PURPOSE:  Reduce the number of injuries and deaths of workers who operate or work near lift trucks at mining operations.

RESEARCH SUMMARY:  A common danger in the mining, agriculture, and construction industries occurs when mobile equipment is unknowingly operated in an unsafe manner. Operator errors are frequently the result of inadequate training, complacency regarding equipment operation, and taking shortcuts. Many times an operator unknowingly operates the equipment beyond its safe operating limits or fails to recognize dangers in the work environment. Unsafe operation can result in injuries and deaths of both drivers and pedestrian workers; over 100 fatalities and 20,000 forklift injuries occur yearly in the United States. Seventy percent of these accidents were caused by operator error. In 2000, the leading causes of lift truck fatalities were lift truck overturns (23%), pedestrians and workers struck by lift trucks (39%), and falls from lift trucks (10%). During 1999-2003, over 355 lift truck accidents occurred at mining operations.

Researchers from the Spokane Research Laboratory (SRL), in collaboration with the North American Coal Company (NACCO), are investigating ways to reduce the high number of injuries and deaths related to dangerous lift truck operating practices. Specific questions being addressed are (1) what are the critical operating parameters that should be monitored to prevent rollovers, collisions, and operator errors? (2) what instruments are available that could be used to monitor these parameters? and (3) what is the most effective way to alert an operator to unsafe operating and environmental conditions?

A lift truck is being retrofitted with an electronic monitoring system that continuously monitors critical operating parameters (i.e., pitch, roll, payload, lift height, loading dock edge, nearby objects) of a lift truck to determine if the vehicle is being operated safely. When a critical operating parameter is exceeded, a digital voice warning message is activated that can be heard by both the lift truck operator and any nearby workers. It can, for example, alert the operator when he or she is traveling or cornering too fast, lifting too heavy a load, or approaching the edge of a loading dock. The sensor-based monitoring system can also be used as a tool to improve lift truck operator training, evaluate training programs, and identify areas in need of additional safety training.

Field tests of the instrumented lift truck were conducted on NACCO’s proving grounds in Fairview, OR, to determine the effectiveness of the 40 installed instruments and the data acquisition system in preparation for in-depth field tests at a commercial site. The technology being developed in this project can be applied to a wide variety of other types of mobile mining and construction equipment to alert an operator or nearby workers to dangerous operating conditions and practices.