Raising the alarm
August 1st 2004

A reversing alarm is an essential safety element of any forklift, but traditional systems can cause as many problems as they prevent. Brigade Electronics offers an alternative Forklift trucks are the most likely cause of an accident in the handling and storage environment. A recent HSE report on common lift truck accidents confirmed this statement, with statistics showing that FLTs were the biggest cause of accidents and, of these, 43% involved reversing. So how can FLT operators improve their safety? The conventional reversing bleeper has been used over a number of years and although it has helped to reduce accidents it has been at the cost of mounting irritation. Drivers have been known to cut the bleeper wire, stuff a rag up the sounder unit and other workers just switch of from the maddening noise. The other hazard is that people are easily misled as to which vehicle is moving and where the sound is coming from. But according to Chris Hanson-Abbott, chairman and founder of reversing safety specialists Brigade Electronics, there is an answer. Alarm technology has moved into a new area, he says. Brigades 28-years experience together with specialist expertise in psychoacoustics has created a new movement alarm, the bbs-tek, which uses broadband sound, more commonly known as white sound. Optimum performance In developing the bbs-tek alarm we looked at the three factors that a movement alarm should satisfy to perform optimally. These are: its ability to alert a listener; the locatability of the sound; and the impact the sound has on perceived noise nuisance. Both conventional and bbs-tek alarms can be described as alerters but the broadband (or multi-frequency) alarm is both more effective and requires fewer decibels. Bbs-tek alarms are available both as reversing bleepers and as forward horns. The bbs-tek alarm emits a non-strident sound that is fully directional and, importantly, is equally effective at 5 dB(A) lower than a conventional alarm. Localising the direction of the sound, dissipating it much faster than traditional alarms and emitting a distinctive shhshhshh signal, the bbs-tek alarm enables people in the surrounding area to pinpoint exactly which vehicle is reversing. This is especially important in busy working environments where conventional bleeping alarms are difficult to distinguish from background noises. In a warehouse where the layout can resemble the Los Angeles road grid, with multiple intersections, the need to know from where a FLT will suddenly emerge is paramount. Misleading indication The sound of conventional single-frequency movement alarms tends to echo all round warehouses giving a misleading indication of direction bbs-tek alarms, being multi-frequency, are not subject to this very dangerous drawback. Further, the bbs-tek alarm concentrates the sound within the immediate danger zone instead of it being just another irritating sound within the general background noise. This increases peoples respect for it as a warning signal and diminishes the chance of its being ignored. A recent comparative test of conventional single-frequency and bbs-tek alarms confirmed the additional advantages of broadband sound. Respondents said that the broadband sound alarm provided instant identification of a moving vehicle and the elimination of noise pollution was seen as providing immeasurable benefit to everybody. Test results, together with the experience of Brigade customers who have installed the bbs-tek alarm on their vehicles and plant, prove that broadband sound reversing alarms represent a significant step forward in workplace safety and are making a major contribution to a less noisy world.

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