BARRIER Security Products says it has helped a supermarket chain prevent damages to the fixed assets at its Victorian distribution centre by installing a shock absorbing bollard.
According to the company, moving forklifts were impacting the barriers and assets, causing damage. The client needed to reduce the ongoing repair costs and improve workplace safety.
The company decided to implement a new type of shock absorbing bollard which had been under development.
According to Barrier, the majority of the damage caused in a warehousing environment results from slow moving vehicles impacting against objects at below ten kilometres per hour.
Ordinary fixed bollards or barriers are rigidly mounted. These either transfer the force of the impact to the asset, or cause damage the sacrificial barrier.
The shock absorbing bollard is designed out of materials which allow it to absorb the energy caused by low speed impacts. When it is hit by a forklift, the bollard can shift sideways by up to 20mm, tilt up by eight degrees, or rotate. It then returns to its original state.
The client chose to install a trial of nine shock absorbing bollards, minimising the damage to assets. According to Barrier, it also managed to reduce forklift speeds in those areas, because of the high visibility of the bollards. The supermarket chain ordered a further seventy units to be installed.