In so-called explosion protection zones, the prevention of accidents involving industrial trucks plays an even greater role than in normal storage or production areas, as there is a risk of hazardous substances being released or, in the worst case, an explosion with far-reaching consequences for people and infrastructure. "The explosion-proof trucks from Linde Material Handling are very close to series production. This enables us to offer many solutions from the standard portfolio in a modified form for ATEX zones," says Elke Karnarski, Product Manager Ex-Proof Trucks & Retrofit Solutions at Linde Material Handling.

This has also recently been the case for Linde Safety Guard, which can be selected as a customer-specific solution for all ex-electric forklift trucks from the goods handling specialist. The assistance system is aimed at particularly common situations with risk potential - such as collisions between vehicles at blind junctions or in front of rack aisles that are difficult to see. Equipped with a "Truck Unit" certified for zones 2/22, the explosion-protected industrial trucks recognize each other and automatically slow down as soon as they fall below a predefined distance. In addition, speed limits in complete halls or on certain sections are a frequent requirement for accident prevention in ATEX areas. Zone markers on walls or ceilings automatically slow down all equipment to a predefined speed.

Compliance with access restrictions in ATEX zones is just as important. In this case, the Linde Safety Guard functions as a "gatekeeper", allowing only explosion-protected vehicles to enter these areas. If the driver of a standard machine attempts to drive over the imaginary threshold, the machine brakes to creep speed. A projector can be coupled to the gate monitor, which draws a large ATEX warning symbol on the floor to indicate entry into the sensitive zone.

The Linde Safety Guard safety assistance system is based on ultra-wideband technology and operates in the high-frequency range. A major advantage is that the signal passes through walls and does not affect other networks such as WLAN, Bluetooth or RFID.