After installing two Industrial Direct Drive 16 model air curtains, forklift drivers now have full visibility through the doorway, with minimal energy losses, and no further accidents or close-calls.
Youngstown, Ohio – After several near-misses culminating in an injurious forklift truck collision involving strip curtains, a Northeast Ohio metal fabricator and manufacturer searched for creative solutions to improve safety, energy efficiency and productivity at a high-traffic, ground-level material handling doorway.
The busy 20-foot-wide by 16-foot-high doorway’s 16-inch-wide, clear overlapping PVC strips steadily lost visibility from scratches, oil film from metal fabricating processes and residual grease from forklift mast rail chains. The accident occurred because one forklift driver could not see another through the strip curtains, which resulted in a workers’ compensation claim.
Originally, the doorway’s insulated overhead door was prematurely becoming maintenance-intensive due to excessive forklift traffic from outdoor metal stock areas to indoor production areas. Adding the $3,000 strip curtains was an inexpensive energy solution for a previously inefficient doorway during Ohio’s four-month winter season. But while the strip curtains helped reduce energy losses from the door’s 20 cycles per hour, or from leaving it open during high-traffic periods, the manufacturer felt it could no longer risk more potential accident liability at its 100,000-square-foot industrial complex.
Find out how the manufacturer improved safety, visibility and energy efficiency at this doorway. Read the full case study in the PDF below.
