Warehouse health and safety signage is key to keeping workers and site visitors safe. This is particularly important for facilities with large machinery and heavy use of forklift trucks. Certain areas can also require different safety signs depending on circumstances on site, such as if a roller door is open or closed. Automated safety signage is a safety solution that allows for safety signs to be triggered depending on different circumstances in the warehouse, such as a person coming into the room. But how can automated signage be installed on site? And how can projected signage be used for an automated signage system? 

Our client is a leading manufacturer in the renewable energy market, specialising in large scale fibre glass manufacturing, so safety is of the utmost importance. With large machinery and heavy use of forklift trucks, it can be difficult to ensure health and safety regulations are adhered to.

The Problem

Our client found a potential hazard on site, where roller doors operate as a route for forklift trucks, across a pedestrian walkway. They required a solution that would warn pedestrians of forklift trucks when approaching the roller doors, in order to prevent accidents from occurring, ideally utilising automated signage in order to activate the safety signage only when necessary.

Due to the large amount of traffic going through this area, painted floor markings and vinyl safety markings faded and degraded rapidly, causing employees to become ‘sign blind’ to pre-existing health and safety messages. Along with sign blindness, safety signs need to be ‘clear and legible’ in order to be HSE compliant, meaning traditional and painted floor markings would have to be replaced regularly, not only halting operations but becoming costly over time. 

The Solution

Our dedicated team suggested a site visit to recommend the best signage solution for the client’s environment. Our projection experts visited the site and assessed the existing lighting conditions, area and scale that was required in order to recommend the best gobo projector for their requirements. 

Working alongside Alan Benfield Ltd electrical contractors, we designed a bespoke safety signage solution to warn pedestrians of oncoming forklift traffic. We created a warehouse safety signage solution consisting of our powerful 200 Watt gobo projectors, suitable for the brightest of warehouse environments. This was combined with forklift warning signs, scaled to fit into the designated space on the warehouse floor. The yellow and white safety signs ensure a bright and highly visible health and safety message that pedestrians can easily see on approach. 

Alan Benfield installed the projectors with ‘state of the art motion detection’ in order to fully automate the signage system. ‘The sensors were mounted within specific positions, when the forklift truck chargers passed through the beams they activated the projectors’ ensuring that the forklift safety signs were only switched on when necessary, ensuring the smooth running of operations along with ensuring pedestrian safety.

The Results

Our client has reported ‘clear and bright images’ from the powerful gobo projectors, ‘despite being used in a very well lit environment’. The use of projected signage within the area, with heavy forklift use, also offers a durability that is not provided with painted floor markings and vinyl signs. With up to 50,000 years of lamp life, our gobo projectors offer around five years of constant safety signage that won’t fade and degrade with heavy forklift and pedestrian traffic. 

 The installation of these units has also resulted in a seamless automated signage solution, providing the smooth running of operations and ensuring safety signs are only switched on with the motion sensors. This sends out the right message, at the right time and does not cause any confusion over safety messaging, improving the flow of traffic on site and preventing accidents from occurring.

To learn more about how to automate projected signage and the benefits of projected signage, check out our blog. Alternatively, contact our projection experts today to see how projected signage can help you improve safety in your warehouse, with the right messages, at the right time.