www.fork-truck.org.uk WAREHOUSE & LOGISTICS NEWS - FLTA FORK TRUCK SAFETY FEATURE 5
TOYOTA -- SSAFER BBY DDESIGN
BENOIT MMEUNIER LLOOKS AAT HHOW SSAFER DDESIGN RREQUIRES MMORE TTHAN GGOING BBACK TTO TTHE DDRAWING BBOARD
Benoit Meunier, Product Manager European market are bound by regula- and ears, constantly monitoring critical particularly across the forks. Once again
Toyota Material Handling Europe, was tions providing basic standards for design factors and taking preventive action to smart design has improved safety hand in Toyota Materials Handling UK
closely involved with the development features to give a “minimum” level of minimise the risk if a potentially dan- hand with productivity, allowing opera- Tel: 01977 717 171
team of the new Toyota Tonero for safety on the truck. However in the real gerous situation is detected. tors who pick up pallets for frequent www.toyota-forklifts.co.uk
Europe. Meunier looks at how safer world, “minimum” features that perform The rear axle of the truck is free to loading / unloading operations to have an
design requires more than going back well in a static test can often be found pivot to cope with uneven floor condi- unobstructed view in the direction of
to the drawing board. lacking. A forklift truck is a moving piece tions, creating a triangle of stability, travel.
Following the Toyota principle of of equipment, travelling over a variety of however if instability is detected, a Since every customer is unique,
“Genchi Genbutsu,” or going to the surfaces, capable of being loaded in Toyota truck has the ability to tem- Toyota also develops extra safety features
source to establish the facts, hundreds of many different ways and crucially, driven porarily lock the steering axle, to suit specific customer applications.
truck users were interviewed right across by a human being who can be momen- transforming the triangle into a rectangle. When handling loads at heights, we allow
Europe to determine their key priorities tarily distracted or affected by fatigue. In practice this design feature dramati- the forklift to automatically reduce and
when selecting a new truck, ensuring we Add to this the pressure to make pallet cally improves the lateral stability of the control the acceleration and maximum
understood their expectations movements as productive as possible, truck just when it is needed, helping speed of the truck to reduce the risk of a
It was no surprise that safety emerged and the possibility of accidents increases. drivers to continue operating produc- dangerous front tip-over which can be
as a key consideration across all markets; The challenge was very clear for the tively whilst helping to reduce the risk of triggered by sudden acceleration.
however customers also told us that they design team, that we had to deliver on an accident. Toyota believes that trucks like the
needed a truck that brought them the safety, but without impacting produc- SAS trucks also have six sensors con- Tonero are a clear sign of the direction of
highest standards of safety, without tivity, reliability, operator comfort and trolling the function of the mast to help the market - a continuous evolution of
asking them to compromise in other now increasingly, the impact of the truck prevent the centre of gravity of the rated improved safety and productivity.
areas. on the environment. load moving too far forwards. The tilt Features that were once considered
All manufacturers of trucks for the We examined not only the truck and speed and angle of the mast is limited in optional will become standard and the
the driver, but also the operating environ- correspondence with the height of the innovations developed by the market
ment, the pedestrians, the goods and the forks, helping to reduce the risk of for- leaders will eventually be adapted by all.
racking; the real applications where the ward tip-over that can be associated with And through continuous research and
Tonero would be used; and we looked at drivers handling loads at heights. dialogue with customers, leaders will
SAS allows the rear axle to lock temporarily
how we could reduce risk. The shape of the instrument panel and push forward design standards.
improving lateral stability.
Still one of the most dangerous acci- overhead guard was examined as part of
dents is a truck tip-over with the potential the design process to give the Tonero
for the driver to be trapped by the over- class leading visibility in all directions,
head guard, sadly sometimes with fatal
consequences. These tip-overs are caused
by the interplay of truck speed, load
weight, turning angle and slope causing
the centre of gravity of the truck to pitch
outside its own area of stability.
Toyota’s unique System of Active
Stability (SAS) is at the heart of the
design of the new Tonero, and a perfect
example of how smart design can impact
on safety in the real world. SAS is a
Benoit Meunier, Product Manager Toyota
patented system which acts as extra eyes The Safety+ package includes a factory fitted
Material Handling Europe.
speed limiter. Mast control functions reduce the risk of forward tip over.
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