A few hundred lift truck mishaps are sadly reported within New Brunswick every year. Operator training is not enough to decrease the number of incidents, suffice to say, though, it is definitely among the most important parts. Clearly, the best approach to preventing forklift mishaps is having the business and organization involved, in addition to combining the efforts of everybody in the facility.
Toyota has applied the System of Active Stability or SAS, which is technology derived from the automotive technology. The SAS is capable of electrically monitoring and controlling lift truck operations. This system is really vital for helping decrease the chance of mishaps from occurring. When the SAS system senses any type of instability, its advanced sensors signal simultaneously and engage the proper controller. Both the Active Control Rear Stabilizer and the Active Mast Function Controller help to avoid accidents or injuries happening by adding stability.
Toyota's SAS system is a patented technology which could detect many things that could result in possible lateral instability. If and when those conditions are detected, the SAS instantly locks a hydraulic cylinder on the rear steer axle. If this particular situation happens, the forklift's stability footprint changes from triangular in shape to a rectangular shape, resulting in more stability. The outcome is an instant stability and greatly lessens the likelihood of a lateral overturn from happening.
The SAS system engages immediately, when the equipment senses the occurrence of instability. After that, the Swing Lock Cylinder is engaged and the rear axle becomes stabilized. This creates the lateral stability the machinery requires to help decrease the risk of lateral tip-overs from happening.
The active mast function is similar in operation to the active rear stabilizer control. The active mast function controller system uses the same patented technology to sense many factors that lead to possible longitudinal instability. Whenever the SAS controller senses possible longitudinal instability from happening, 2 systems become engaged to help reduce the possibilities of forward and rearward tip-over situations from happening: the rear tilt speed control and the forward tilt angle control.
The Forward Tilt Angle Control would sense load weight and mass height, then automatically override the operator's manual control and limit forward tilt to reduce the possibility of tipping the forklift forward or spilling a load. These safety devices are in place to help the operator stay safe.
Using the same mast height sensors and load sensors, the rear tilt speed control is designed to govern the mast's reverse tilt speed to half. This greatly decreases the possibilities of spilling unsecured cargo or having the lift truck tilt backwards.