Optical Systems: A Simple and Effective Solution for Industrial Transport Safety

Every employer who owns motor vehicles faces safety challenges during movement and operations. Despite the presence of standard acoustic and light signals, transport accidents occur at enterprises every year, often resulting in worker injuries. The situation is particularly aggravated when large-scale transport operates in low visibility or adverse weather conditions.

To reduce accident rates, employers have two complementary paths: high-quality training for personnel operating the equipment and the use of effective technical systems.

It is important to consider that the main risks in personnel operations include: the weight and lack of maneuverability of the machine itself, \"blind spots\" in the driver's field of vision that make a full view of the front or sides impossible, reversing — a problem by definition, as it is necessary to monitor the area in the direction of travel while simultaneously operating levers/joysticks (which are positioned opposite to the trajectory), and the presence of other traffic participants — people and equipment.

In terms of improving the efficiency of lighting equipment, an excellent technical solution is equipping vehicles with safety marker lights (RedLine).

In its classic form, the optical system consists of two or more LED lights installed on the roof of the machine. When turned on, they project light lines on the ground, marking the boundaries of the high-danger zone in the area of the vehicle's movement.

This is highly relevant in confined spaces and under reduced visibility.

Furthermore, this system is quite simple to install and operate. Safety markers are energy-efficient, and their LED technology is resistant to shock and vibration. They are waterproof, dustproof, and guaranteed to provide a long service life.

After analyzing transport accidents within our Company, identifying their root causes and conditions, and following the example of global mining leaders in HSE, our Company decided to maximize the visualization of the hazardous work zone. This is especially important in open-pit and underground mining operations.

For example, at the Kirovsk branch of JSC \"Apatit\" at the Vostochny mine, technical solutions in the form of LED projections (RedLine) have already been implemented on all road construction equipment (bulldozers, front-end loaders, motor graders) engaged in open-pit mining, where the harshest climatic conditions prevail.

It is worth noting that the Company is not standing still on this issue and is rolling out this practice, which has proven itself well, to underground self-propelled vehicles. Feedback from personnel after pilot testing on self-propelled machinery in underground conditions has been exclusively positive.

Starting this year, we are also extending the practice of using RedLine to industrial transport (shop forklifts) and self-propelled bulldozer equipment working on phosphogypsum dumps, a byproduct of fertilizer production.

This once again proves that in the field of HSE, there are simple solutions with maximum positive effects.