A Solution That Detects Dangerous Proximity Between Forklifts and Workers in Real Time

Forklift accidents usually end with "I didn't see them." Loads blocking the view, blind spots when reversing, sudden aisle crossings. Every site has zones no one can see. LookOut uses LiDAR's 3D coordinates to warn when forklift-worker distance turns dangerous, before impact.

Oct 07, 2026

A Solution That Detects Dangerous Proximity Between Forklifts and Workers in Real Time

Contents

Who Is This For?A story for managers responsible for high-risk sites where people and equipment share the same space.The Problem on the Ground At sites where forklifts and workers move together, four problems arise at once.Why Were Existing Methods Insufficient?How LookOut Solves It LookOut reads the site in 3D using LiDAR sensors and assesses risk through the following steps.What Changes In a Nutshell Application Scenarios LookOut's collision prevention applies wherever the paths of people and heavy equipment overlap.Preventing Industrial Hazards, LookOut Is With You

Who Is This For?

Logistics companies and 3PL providers operating distribution centers and warehouses
Safety management and Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) departments at manufacturing plants
Safety management teams at construction sites and contractors' health and safety headquarters
Health and safety departments that must prevent serious accidents and document the implementation of safety measures
Businesses building smart factories and logistics automation systems

They all share one challenge: in spaces where the paths of people and heavy equipment cannot be fully separated, they need a way to intervene before contact occurs.

The Problem on the Ground

At sites where forklifts and workers move together, four problems arise at once.

Safety: Reversing and turning zones, forward views blocked by loads, and intersections between rack aisles are structurally out of sight. By the time a hazard is recognized, it is already too late.
Cost: A single accident doesn't end with human injury; it leads to operational shutdowns and legal liability. The cost of prevention is nothing by comparison.
Decision-making: There is no data on which zones are actually dangerous, because near misses that don't result in accidents are never recorded anywhere.
Technology: Wearable devices cannot guarantee any safety the moment they are not worn, lost, or run out of battery.

Why Were Existing Methods Insufficient?

The root of the problem lies in the preconditions each safety measure depends on.

Manager patrols and safety training cannot be constant and ultimately depend on individual attentiveness.
Ultrasonic and radar proximity sensors can tell you the distance, but not whether the object is a person, a structure, or a load. When false alarms repeat, workers begin to ignore the alarms altogether.
RFID and UWB tag systems work only on the assumption that everyone is wearing a tag. Subcontractor staff and visitors easily fall outside their coverage.
CCTV is useful for identifying causes after an accident, but 2D video alone makes it difficult to judge actual distance and approach speed, and it is vulnerable to changes in lighting.
The absence of incident records leaves no basis for setting improvement priorities.

In short, there was no solution that simultaneously met all four conditions: working without wearable devices, distinguishing people from equipment, acting before contact, and keeping a record.

How LookOut Solves It

LookOut reads the site in 3D using LiDAR sensors and assesses risk through the following steps.

Detection and classification: People and forklifts are detected and distinguished as separate 3D objects. Because the system can tell objects apart, it reduces unnecessary alarms triggered by structures or loads.
Trajectory tracking: The 3D coordinates of detected objects are tracked continuously to capture their position, speed, and direction of travel.
Virtual hazard zones: Areas where risk concentrates, such as rack aisle intersections, dock entrances, and equipment turning radii, are designated as hazard zones in software. Zones can be created and adjusted without digging into floors or installing structures.
TTC-based early warning: Using the current speed and direction of two objects, the system calculates Time to Collision (TTC, the time remaining until contact if both continue on their current course), classifies risk levels, and triggers alarms before contact. Rather than signaling that objects are already close, it signals that they are getting closer.
Alerts and integration: Results are linked to on-site alarm devices and monitoring/safety management systems so that drivers and managers are alerted at the same time.
Accumulation and analysis: Hazard events are accumulated by time and zone and delivered through a dashboard. This is where previously unrecorded near misses become the basis for improvement.
De-identification: Because the system uses 3D coordinate data rather than raw video, it detects human movement without identifying faces.

No wearables required, people distinguished from equipment, detection before collision, and a full record. LookOut resolves all four of the preconditions above at once.

What Changes

When the detection method changes, the nature of safety management changes with it.

Subcontractor staff and visitors without tags are protected just the same.
Approaches in blind spots are turned into early warnings, so situations end at the alarm stage rather than as accidents.
Object-aware assessment reduces unnecessary alarms, helping maintain a site culture that trusts its alarms.
Accumulated hazard event data provides the basis for redesigning aisle widths, path separation, and speed-limit zones.
Because LiDAR measures distance by emitting its own signal, it is unaffected by lighting and works the same at night and in low-light areas.
The implementation of safety measures and the history of improvements can be documented with data.
Because workers are not identified through video, safety data is secured while reducing concerns about surveillance.

💡

In a Nutshell

Detect dangerous proximity between forklifts and workers in real time, with no wearable devices required.

Application Scenarios

LookOut's collision prevention applies wherever the paths of people and heavy equipment overlap.

