Don’t drive faster, drive smarter

It is widely accepted that operating faster increases both the likelihood and potential severity of accidents, so is it possible to work faster without compromising on safety?

One major issue for counterbalance operators is that they have insufficient view of the forks to get them accurately aligned with the load. Training cannot eliminate this, because it’s a fundamental problem with the operator’s position and the limitations of the human visual system. Instead training teaches techniques for coping with these limitations.

The uncertainty of fork alignment causes operators to need to make time-consuming multiple adjustments to both lift and tilt controls when approaching loads and any errors can result in damages and risk of injury.

ForkAngles mast-tilt indicator from AED Design solves this problem by giving the operator constant feedback on mast-tilt position. Operators can set the required tilt angle first time, eliminating the need to make adjustments thereby improving handling times whilst reducing the risk of damages and injury.

ForkAngles is said to be a very accurate and cost effective way of giving your counterbalance truck operators the information they need to accurately align the forks with the load. Even complete novices will be able to set the correct tilt angle first time, which will greatly improve load handling efficiencies, reduce wear to the truck and reduce fuel consumption as well as eliminating damage to pallets, loads and racking caused by misaligned forks/attachments.

ForkAngles is claimed to be the most accurate mast tilt indicator on the market, capable of achieving accuracies of 0.02 degrees of tilt angle. This impressive accuracy means that ForkAngles can be used with all attachments, even the longest extended forks and carpet booms. For example, a 3m long boom can be adjusted to within 1mm of level along its length.

Because ForkAngles is analogue, it allows the operator to not only judge when the forks are aligned, but also how quickly they are approaching alignment. This is important for the smooth and efficient setting of tilt angle, and is not possible with digital indicators.