Industrial safety specialist Castell presented its driveaway prevention system Salvo to the Fork Lift Truck Association's Safety Conference at Warwick University on 25th September 2008. Jason Reed, Castell's UK sales manager, spoke on the company's behalf.
Jason highlighted the need for a product like Salvo by referring to the Health and Safety Executive's estimation that 20-25 percent of all factory and warehouse accidents occur around the loading bay. This equates to over 400 serious injuries a year, including an average of eight fatalities.
Jason was quick to dismiss the effectiveness of many of the common methods of loading bay control: "Traffic lights, like road driving, can be 'jumped' by drivers, and European drivers may look at the set of lights on the other side of the bay. Hanging vehicle keys, meanwhile, doesn't always mean you get the truck's actual keys, or that the driver doesn't have a spare set." He also pointed out that wheel chocks can be driven over, and that a yard banksman is becoming an increasingly rare sight.
"The trouble with all the alternatives," Jason added, "is that they require a high degree of supervision, and if that supervision fails, discipline and retraining can be costly."
Salvo, by contrast, is failsafe, since it removes the risk of human error. Salvo consists of a mechanical key-holding cylindrical lock, which attaches to the articulated trailer's emergency airline coupling, and an electro-mechanical lock inside the warehouse, fitted to the loading bay door. Salvo links the trailer to the bay door during the loading of goods and forces drivers to immobilise the trailer prior to the door being opened. If the trailer is not locked in place, loading cannot begin.
The recent HSE booklet 'Warehousing and storage: A guide to health and safety' recommends interlocks as a safe system of work to combat driveaways. Salvo was a finalist in the FLTA's Awards for Excellence 2005.