Greater Connectivity Helps Create a Modern Safety Culture

Crown Equipment Corporation is using today’s National Forklift Safety Day, sponsored by the Industrial Truck Association (ITA), to collaborate with companies on achieving greater connectivity in their facilities to help enhance safety.

As part of the company’s educational campaign designed to increase awareness of the importance of forklift safety, Crown is releasing the next chapter of its e-book “Achieving Material Handling Connectivity.” The safety-focused chapter 5 helps readers understand how greater connectivity can provide a platform enabling the use of new data, technologies and processes to reinforce training and positively evolve the mindset and behavior of operators. Crown executives will also attend National Forklift Safety Day events in Washington, D.C., where the company’s director of environmental health and safety, Brian Duffy, is a featured speaker.

“What we are finding is that safety considerations and initiatives are often accelerating the adoption of connected technologies and equipment inside the facility,” said Ron Grisez, director of product safety, Crown Equipment. “For example, customers like the idea of controlling access to ensure equipment is only operated by authorized and certified personnel or having a connected forklift alert managers when there is an impact or maintenance issue that if left unchecked can create a safety hazard.”

While greater connectivity in the warehouse helps to create a safe and modern working environment, Crown is also emphasizing the responsibility each individual – regardless of role – has in creating and promoting a safety-based culture.

“Everyone should be a contributor to safety. It starts with the right training and that changes mindset and produces safe behaviors,” Grisez noted. “It is not just about the quality of the training, but also the accessibility of the training, and not just for operators, but also for trainers, supervisors and even pedestrians.”

Greater connectivity can provide a platform enabling the use of new data, technologies and processes to reinforce training.

Crown continues to highlight customer stories featuring safety best practices and impactful results. For instance, Northgate Markets, a family-owned and operated business that distributes fresh produce, meats and grocery items, recently achieved its lowest injury rate in the past 11 years with the help of Crown’s InfoLink fleet and operator management system.

Although Northgate had processes in place for gathering pre-shift safety inspection data, it struggled to get its operators to document inspections and avoid impacts on a consistent basis. The company used Crown’s InfoLink to electronically capture pre-shift inspections. The result was that operator compliance rose from approximately 40 percent to virtually 100 percent.

For resources to help promote a culture of safety, including a product safety feature guide, visit Crown’s safety page. For a full listing of Crown’s training programs, visit the Training section of crown.com or contact a local Crown Lift Trucks location. Crown also recently launched a virtual trade show offering an interactive 3-D display of content on a variety of topics, including connectivity, automation and alternative power sources.