Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE) has recently used Viscando’s 3D & AI solution and analysis platform to study workplace safety and the flow of goods and personnel. Viscando and TMHE used the collected data to jointly draw important conclusions about how the technology can benefit a safer and more efficient design of intersections in warehouses. Opportunities for further development and adaptations were also identified.
For several years, Viscando has been supporting cities to improve traffic safety and mobility – based on 3D&AI sensing solutions. It turns out that many of the difficulties and challenges seen in city traffic are also evident in warehouses, factories and logistic centres. The human tragedy of an accident at a work place is of course as sad as any other accident. Accidents also lead to costly disruptions and dissatisfaction among employees. Therefore, data driven methodology for efficient and safer movement of personnel and goods is equally important in warehouses and factories as in the cities.
Viscando and Toyota Material Handling have therefore jointly explored the potential in using 3D&AI to understand and improve safety and efficiency of transport flows in warehouses. Of special interest are the interactions when flows from different directions intersect. We found that in many respects, the traffic in a warehouse is at least as dynamic and complex as ordinary traffic, although at significantly lower speeds. The fork lifts are highly agile vehicles, and their mutual interactions with other fork lifts but also pedestrians deserve further study. Further collaboration and studies along these lines is under discussion.