News

Today Speedshield is pleased to announce mass-production of our RFID based Forklift Zone control technology.

In a move set to bring the cutting edge technology to the lift truck market, Speedshield is willing to work with any manufacturer or large distributor of IC and Battery Electric equipment in order to integrate RFID Zone Control with their product offering.

The key benefit of RFID zone control is its ability to take risk mitigation to a whole new level.

Large self-insured companies want it absolute, the operation of forklifts must not exceed environmental limits.

The key factor being speed. If 4 mp/h is safe in a store room, then the equipment must limit to 4 mp/h. If it is more appropriate to limit to 8 mp/h in a loading bay then so be it. And the equipment must have the smarts to know where it is and what its limits are. By implanting small RFID capsules in the warehouse floor or pavement, equipment can read the tags in order to obtain limiting information.

This extends to mast height if the equipment is about to travel into a height restricted area RFID zone control can warn the operator to lower the mast.

The factor that stands out with Speedshield RFID technology is that it has been designed for industrial durability and is a true ‘plug and play’ unit.

Some of the issues that we found with existing RFID technology were the fact that you needed to be a rocket scientist to set it up! And beyond that, it might work on some trucks and then refuses on others.

We worked hard to produce a device which you bolt on, plug in and walk away from.

Also manufacturing cost was a major consideration in the design project existing technology was drastically overpriced.

We have successfully implemented RFID zone control to more than 1000 trucks and growing.

Our technology is running everywhere from large supermarket DC’s, to Aluminium Smelter Pot Lines, Steel Mills, Engine Manufacturing Plants and Chemical processing facilities.

The key factor in all of the applications is the requirement to control materials handling traffic, thereby managing the risk.

What we are really looking for now is a manufacturer or distributor to take it to the next level by offering the technology as an OEM or Dealer Fit value added accessory to their existing truck range. And we are more than willing to put the engineering resources to work to make it happen.

In other news, our new weight gauge based safety system, Fleet Weigh, continues to impress the market with orders coming in from all corners of the Globe.

With a price tag of under US$1000 per truck, Fleet Weigh is about half the price of a conventional digital weight gauge.

Add the fact that it combines an overload alert, pre-start check list, operator ID, and Speed Display and you have a solid performer.

Built tough for the lift truck industry, Fleet Weigh is a rugged, High-Vis display, fully immersible unit. Installation of Fleet Weigh is straight forward for a lift truck mechanic with basic electrical skills.

It is installed without the use of laptops or other ‘breakables’. Operator and maintenance friendly Fleet Weigh is a straight forward retro-fit to most industrial moving plant.

Features include:

• Digital Load Weight Readout with Overload Alert and load totalling
• Speed Readout with Over-speed Alert
• Pre-Start Checklist
• Operator ID Access Control
• Seat Belt Interlock
• Idle Timer (Turn off unmanned truck)
• Inbuilt Buzzer Fleet Weigh is available off the shelf, with customer support a phone call away.