We know that the wood industry is a dynamic sector with a strong export focus. It demands a large amount of labour and it involves various industrial hazardous processes which place high safety demands on staff.

Today we’d like to talk about the benefits that the application of the Fall Protection System developed by Claitec brings to this industry and why it meets its reality and needs to the tee.

First, we must bear in mind that the wood industry involves the permanent use of heavy machinery, elevators, large trucks, cranes, and saws for the processing and preparation of raw materials. In addition, there’s the handling and process of large logs. This means that a simple oversight can leave the operator vulnerable to being crushed or seriously injured.

That’s why we are convinced that the Fall Protection Solution is a key ally for the wood industry. An extremely easy-to-install and use, this system is composed of an anchor point, a fall arrest mechanism, a steel retractable cable and a safety harness.

When performing such tasks or when handling these tools, the operator only needs to attach his/her harness to the retractable cable – at the fixed mooring point -, and he /she will be protected. In case of falling, the device is responsible for immediately detecting what’s happening and sending a signal to stop the machinery involved, preventing the automatic operation from causing any harm to the person.

The shape and structure of the fixed mooring point should be sufficient to prevent the automatic disconnection and sliding of the device. Therefore, the use of fixed and certified fixed mooring points is recommended, in accordance with the European standard EN795.

This system’s components stand out for their durability and robustness, qualities that ensure their correct operation in intense work spaces and in industrial areas that may require the constant use of this device. The system is suitable to be used in any of the work areas related to the wood industry. It can help tremendously to improve accident prevention when working with tools such as presses, crushers, compactors or large fixed saws.

Keen to find out more about Claitec’s Fall Protection System?

Eager to learn more about our work?

Don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help!

We work in spaces where establishing order is not always easy.

For instance, a lot of effort is required to ensure that areas with a high volume of traffic and pedestrian movement become efficient, risk and accident free spaces. Other examples we can think of would be container facilities, or truck loading and unloading areas but surely you can identify a space of these characteristics and similar challenges in your own industry.

In this post we’d like to introduce 3 very useful tools that will improve operational safety and efficiency in those type of sites:

1). LSA System for Low Speed Areas. A device installed in the forklift design to automatically detects in which zone a speed limitation signal is located. It uses a panel of very durable coded reflective strips that is easily placed above the doors in the work area or in areas where a change of speed is required.

By using this system, slow and fast zones are clearly defined and when the forklift passes by a previously installed speed change panel, the sensors automatically detect these signals and generate the corresponding change in the vehicle’s gear.

2). The Traffic Control System (TCS) is an integral system which doesn’t depend on batteries and mobile devices. It works completely passively, that is – it doesn’t require human attention. This system allows us to keep pedestrians and forklifts in separate spaces, in addition to alerting forklift drivers of the existence of blind spots.

The TZ2-Tag devices are placed in the warehouse to detect the vehicles equipped with the AC-50 Activator. Traffic lights, signalling beacons, safety gates and handrails are also installed to segregate pedestrians and keep the operation and the dynamics of the transit of the area in order.

Therefore, when a vehicle enters the safety zone delimited by the TZ2-Tag, the vehicle and warehouse lighting warnings are activated to alert them to its presence. At the same time, the pedestrian traffic light is set to red and blocks their access through the security gate. Once the forklift leaves the safety space the traffic light automatically turns green and the gates are unlocked.

3). The CAS Collision Avoidance System is a durable, robust and easy-to-install solution that warns forklift drivers when it detects another vehicle at distances of up to 25 meters.

All industrial vehicles are compatible with the PAS AC-50 activator, a device that helps driver to avoid accidents or risks of impact in spaces where there’s significant transit. Pedestrian presence and large loads.

If you would like to receive more information about the systems mentioned in this posts, or if you are thinking about improving the safety in your company, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Loading vehicles play a fundamental role in our daily industrial activity. However, when these circulate in areas where other workers are working or driving, they become a high risk factor that often ends up being a cause of serious work accidents. Today we’d like to share several basic tips to help minimise these risks and the impact of industrial vehicles on pedestrians.

1) Know your workspace traffic rules

Generally – as if circulating in any city – pedestrians have preference. Although it’s clear that several factors complicate this premise. That’s why it’s suggested that forklift drivers focus on observing the road along which the vehicle is moving, whether it’s forward or in reverse. The floors must be correctly signposted, but beyond that drivers – especially if they are new -, must learn to be alert to any traffic and around intense traffic areas and always follow previously established traffic norms.

