All-Around Visibility Raises the Bar for Order Picking Safety

This National Forklift Safety Day, we take a look at one warehouse role that has changed significantly with the rise of e-commerce and the related shift toward piece picking. Today’s order picker operators face unique challenges because the job requires them to operate a lift truck in narrow-aisle environments while efficiently picking product from high shelves. Limited visibility in such applications, especially at height, can pose a safety hazard to operators and warehouse employees and slow picking and transporting product.

Visibility is a major contributor to operator confidence and productivity, but operators routinely face environments that compromise visibility. Racking, pallets and other equipment can all impede sight lines. Dim warehouse lighting may create shadows. The chance of an incident can increase when working at height if the operator experiences “tunnel vision” that can impact their ability to adequately see what’s below, above and even in front of the forklift.

Insufficient visibility can contribute to accidents that result in injury but can also negatively affect a warehouse’s productivity and profitability. These same accidents can cause costly damage to racks, products and the order picker itself. Even the actions taken to avoid accidents when visibility is impaired – slowing or pausing, leaning around obstructions or communicating with others on the floor – can carry their own risks and waste valuable time.

Visibility that elevates operator confidence
The new Crown SP 1500 Series provides clear views for operators even while the platform is fully elevated. This expands what the operator can see above, below and to each side while working within the aisle and traveling throughout the warehouse. The SP 1500 Series features the industry’s first mid-console window, centered between the operator controls, to provide a view of the floor below when the platform is raised. This is combined with a large upper window that offers a wide view of pedestrians, objects and other equipment, as well as openings in the center and on each side of the floorboard to provide clear views directly below. An optional large panoramic window above the operator enhances sightlines to pick locations.

Crown’s new SP 1500 Series also includes an Aux Lift model. In addition to the same visibility features as the standard SP 1500 Series order picker, it also includes two auxiliary mast windows between the operator platform and the forks. This enables the operator to see the warehouse floor when traveling forks first with the load raised. This model is also available with dual controls, one facing the power unit and one facing the forks, to enable the operator to easily and efficiently switch between power unit-first or forks-first travel while maintaining all-around visibility.

For more information on how Crown helps companies create and maintain strong safety-first cultures through improved visibility and other factors, visit Crown’s safety page, view Crown’s e-book, “An Integrated Approach to Forklift Safety,” and visit the Training section of crown.com.