Distribution centers: Intersections of aisles between racks, and zones where picking workers and forklifts meet
Loading docks: Areas with frequent reverse entries and poor visibility
Manufacturing plants: Zones where material transport aisles run adjacent to workstations
Construction sites: Situations where workers enter the turning radius of heavy equipment such as excavators and dump trucks

Preventing Industrial Hazards, LookOut Is With You

If you need a detailed brochure on LiDAR-based collision prevention tailored to your distribution center, plant, or construction site, please submit a request through the "Request a Custom Consultation" form. [Tell us about your site's aisle layout and equipment operation...]

Contents

Use Case

A Solution That Detects Dangerous Proximity Between Forklifts and Workers in Real Time

Oct 07, 2026

Contents

Who Is This For?

Logistics companies and 3PL providers operating distribution centers and warehouses
Safety management and Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) departments at manufacturing plants
Safety management teams at construction sites and contractors' health and safety headquarters
Health and safety departments that must prevent serious accidents and document the implementation of safety measures
Businesses building smart factories and logistics automation systems

They all share one challenge: in spaces where the paths of people and heavy equipment cannot be fully separated, they need a way to intervene before contact occurs.

The Problem on the Ground

At sites where forklifts and workers move together, four problems arise at once.

Safety: Reversing and turning zones, forward views blocked by loads, and intersections between rack aisles are structurally out of sight. By the time a hazard is recognized, it is already too late.
Cost: A single accident doesn't end with human injury; it leads to operational shutdowns and legal liability. The cost of prevention is nothing by comparison.
Decision-making: There is no data on which zones are actually dangerous, because near misses that don't result in accidents are never recorded anywhere.
Technology: Wearable devices cannot guarantee any safety the moment they are not worn, lost, or run out of battery.

Why Were Existing Methods Insufficient?

The root of the problem lies in the preconditions each safety measure depends on.

Manager patrols and safety training cannot be constant and ultimately depend on individual attentiveness.
Ultrasonic and radar proximity sensors can tell you the distance, but not whether the object is a person, a structure, or a load. When false alarms repeat, workers begin to ignore the alarms altogether.
RFID and UWB tag systems work only on the assumption that everyone is wearing a tag. Subcontractor staff and visitors easily fall outside their coverage.
CCTV is useful for identifying causes after an accident, but 2D video alone makes it difficult to judge actual distance and approach speed, and it is vulnerable to changes in lighting.
The absence of incident records leaves no basis for setting improvement priorities.

In short, there was no solution that simultaneously met all four conditions: working without wearable devices, distinguishing people from equipment, acting before contact, and keeping a record.

How LookOut Solves It

LookOut reads the site in 3D using LiDAR sensors and assesses risk through the following steps.

Detection and classification: People and forklifts are detected and distinguished as separate 3D objects. Because the system can tell objects apart, it reduces unnecessary alarms triggered by structures or loads.
Trajectory tracking: The 3D coordinates of detected objects are tracked continuously to capture their position, speed, and direction of travel.
Virtual hazard zones: Areas where risk concentrates, such as rack aisle intersections, dock entrances, and equipment turning radii, are designated as hazard zones in software. Zones can be created and adjusted without digging into floors or installing structures.
TTC-based early warning: Using the current speed and direction of two objects, the system calculates Time to Collision (TTC, the time remaining until contact if both continue on their current course), classifies risk levels, and triggers alarms before contact. Rather than signaling that objects are already close, it signals that they are getting closer.
Alerts and integration: Results are linked to on-site alarm devices and monitoring/safety management systems so that drivers and managers are alerted at the same time.
Accumulation and analysis: Hazard events are accumulated by time and zone and delivered through a dashboard. This is where previously unrecorded near misses become the basis for improvement.
De-identification: Because the system uses 3D coordinate data rather than raw video, it detects human movement without identifying faces.

No wearables required, people distinguished from equipment, detection before collision, and a full record. LookOut resolves all four of the preconditions above at once.

What Changes

When the detection method changes, the nature of safety management changes with it.

Subcontractor staff and visitors without tags are protected just the same.
Approaches in blind spots are turned into early warnings, so situations end at the alarm stage rather than as accidents.
Object-aware assessment reduces unnecessary alarms, helping maintain a site culture that trusts its alarms.
Accumulated hazard event data provides the basis for redesigning aisle widths, path separation, and speed-limit zones.
Because LiDAR measures distance by emitting its own signal, it is unaffected by lighting and works the same at night and in low-light areas.
The implementation of safety measures and the history of improvements can be documented with data.
Because workers are not identified through video, safety data is secured while reducing concerns about surveillance.

💡

In a Nutshell

Detect dangerous proximity between forklifts and workers in real time, with no wearable devices required.

Application Scenarios

LookOut's collision prevention applies wherever the paths of people and heavy equipment overlap.

Distribution centers: Intersections of aisles between racks, and zones where picking workers and forklifts meet
Loading docks: Areas with frequent reverse entries and poor visibility
Manufacturing plants: Zones where material transport aisles run adjacent to workstations
Construction sites: Situations where workers enter the turning radius of heavy equipment such as excavators and dump trucks

Preventing Industrial Hazards, LookOut Is With You

Contents