2) Use mirrors as safety measure

Mirrors are very effective if used as an extra measure of precaution in our work spaces and areas of high intensity traffic in industries. Concave mirrors, which are usually used at the exit of garages and parking lots, can also be very effective for the purpose of checking the entire angle of manoeuvre in spaces such as tanks, ports, terminals, etc. They are a great ally to deal with blind spots when manoeuvrering, plus they are very affordable and easy to install.

3) Clear maximum speed parameters                                                                 

While this is nothing new our experience reminds us that this is a topic we must insist on: it is very important that very clear maximum speeds are located in every vehicle circulation area, and these must be respected. At a high speed, it will be more difficult for the driver to detect a blind manoeuvring point, and the chances of an accident happening will increase. Not to mention that the damage caused by an impact at speeds above the established are also bigger than those generated by an impact at a controlled or reduced speed.

4) Make the most of “an extra pair of eyes”

It is much easier and more likely to avoid a blind spot accident if we use devices designed to warn us about the close presence of pedestrians near a moving forklift. With this type of tools, the driver can focus on manoeuvring, while the device will assist him or her to warn them of someone’s proximity.

Claitec offers different solutions that will allow you to improve the safety standards of your industry. The PAS Solution, for instance, will allow you to minimise the risk of accidents between forklifts and pedestrians in common work areas.

Are you keen to find out more about this or any other of the solutions we offer?

Don’t hesitate to contact us at: https://claitec.com/en/contact/

In this post we’d like to discuss one of the areas in the field of safety at work currently undergoing major developments and projected to have an enormous growth potential and impact in all industries in the future. We are talking about biometric recognition systems which, identify and take standardised measurements of living beings and biological processes.

Biometric systems have now been successfully applied in different areas and their use is increasingly common, given its many uses and benefits. A very clear example of the application of this type of services has been achieved by one of our partners – Meibit. This company has successfully developed the authorisation of forklift usage by means of fingerprints.

This is an extremely useful system since it allows for a strict control over users and it guarantees that no forklifts will be started by unauthorised persons.

Other great advantages of these systems are:

• The use of codes or cards – a common practice in many companies – is avoided. Codes and cards are often a source of problems for several reasons, including the fact that anyone can use them. But with biometric systems such pitfalls are easily overcome.
• There is a record of the exact usage of the forklift – the system stores data pertaining to the time at which the vehicle starts to be used and the time at which it is switched off.
• The system does not require keys which, are so easily lost or damaged! The forklift can only be turned on after it recognises the user’s fingerprint.
• These characteristics also generate a greater commitment from operators when carrying out the task, since they know that only they can activate the forklift and the system will register how they did and how they maintain the vehicle.
• These systems are also fully compatible with different applications that may be required in the industries: access systems to the company, doors, premises, offices, and many others.
• This system allows for the very simple registration and deregistration of users.

Interested to find out more about biometric recognition systems?

Don’t hesitate to contact us.

Achieving the expected results, being efficient, improving productivity, meeting customers’ expectations and generating growth are some of the many challenges we face whether working in the industrial sector or in any other type of organisation for that matter. However, this daily dynamic should not make us forget something as important as investing in prevention and concerning us with better job safety.

That’s why today we would like to share 5 key elements that will allow us to better understand the importance of approaching this issue from the correct angle:

1. First, it’s important to clarify that when we talk about investing in prevention – when we refer to the positive aspects of improving safety at work – we are not only talking about an economic investment. What we mean is that it’s necessary to dedicate time and energy to ensure that it becomes one of the pillars of our organisation and it extends professionally and globally throughout our business.

2. Then, it’s important to consider that the correct implementation of occupational safety and prevention measures should define the potential risks of workspaces, take appropriate measures, explain the issue to the workers in that space, and follow-up the matter ensuring it does not generate later complications.

3. Similarly, it’s vital to understand that work in occupational safety must be “transversal“: that is, it must cover all areas and levels of the company. All members of the organisation must also incorporate the established parameters to their work.

4. Safety at work policies must continually be updated. The work environment is a dynamic space in a constant state of change and where operating parameters can vary or be affected. Therefore, it is essential to keep our safety practices and policies up to date and adjust or correct everything necessary to ensure compliance with the standards established. In this sense, the correct training of employees is also key, as well as the tests of maintenance of competences and the training of the new members of the organisation.

5. Finally, we can assure that once we integrate quality policies pertaining job safety, we will not only be protecting the most important thing in our business – which is the integrity of the members of the organisation-, but we will also be adding efficiency and quality to the firm, which will end up having positive effects in the areas of results and productivity mentioned at the beginning of this post.

At Claitec we are here to advise you, help you and encourage your company to incorporate these much-needed processes. So, if you have any questions or if you want to know more about how we can meet your needs, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Our work at Claitec is nourished by new challenges.

We are committed to meet our customers’ demands and resolve their concerns as well as generate tools that provide integral solutions for them.

