A Different World: Safety Training and Automated Vehicles

If you own or manage a warehouse, you’ve undoubtedly heard about or perhaps have even investigated or implemented AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) systems. These systems can not only increase the productivity of your warehouse, but they can also help address the current worker shortage that seems to be affecting nearly every industry.

While dealing with worker shortages and productivity demands, you also know that maintaining or even improving safety in your facility is not only important but required. You likely have specific training and safety measures in place for your current operation to support this requirement. Crown’s Demonstrated Performance^® training is designed to meet or exceed the guidelines and requirements issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It is part of many companies’ safety programs. What happens to these safety and training measures when you implement a new AGV system? Who do you need to train? What kind of training is required? There are some obvious similarities between training for AGVs and manually operated forklifts, but there are some differences.

Who Needs to Be Trained?

Just as with manually operated lift trucks, best practices include providing training to everyone who may interact with an operational AGV in their normal duties, including those who work on and around the vehicles every day and facility visitors who may encounter them more sporadically. There are generally three roles to consider:

• The staff responsible for overseeing the system operation, adding and removing AGVs to the system and altering routes to adjust to different workflows requires advanced training. This role is not necessarily on the warehouse floor but interacts with the management software used to control the AGV system.
• Employees responsible for most direct interaction with the system require specialized training. This role includes performing limited activities such as cleaning sensors and maintaining the integrity of the automated lift trucks path of travel. They also intervene during automated operations and restart the vehicles as required. These employees are the most “hands-on” and are typically assigned to multiple AGV units. There are additional maintenance requirements that specially trained OEM technicians typically perform.
• Anyone exposed to AGVs in operation, including contractors, employees, office personnel, or visitors who may cross paths with the AGV system, should be trained on how to interact with the vehicles.

What Training Do I Need to Provide?

Employees Working Around Automated Vehicles

In operations with manually operated lift trucks, it is assumed that pedestrians may encounter lift trucks on an ongoing basis and there are rules for interacting with the lift truck and its operator. Foundationally, operators and pedestrians are taught to look out for one another and that pedestrians always have the right of way.

Employees Working with Automated Vehicles

When AGVs are present, the goal is typically to minimize interaction between the AGV and pedestrians. This supports the goal of having AGVs operate nearly continuously. In most cases, the interaction between an AGV and a pedestrian will put the vehicle and perhaps even the entire system in a suspended state until the interaction is complete, which reduces the system’s effectiveness and productivity. Consequently, pedestrians should be taught that AGVs have the right of way, directly opposite the rule applied to manually-operated lift trucks.

Crown has posted a pedestrian training module on crown.com that addresses the differences between interacting with manual and automated lift trucks. A Visitor Safety Awareness video is also available, primarily targeting pedestrians who might encounter lift trucks during their visit to a facility.

Staff who work daily with automated vehicles will need to be trained specifically to the level of their job tasks. They must be able to conduct diagnostics and troubleshooting on AGV units safely, utilize the vehicles’ software interface, and operate the AGV units in manual mode. This group must be trained to utilize each vehicle’s control interface to operate the lift truck in either manual or automated mode. Crown’s DualMode lift trucks facilitate this requirement since they operate the same as Crown’s manual forklifts when switched from automated to manual mode.

Staff responsible for managing the AGV system requires advanced training on the AGV system and how it interfaces with the warehouse management software. They are responsible for managing the platform, designing and understanding the floorplan, vehicle flow, rack clearance, as well as vehicle alarms and troubleshooting.

A management role requires understanding all the behind-the-scenes system operations and a working knowledge of the training and responsibilities of those working daily with automated vehicles. This role is also responsible for identifying when an issue should be elevated to a Crown service technician or automation specialist.

With the introduction of automation, the differences in safety expectations and requirements may require team members to change longstanding habits and assumptions in their warehouse environment. Proper safety training can assist in establishing new habits and help support the increased uptime and productivity that automation can deliver.