AI is making forklifts safer

AI is making forklifts safer

Friday 26 Jul 2024

After a worker in the kiwifruit industry was traumatically injured, WorkSafe NZ has accepted a commitment from his employer to an enforceable undertaking centered around using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

AI technology to sense pedestrians around forklifts is the centrepiece of a new safety commitment WorkSafe has accepted from a major player in the kiwifruit industry.

The commitment, known as an enforceable undertaking, was put forward by Trevelyan’s Pack and Cool Limited in Te Puke, where a worker was traumatically injured in April 2022. Trevelyan’s is New Zealand’s largest single-site kiwifruit and avocado packhouse.

The man was struck while walking behind a reversing forklift, and had his left leg and foot run over. When the driver moved the forklift forward, he ran over the victim’s foot a second time. Ultimately, the victim’s lower left leg could not be saved, and it was amputated below the knee.

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Source and image credit: Industrial Safety News

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