We also strive to ensure that all the needs raised by our systems’ users are met as professionally and efficiently as possible.

Bearing that in mind, today we’d like to introduce a new application for the PAS System which, has emerged from the conversations we sustain with our users, and making the most of the diverse options offered by this solid tool. We’ll see how the PAS System can be used to improve the safety in bridge cranes.

Located both inside and outside of factories and warehouses, bridge cranes are used to transport materials and loads in vertical and horizontal movements. These devices have one or two mobile beams on rails, which are supported on columns or consoles, and are located along two opposite walls of the rectangular building. The frame of the bridge crane consists of two transverse beams in the direction of the light of the building (main beams) and one or two pairs of lateral beams (front), located lengthwise towards the building, used to fasten to the others and to hold the wheels.

The PAS System is applied in a bridge crane as follows:

An AC-50 activator is installed on the bridge and a TZ2 on the doors or areas to be indicated. In this way, when the bridge is brought close to a door, the tag activates a luminous beacon that indicates to the trucks and pedestrians that the bridge is nearby, so that they can take all the necessary precautions.

Similarly, forklifts also have an AC-50 activator installed. When approaching a door, the luminous beacon of the door is activated to warn the bridge crane operator, forklift drivers and other operators in the facility that there is an active vehicle in that space.

Used in this fashion, the PAS System becomes extremely useful in different warehouse spaces, as well as in loading and unloading areas, and in all types of factories and industries.

If you are keen to have more information about this application of the PAS System or if you feel we can assist you with any issue pertaining to your industry, don’t hesitate to contact us!

This month we are very happy to incorporate Quim Martínez into the R+ D department.

He studied Electronics Engineering and Technical Telecommunications Engineering and he has focused his career on the development of technological solutions based on radio frequency systems, communication protocols and digital – analog electronics. In addition, he has extensive experience in the development of products under the European Directive Electromagnetic Compatibility 2014/30/EU, which It has as its main objective to ensure the proper functioning of the equipment designed, against the various disturbances in the industry, thus reversing in the safety of people and the teams themselves.

He has a clear vocation for customer-focused electronics. From a young age he believed that electronics can and should help people and companies to achieve their challenges and meet their needs.

Among Quim’s hobbies is music, of which he is passionate, especially from the 60’s to the 90’s. In his spare time, he plays drums and plays sports.

Quim, it’s a pleasure to have you on board Claitec’s team!

“I didn’t really see it”, or “it was impossible for me to guess it was there”, are some of the excuses we tend to hear after an accident has occurred. Sadly, in most cases these are pointless, especially if an operator has been injured in the collision. Unfortunately, we hear these statements far too often and this means we still have a lot of work to do.

That’s precisely why in this post, we’d like to talk about some of the simple strategies you can apply to improve operator visibility. We will also touch on some very useful tools to help avoid forklift accidents or collisions caused by workers’ low or no visibility either whether visiting the premises or while at their jobs.

The safety tools we want to highlight include the humble reflective vest as well as reflective signs on helmets and industrial footwear. This is a simple and very economic measure to implement, but extremely effective at preventing risks. All this type of signs worn by operators will make them “more visible” in the eyes of the drivers and will help prevent accidents.

Likewise, it’s important to bear in mind that the use of reflective vests requires a serious awareness from the workers, who must understand how important it is for them to keep the vest on at all times while at work, even though it might be uncomfortable to perform some tasks, or it might feel too hot in certain other occasions.

In that sense, in many industries it’s possible to minimise these problems by incorporating the reflective strips as part of the operators’ uniforms. This will not only help avoid the extra cost of the vests but will also ensure that everyone will wear the reflective elements without having to be constantly reminded about wearing their vests.

We must also keep in mind the different developments that can make forklift drivers and operators near the manoeuvring area more visible, thus reducing the risks of accidents.

Developments such as the Pedestrian Alert System (PAS Solution) which, minimises the risks of accident between forklifts and pedestrians in common work areas. This tool warns forklift drivers as soon as it detects pedestrians at adjustable distances of 1 to 6.5 meters.

Another option: The Pedestrian Crossing Safety Solution (PCS Solution), a very useful and easy to deploy tool designed to ensure the physical integrity of pedestrians in crossing spaces. It’s applicable anywhere in any type of industrial facility.

It consists of a system that warns forklifts – by means of previously installed traffic lights – about the presence and eventual crossing of pedestrians in their area of influence.

Would you like to find out more information about any of these solutions?

Are you keen to learn more about our products?

Don’t hesitate to contact us.

