had been technological improvements in the safety devices installed on the forklifts to mitigate accidents.
As a matter of fact, devices such as back up alarms and strobe lights have become popular and a standard issue of forklift manufacturers. But despite those safety devices, there are still too many accidents involving pedestrian getting struck.
Based on the statistics released by the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH), about 44% of all forklift-related accidents in the US involve pedestrians in the workplace.
You don’t want your workers included in the statistics. Do you?
Why not make your equipment and other vehicles more noticeable to pedestrian and bystanders by adding forklift blue light to it.
This device alerts pedestrian and other vehicles of oncoming forklifts. As the forklift travels, this device projects very bright blue light on the ground about 20 feet in the front or rear warning people that forklift is heading their way.
If you desire to purchase forklift blue light for installation on your equipment, here are some factors to consider:
Forklift Blue Light Features to Consider When Buying
You may find a lot of models of forklift blue lights in the market today, many are cheap while others are expensive. If you are confused about what to buy because of the wide variety of choices, how can you tell which one is the best for your application?
Well, here are the features and specifications we took into account when we equipped our machines with it. If you are searching for a unit to buy, you could also take this into consideration.
Brightness/Light Intensity
This is the most important feature to consider if you have many options to choose from. There are cheap models but they are less than half as bright as the superior ones.
The unit of measurement to determine the brightness of forklift blue light is either in lux or lumen, depending on the manufacturer. When you’re buying for a blue light, it is easy to get confused about the two. Generally, you can say the higher the lumen or lux, the brighter the forklift blue light projects.
Forklift blue lights have either two (2) or four (4) LEDs built into it, depending on the model. The ideal lumen each LED produces should be about 450. When the model has four LEDs in it, it should produce a very vivid 1800 lumens and higher beam pattern for greater visibility.
The light would still be clearly visible when projected at 25 feet distance. You would want to make sure that the spot it displayed on the floor is noticeable for the pedestrian to see.
Rigid Construction
The forklift trucks, where the forklift blue light is mounted to, operate in different road and weather conditions.
The light should tough enough to absorb intense shock and vibration during forklift operation. We favor the unit which has a high shock-resistance rating since most of our operation are in rough road surfaces. The housing should be made up of a fully cast aluminum casing and that the lenses are toughened polycarbonate. The ideal unit should have a universal mount so that you can transfer it to other vehicle or equipment.
When your operation is mostly outdoors, just like ours, the lights could be exposed to extreme weather conditions from biting cold to searing heat or even to heavy rains. The unit should withstand unforgiving temperature. Being water-resistant is also an important factor when choosing if the operation is outdoor.
The light must be durable to endure severe weather.
Certification Rating
The forklift blue light must meet UL or IEC IP69K rating. Most of the model being sold in the market today have other certification ratings such as CE, RoHS. Those ratings are quality standard as well.
When purchasing, you should interest the model with such a certification rating to get the quality one.
Lifetime Warranty
The length of warranty the manufacturer offers can probably tell you how confident they are about their product.
Most known manufacturers promise to give 50,000 hours of operation which means you are most likely retired before light breaks down.
You can avail the warranty if the fault is due to a manufacturing defect but not as an outcome of a vehicle collision or caused by improper installation.
Keep this in mind
If the model of forklift blue light you are considering to purchase doesn’t have these important features, find another model that does. Don’t base your decision on the price. Choose the light that is bright enough, can withstand the test of time, and can handle the tough environment you put the equipment to work in.
The Models We Equipped Our Machines With
When we asked our crew, who are in the warehouse constantly working around forklifts, what the mistake they see, we noticed one common similarity in their answers – blind corners.
Accident and near-miss happen because of these two reasons: people simply did not see the truck coming or the forklift drivers did not see them approaching. Blind corners are often to blame.
We don’t want the safety of our team to be compromised.
We found a simple solution, we installed forklift blue light on our 25 machines. Near misses drop to a considerable number, from average 5 incidents per month to just one or none at all. It is simply that good!
If you are wanting to have your trucks also equipped with it, here are the forklift blue light models we added to our machines you can consider buying:
Poeland BG15JSD-1 Forklift Blue Light
We initially installed this model on our 10 heavy-used counterbalance forklifts, on the front and back, just to test it out after we saw it other facilities. The result is awesome!
It delivers intense light on the floor of 1,000 lumens that reaches about 20 feet from the truck and the beam it displays is about 8 inches in diameter, in that distance the light is still clearly visible. It works great when unloading our products from the trailer – the light really draws attention to passing pedestrians.
The unit is rigid, it has a die-cast aluminum case housing two (2) LEDs and the lens are polycarbonate. Since the mounting bracket is universal, it can be installed on other vehicles. It has a lifetime rating of 30,000 hours.
What I like about more about this particular unit is that it resists water and can ensure negative temperatures ideal when working outdoors.
When we ordered the items, one of the units we’ve given has a broken LED. We contacted the dealer, they immediately replied. We sent it back to them and they replaced it without question being asked.
To check the price of this Poeland BG15JSD-1 Forklift Blue Light on Amazon, Click Here.
LEDFKLT-CPR-Blue by Larson Electronics
We saw the good potential of forklift blue light for improving safety. We then decided to add it to our remaining 15 forklift units.
Why we chose this particular model is because it has four (4) LEDs in it each producing 450 lumens. When combined, it creates a very intense beam of 1,800 lumens with a low amp which is visible during daytime or nighttime operation. Very ideal for our application since our machines usually run round the clock.
It can resist the different operating condition. This particular model is very compact, you can mount it on the top of the equipment where space is limited. It has an aluminum casing and polycarbonate lens just like the previous model.
What I really like about this model is the intensity of the beam from a distance of 20 feet. Since it has twice the brightness of the previous model it casts a concentrated beam of 12 inches in diameter on the floor sending an advanced warning.
If you want this LEDFKLT-CPR-Blue model, Check the Price Here on Amazon.
To Make a Conclusion
Throughout the past years, there had been many safety devices invented to make forklift operation safe for the pedestrian. Things like back up alarms and strobe lights had helped to minimize accidents. Back up alarms are useful but in a noisy environment, workers may not hear them. Strobe lights may be nifty, but that thing blinds operators.
Forklift blue light is the most recent innovation when it comes to safety. It is designed to minimize the risk of an accident around forklifts more effectively.
To ensure maximum safety, install forklift blue light on your machines. This device is vital for daily and safe operation.
