Today’s warehouses face constant pressure to fulfil greater volumes of orders at an increasingly fast pace, which depends on lift truck operators performing at their best, every day. To support this, some operations are choosing to digitalise more parts of their warehouse, including elements of their materials handling equipment operations and fleets. Turning to technology solutions such as operator assist systems (OAS) to help maximise productivity, maintain lift truck best practices, and support safe operations. However, as a relatively new technology, OAS are often misunderstood. Lift truck operator assist systems (OAS) can offer alerts and automated assistance to support operators in real time on the warehouse floor. They can be used to consider equipment status or load stability, providing visual alerts or even performance intervention. Plus, more advanced OAS solutions can leverage information related to the operating environment, including precise, real-time location and proximity data to enable automatic performance adjustments for a range of scenarios tailored to warehouse operations. Below, we address and dispel some of the most common myths. MYTH - OAS is just another name for telemetry systems already on the market. The truth is that OAS is an umbrella term, encompassing various products and technologies designed to assist operators. It includes telemetry, and things like pedestrian awareness lights and alarms, automatic slow-down, lift lockout, and so much more to help operators adhere to best practices that support safety and efficiency in a digital age warehouse. Telemetry is a technology solution that captures and reports lift truck status and usage, providing the data to inform a more reactive approach to managing operator behaviour. Other OAS features, however, can take a more active role, providing operators with real-time alerts and automatic performance limitations based on the real-world operating environment, load and equipment status, making it easier to adhere to best practices. MYTH - OAS can risk reduced productivity and decreased throughput. In particular applications, the right OAS is capable of both supporting site-specific initiatives and maintaining productivity, rather than prioritising one at the expense of the other. In fact, fast-paced e-commerce warehouses are well-represented among the early adopters of OAS. Both productivity and lift truck operating best practices can be prioritised. The in-aisle muting feature on the Yale Reliant OAS, for example, allows two trucks to work in the same aisle without slowing each other down, though they are in close proximity. The narrow nature of tight warehouse aisles means equipment cannot keep the same distance, but they are not subject to performance reduction. However, different OAS offer different functionality and benefits. It is therefore important to select the right fit to support productivity in a specific warehouse. MYTH - OAS is typically limited to ultrasonic technology for object and pedestrian detection, so it cannot register all potential hazards in the environment. Many companies and OEMs use different technologies to detect objects, pedestrians or both. Technologies such as LiDAR, ultrawideband (UWB) and ultrasonic are all popular for these applications. Look for a system that can use either single or multiple means of detection, depending on the goals and needs of your specific warehouse application. Some OAS offerings may be limited to one type of detection technology. If it can be configured with multiple detection technologies, the OAS will offer a greater level of awareness tailored to the unique needs of each location. MYTH - Object and pedestrian detection only work in the path of travel, and if the object or pedestrian is standing straight up or vertically. While vision technologies like LiDAR and ultrasonic sensing can detect obstacles in the direction of their orientation, some OAS can be configured with multiple sensors to enable detection in the appropriate direction depending on truck and obstacle location. But what about unseen obstacles, such as a truck hidden in racking? Yale Reliant is an example of a technology where line of sight support uses UWB technology to account for and react to objects equipped with a powered badge within a certain radius. You don’t want to miss a pedestrian about to step out of the end of an aisle as a truck approaches. Furthermore, OAS may be able to slow lift truck speed to a crawl based on location-specific rules, to discourage operators from entering certain areas, such as designated pedestrian zones, aisles, doorways and tunnels. 32 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk February/March 2025 Handling & Safety Matters Focus on: Handling & Storage As warehouses face growing demands for faster order fulfilment, many are turning to digital solutions like Operator Assist Systems (OAS) to improve productivity and safety. Robert O’Donoghue from Yale Lift Truck Technologies addresses and dispels common myths surrounding OAS to help operations make informed decisions. Dispelling common myths about OAS in warehouse operations
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