A company that aims to provide quality services according to market demands and needs should know their customers and do their utmost to put themselves in their place. It is a company´s duty to listen to their audience, find out what their difficulties are and work towards providing effective and safe answers. This is definetely our goal at Claitec.

That´s why today we´d like to share three solutions we´ve created after analysing the needs brought forward to us by our customers.

1) Case Study 1 – The LSA Solution:

The LSA (Low Speed ​​Area) solution allows us to limit the speed at which forklifts circulate in different areas of our warehouses.

This tool is specially designed to reduce forklift speed in areas with pedestrian and/or worker activity.This tool was conceived after noticing – in conjunction with our customers – the high rate of accidents and collisions caused by heavy vehicles that did not see or stop in time before pedestrians. The LSA Solution is a key ally in spaces with high intensity forklift movement and with a significant presence of personnel.

2) Case Study 2 – The TCS Solution:

GSK approached us to share some concerns regarding safety at its plant. Problems such as the segregation of pedestrians and forklifts, the scarce distance existing to manoeuvre, and the possible negligences that could occur in an intersection. They also mentioned they had analysed other options, but that nothing appeared to be an appropriate solution.

In this framework our team at Claitec started working in conjunction with the GSK professionals and managed to solve their challenges. According to the representatives of the firm, “we set up a customised system that solved all their deficiencies”. That result was the Traffic Control System (TCS).

This tool configures an integral traffic control system without having to depend on batteries or mobile devices, and works passively – that is, it does not require human attention. The system provided solutions to the concerns of the firm, managing to segregate pedestrians and forklifts, blocking the movement of gates that hinders the passage areas, and alerting drivers to avoid blind spots.

3) Case Study 3 – Detection of doors:

This is a product developed after listening to several customers who recorded accidents by operators who failed to notice several doors ajar or closed. Very often, workers assume that traffic is to be clear and focus on the load they are transporting or on the dynamics of the environment. This causes them to end up colliding with industrial doors or gates.

For this reason, we develop a system that activates itself when a truck approaches a door, and tells the driver if it´s closed or not open at all, in case he or she did not notice it yet. When the truck approaches a door, whether it is completely closed or not properly closed, a light and / or acoustic warning is sent to the driver, thereby consolidating a tool that has already greatly reduced this type of accidents.

If you are also facing any kind of safety challenge in your company or industry, if there are any concerns that you cannot solve and are constantly generating headaches for you, don´t hesitate to contact us. We can work to provide a solution tailored to your needs.

April 28 marks the World Day for Safety and Health at Work – a topic that concerns the team at Claitec every single day. Safety at work is a real challenge and one which we are constantly trying to overcome by seeking ways to improve and progress. World Day for Safety and Health at Work is always an excellent excuse to force us to stop and analyse the environment where we work and the new challenges that we face.

In addition, this year a joint campaign is carried out worldwide, combining the objectives of each April 28, with those of the World Day against Child Labour. Specifically, this year there are calls for improving the safety and health of younger workers, hoping to end the massive problem that is child labor. It We can´t forget that there are still 168 million children who are victims of child labour today. This joint date give us the opportunity to accelerate all actions aimed at combating this dreadful problem.

The international organisations involved in this cause have called for joint efforts among all institutions that deal with these issues, to create the type of work evironment that our future working generations deserve. Their goal is to adopt “a concerted and integrated approach for the elimination of child labour and the promotion of a culture of prevention in matters of safety and health at work “.

According to data released by these organisations, there are currently 541 million young workers in the world with those aged 15 and 24 years old representing more than 15% of the global labour force. These young people suffer from up to 40% more non-fatal occupational injuries than workers over 25 years of age.

At Claitec, we adhere to the World Day for Safety and Health at Work campaign and share the view that it is vitally important to address these challenges urgently, and improve the health and safety of young workers. We are convinced it´s imperative to end child labour now.

Our team is committed to developing different tools that address the problem of work accidents and help minimise their frequency and consequences. Among some of these tools we´d like to highlight:

• The Pedestrian Alert System (PAS), which alerts the forlift driver when there is an operator near his or her work area, avoiding the risk of hitting the vehicle or the possibility of being run over.
• The Low Speed Area(LSA), which allows to maintain the speed of the trucks when they are located within a specific space or area. This system is designed especially for spaces with a lot of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or for spaces with little room for maneouver.
• The Collision Avoidance System (CAS), which warns drivers when it detects other forklifts in a 25-meter radius. It doesn´t matter if the other forklift is located in a “blind spot” in a curve or if it is on the other side of an automatic door, the system will alert the driver and allow him to act with caution in that situation.

These are just some of the options we offer at Claitec. If you´d like to have more information about our products and solutions and their application to your case, don´t hesitate to contact us. We´ll make sure we find a tool that is tailored to your needs.